The launch of a Danang Conference and the eagerly-awaited resumption of the Certificate in Greenkeeping (CIG) programme were among the Asian Golf Industry Federation highlights in 2022.
“After enduring a challenging period during the Covid-19 pandemic, 2022 was the year when the AGIF further underlined its standings as a key organisation within the region’s golfing industry,” said AGIF President Chris Gray, addressing members during the annual general meeting.
Gray, Head of Sustainable Golf & Agronomy, Asia-Pacific, at The R&A, said it was now important to maintain the momentum into the New Year. “The Board of Directors has identified additional educational and regional networking events, as well as club management education, as key priorities for 2023,” he said. “Now that the Board of Directors has been finalised following our annual general meeting, we look forward to sharing more specific information about these plans in the weeks ahead.”
Organised in partnership with the BRG Group and Danang Tourism, the first edition of the AGIF Danang Conference took place at the end of August, embracing the themes of Golf Tourism, Sustainability Strategies and Women in Golf. Held at the BRG Group-owned Sheraton Grand Hotel, the conference attracted more than 100 delegates from across Vietnam as well as from India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The conference formed an integral part of a week-long golfing festival that also saw BRG Da Nang Golf Resort play host to a 54-hole event on the Asian Development Tour, the Asian Tour’s feeder circuit.
Gray said: “Our thanks go to the BRG Group and Danang Tourism as well as gold sponsor Toro and silver sponsors John Deere and Rain Bird. Without their support, putting together the AGIF Danang Conference at such short notice would not have been possible. The overwhelming feedback from the Conference was that Asia needs a credible annual event that unites the industry. To that end, we’re committed to growing the Conference into the region’s premier gathering of the golfing industry.”
In regard to the CIG, Gray said moves are afoot to expand the programme into new countries in Asia and the Middle East. Following a 2½-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 2022 saw unfinished courses being completed and new intakes welcomed in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, the CIG’s first Introductory Course in Vietnam at Long Bien Golf Course attracted a full intake of 22 students representing many of the country’s best-known golfing facilities. All materials were translated into Vietnamese.
The Progression Course is due to be staged in Danang in March with the Confirmation Course scheduled for Ho Chi Minh City in October. A second Introductory Course is also in the planning in the second quarter of 2023.
In partnership with the New Zealand Sports Turf Institute and with backing from The R&A, the CIG was launched in 2018 with the specific aim of improving the professional knowledge of greenkeeping staff and providing an educational framework for the golf greenkeeping industry in the region. AGIF members Jacobsen, Jebsen & Jessen, John Deere, Syngenta and Toro are Education Partners in the programme.
“Special thanks go to Education Committee Chairman Richard Walne, committee members Henry Ng and James Gordon and AGIF Membership and Administration Manager PK Ong for all their efforts,” said Gray.