Victorious European captains Catriona Matthew and Paul McGinley were the star turns at the eighth annual TGI Golf Business Conference, which was held at Trump Turnberry from February 4-5 and attended by over 200 partners of the retail services group and their guests from across the UK and Ireland.
Matthew, fresh off the back of one of the most thrilling Solheim Cups ever was interviewed on stage by BBC Sport’s Eilidh Barbour and gave TGI partners an insight into life behind the scenes at Gleneagles last year. McGinley closed the show with an outstanding seminar on leadership, leaning on his experience as a captain and vice-captain of countless Ryder Cup teams, including as skipper of the victorious 2014 team at Gleneagles.
Partners were also able to enhance their skills with seminars from customer service expert Ian Kelsall, Crossover Technologies’ Phil Barnard, and James MacCaig of Foresight Sports. There was also a seminar on email marketing led by Leah Miranda, Campaign Monitor’s Senior Manager, who flew in from the headquarters of TGI Golf’s email marketing provider which is based in Nashville, USA,
Eddie Reid, TGI Golf Managing Director, said: “The TGI Golf Business Conference provides our Partners with the perfect kick start to the season at a quiet time of year. We have seen a great cross-section of our Partners here, from the guys at some of the most prestigious clubs in the world, through to guys with driving ranges, but every single one of them has left here buoyant having learnt new skills to implement into their business.
“I’d like to thank everyone for coming along, to our Partner Suppliers for assisting with star speakers. The fact we had a seminar speaker willing to fly in from across the Atlantic to be with us shows the high regard in which TGI Golf and this event is held.”
David Ross, Head PGA Professional at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, added: “It’s been another excellent event. It’s the boost we need at this time of year to give you ideas for the coming season and the spark you need to get going. It’s always been a successful event and I’ll continue to come every year.”
Simon Race, PGA Professional at Meltham Golf Club, said: “It’s been a great couple of days chatting to other pros, getting ideas and finding out what they do that works that could work for you. The seminars provide outstanding information; the Crossover session and email marketing seminars were great, giving us some sound ideas to implement ourselves. Listening to Paul McGinley and Catriona Mathew was also inspiring.”
The conference also saw the handing out of the annual TGI Awards, the details of which can be read here.