South Africa’s PGA leads continent’s first coaching conference

THE PGA of South Africa recently hosted the inaugural Africa Golf Coaching Conference as part of its vision and a partnership with the Royal and Ancient (R&A) to help grow the game on the continent.

The conference took place at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club earlier this month and included 12 delegates from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, who were sponsored by the R&A to attend.

Andrew Gunn, the Education and Training Manager for the PGA of South Africa, said the conference was a resounding success and strengthened the bonds within Africa golf.

“I think the visiting African delegates took home some valuable knowledge, but also a sense of being part of a larger PGA family in Africa that shares a common vision. I believe that’s what we all want to do in terms of taking African golf to the next level,” said Gunn.

Springbok rowing coach, Roger Barrow, opened the conference with a presentation on coaching dedication, motivation and attention to detail.

Tony Bennett, Managing Director of Education and Training for the PGAs of Europe, delivered a presentation on worldwide trends in golf, golf coach education in Europe, the European coaching framework and how the golf coach should position himself/herself in the changing environment of the game at present.

“Our high standard of education and the importance we place on this, which has made the organisation a leader in golf education on the continent,” said Gunn.

“The quality of our local expertise was plain to see in the presentation by an experienced coach such as Jamie Gough on coaching the swing, coaching children, health and lifestyle for golf, golf biomechanics, custom fitting and much more.”

Steve Smith, the Director of the World of Golf in Botswana, said the conference was a valuable resource for African countries to draw from.