Representatives of all golf’s major tours as well as commercial industry heavyweights will come together in a hugely impressive line-up of speakers when GolfEx Dubai 2007 takes to the floor at the Madinat Conference Centre on 28-29 January 2007.
As well as representatives from the PGA European Tour, the Sunshine Tour and the Asian Tour, the two-day event has also attracted key figures from the Ladies European Tour and the USPGA for the second staging of a global golfing summit that continues to grow in popularity among golf industry insiders.
“We’ve been saying all along that we were convinced that our speaker list for 2006 would eclipse that of our debut year,” said Neil Hamp-Adams, managing director of event promoters and organisers, the Dubai-based Driving Force. “I think you only have to look at the speaker line-up at the Madinat Conference Centre to see that GolfEx Dubai 2007 will certainly take the event to a new level.”
Teeing off with an opening ceremony and a keynote speech from former PGA European Tour chief Ken Schofield on 28 January, the opening day will continue with the Ladies European Tour executive director Alex Armas addressing the issue of “More Women In Golf”. Also scheduled for day one are Roddy Carr from IMG Tourism and Visit Wales marketing director Roger Pride on the subject of “Marketing and Distribution Through Golf”, while R&A director of golf development Duncan Weir will tackle the issue of “Promoting Grass Roots Golf”.
The rest of the opening day will look at golf course design and management. Troon Golf’s senior vice president of operations Bruce Glasco, IMG Golf Course Services’ Patrick Bowers and Dubai Golf managing director Rod Bogg will offer a three-way discussion on “Golf Course Management ‘Enhancing Revenue Opportunities’” before golf course designers Peter Harradine, Jeremy Slessor and Howard Swan discuss “Signature Design vs. Non-Signature Design”.
Troon Golf’s senior vice president of science and agronomy Jeff Spangler will close the opening day with an in-depth look at the challenges of “Maintaining a Desert Course.”
The second day will get underway when a packed house is expected to hear eight-time European Number One Colin Montgomerie give his maiden speech at GolfEx Dubai 2007. Monty’s presentation will be followed by a look at the subject of the “Commercial Development of Golf Internationally” by IMG’s senior vice president and managing director of golf, North America Mark Steinberg.
Also scheduled for day two are Rupert Hampel, joint managing director of European Tour Productions and Thierry Pascal, the USPGA Tour’s international TV director ( “Global Trends in Golf Television”) and a global tour round table discussion between representatives of the USPGA, the PGA European Tour, the Asian Tour, the Sunshine Tour and the Ladies European Tour.
The Golf Course Superintendents’ Association of America’s (GCSAA) CEO Steve Mona is also scheduled to speak on the challenges facing his industry, before Ken Schofield returns to join IMG Golf Division senior vice president Guy Kinnings and ISM managing director Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler for a discussion on “Making Sponsorship Work Harder For The Client”. GolfEx Dubai 2007 will then be brought to a close following a speech from the Sunshine Tour Commissioner Johan Immelman.
“We are extremely excited and proud at seeing so many respected names on the list of speakers,” added Hamp-Adams. “I am sure delegates and exhibitors will be spoiled for choice when it comes to attending the conference.”
Although primarily a conference, GolfEx Dubai 2007 will also host a trade exhibition and dinner to enable the golfing world to share knowledge, broker business deals, network with the leading figures and experts in the industry in order to drive the game into the future.
In the United Arab Emirates alone over $550,000.000 has been invested in golf projects which are in the planning or construction stages. This includes just the courses in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and RAK. It includes neither the recent re-developments of both the Wadi course at Emirates Golf Club, The Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club and nor does it include the recently completed Al Badia Golf Resort and spa and Arabian Ranches. An estimate of all the money invested in golf in the UAE since 2000 would produce a figure of over $1,000,000,000.
Add to this an additional $450,000,000 that is currently invested regionally, in countries such as Saudi, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, India and Pakistan and it becomes clear that business is booming.
Golf Ex Dubai has been established to help suppliers of all types of golfing products and services to break into this market, to put them in touch with the people involved. Exhibition space is available by contacting aidan@drivingforce.ae
GolfEx Dubai www.golf-ex.com