Victorious Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn was one of many highlights for PGA Professionals and Partners attending the annual TGI Golf Business Conference at the glorious Trump Turnberry Resort last week.
The big Dane, who brought along the famous gold trophy, was one of a number of speakers who passed on anecdotes and pearls of wisdom to Partners of golf’s leading retail services group during two days of seminars. He shared some memorable stories from behind the scenes of Europe’s victory at Le Golf National last September, as well as answering a number of questions from the floor.
Mike Schy, the long-term coach of Bryson DeChambeau, also spoke, giving Partners a fascinating insight into the world number five, as well as his own thoughts and philosophies on junior coaching and One-Length clubs, claiming: “People think Bryson’s a mad scientist…he’s not the mad scientist, you’re looking at him.”
Social media ‘content creator’ Mark Crossfield, retail and customer satisfaction guru Ian Kelsall, Phil Barnard, President of Crossover Technologies and Foresight Sports’ Justin Sandler all conducted seminars on the first day of the event, passing on skills, knowledge and insight that will help the group’s PGA Professionals in their own businesses.
More than a third of TGI Golf’s Partners attended the event to enhance their business acumen, including PGA Professionals from some of the UK & Ireland’s leading clubs and retailers such as Royal Troon, Royal Portrush, Notts (Hollinwell) and Golfsupport.
The event, now in its seventh year, is laid on free of charge for Partners of TGI Golf and gives them the opportunity to learn from figures who are leaders in their field of expertise, giving Partners the perfect kick start to the season ahead.
Ardglass PGA Professional, Paul Vaughan, who was named TGI Golf Partner of the Year, at the group’s annual awards staged during the event, sees the Business Conference as a must attend for Partners. He said: “It’s unreal here. It’s a great way to start the year and motivate you for the season. You learn so much for the speakers, but it’s also a good way to network and catch up with fellow PGA Pros you don’t always see and take things from what they’re doing to implement into your own business.”
Howley Hall PGA Professional Ryan Rastall, added: “The Business Conference is a fabulous event, I think Partners are silly not to come. You get to come to a beautiful resort like Turnberry, sit in a room with like-minded people and pick up ideas and that can only be good for you and your business. Not to mention the seminars which are all incredibly useful, learning a variety of skills from customer satisfaction and building your brand to speaking to the Ryder Cup winning captain – why wouldn’t you come?”
For the first time there was also a Brand Showcase at the event, giving the group’s Partners the opportunity to speak to some brands they perhaps don’t get to see on a regular basis and see some potential new products to stock.