In 1903, Pittsburgh industrialist Henry C Fownes set out with 25 mule teams and 150 men to build the world’s toughest golf course.
Nine US Opens and three PGA Championships later, most of the golfing world would agree he succeeded.
Recently, a PGA golf professional publicly criticised the golf club he was leaving.
This is a rarity and was quite controversial, especially when it was covered by the local newspaper. There were some key points that grabbed my attention and I was really interested when some of my golf friends commented on it. I also thought it was absurd.
The quote was “the course was in decline’’ and the pro had never been invited to provide “input’’ into golf operations, despite having represented New Zealand and played in the New Zealand and Australian Open Championships.
Many golfers would have followed with great interest the recent Muirfield deliberation on admitting female members to its club.
After a “comprehensive” two-year consultation process described as “thorough” and conducted “with all due diligence and professionalism”, voting in favour of allowing women fell just short.
Coaching methods have changed considerably over the years through technology, research and experimentation. Days have gone where the professional will stand on a range for 30 minutes with a client only. Video has been around for a number of years which was a great new element for seeing swing positions and now with an ipad its very portable and efficient. New programmes allow the coach to forward lesson rundowns to each client with a click of a button.
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During corporate planning exercises, employees are often asked to present one image that defines their company.
A picture, of course, is worth a thousand words and this exercise is a useful way for people to consider the perception, image, values and personality of their company.
Recently, I have had opportunity to go through this exercise in relation to the game of golf. While it’s easy to go for dramatically beautiful golfing landscapes or images of golfers playing and having fun together, for me there is one image that sums up the game of golf perfectly.
The training of a PGA professional has changed significantly over the last 100 years, but the basic mission – to grow the game of golf and make it easier to play and enjoy -– remains essentially unchanged.
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Over the last six weeks I have talked with representatives from eight different golf clubs about the state of the game and where golf clubs are heading.
What was interesting was that almost every golf club was facing the same challenges in that they wanted more members and needed to increase income generated from their facilities...
Where are you from?
That’s a question that is often asked as we meet new people as we play golf tournaments.
It’s a question that is usually asked as polite conversation but can just as often provide very interesting answers...
I thought for this article I would outline and compare some of the latest irons on the market as well as talk about some of the changes we see these days with irons sets.
Firstly, I have to mention what has been referred to as the vanishing loft disease. Without going into too much detail almost all clubs have less loft than years gone by. It seemed to start when companies were competing to have the longest iron on the market so they just strengthened the lofts. Now it’s justified by companies as if they don’t decrease loft a player will just balloon each iron. Technology has allowed this to happen without compromising accuracy.
A generation or so ago, many golf careers started with caddying at the local golf club.
This was often driven by economic necessity -– the need to earn pocket money, sometimes with the encouragement of a family member who wanted to keep young Jack off the streets, and hopefully get him interested in the game at the same time.
Last month a new health and safety legislation came into force in New Zealand.
The new legislation will have an affect on your golf club and the role of governance at your club. Are you and your golf club aware of what these changes are?
As we close out the summer tournaments season here in New Zealand, a great deal of attention is turning towards Rio de Janeiro and the Olympic Games to be held in August.
In recent times, most of the media discussion has been focused on the players who have withdrawn their availability for selection.
We asked this question in the shop a while ago and got some interesting answers. We all know that the legal amount of clubs is 14 but what’s something that’s so important to you that you could call them your 15th club?
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With New Zealand’s two premier men’s golf tournaments coming up in March, it’s time for golf fans to come to Auckland and Queenstown and support one of the strongest local line-ups seen for many years.
It looks like 13 of the top 15 ranked New Zealand players will tee it up in both the New Zealand Open in Queenstown (March 10– 13), and the Holden New Zealand PGA Championship at Remuera Golf Club in Auckland from March 3– 6.
We are now well into 2016 and the Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil are now only a matter of months away.
Though golf has not featured in the Olympics since 1904, the sport will now be part of the programme for at least the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.