Wednesday, 28 November 2012

Successful first year for Fife Golf Trust

FIFE GOLF TRUST (FGT) has performed solidly in its first year of operation. Today (Tuesday 27 November), Councillors on the Education, Social and Communities Scrutiny Committee noted a good performance of Fife Golf Trust in 2011/12.

Furious response to Old Course plan

Leading golf architects around the world have responded with astonishment to Friday's announcement from the St Andrews Links Trust that extensive redesign work will be carried out on the Old Course in advance of the 2015 Open Championship.

Monday, 19 November 2012

Another Successful MDP Course in Scotland

Twenty-six club managers from all over Scotland participated in the third Management Development Programme (MDP) Level One course held recently at the University of Stirling, Scotland (October 29 - November 2). The course, hosted by the Scottish Golf Union (SGU) and the Scottish Ladies Golf Association (SLGA), was piloted a year ago in October 2011, and the second course followed five months later in March 2012. This full week of education has been designed by the CMAE to match the high standards set by the very successful 'MDI' programme of 5-day courses staged by the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA) in the USA, to international standards that all also being matched by the club managers association in Canada, South Africa, China and in the near future, Australia.

To date, over 70 Scottish club managers have participated in one of the three Level One courses, and some are now moving to the Level Two course, which will be staged at the University of Stirling in March 2013 (11-15th). After successfully completing both 5-day courses, club managers, will be offered the chance to sit the CMAE club Management Diploma exam and then move on through the rest of the MDP if they wish to do so.

Following the lead set by the SGU and SLGA in Scotland, the CMAE will be staging the first MDP Level One course outside of the UK at the les Riches School of Hospitality in Marbella, Spain (November 26-30th), in association with Club Managers Spain (CMS) and the Royal Spanish Golf Federation (RSGF). An MDP Level One course has also been booked by Golf Management Association of Sweden (GAF) and their partner Golf Services for the Lund University in Helsingborg from March 18-22, 2013, for club managers from all over Scandinavia, so the development of the MDP courses across Europe is now well underway.

The CMAE is also in discussions with club managers associations in France, Italy, England, Wales and Ireland, and it is hoped that MDP courses will soon be announced in these countries for 2013 and 2014. For more information contact SGU.

Dedicated golfers still spending heavily

Two new surveys of the golf industry have found that dedicated golfers are still more than willing to spend heavily on their sport.

Both polls found that at least three in four golfers have taken a non-domestic golf break over the past year.

USA and Australia see economic recoveries

The golf industries in both the USA and Australia – which have both seen economic declines comparable with Britain in recent years – are now showing strong signs of growth.

Golfers disappointed with newspapers

A survey of British golfers has found that the majority believe that golf journalism in national newspapers is not good enough.