The ASEAN Golf Federation (AGF) is up and running and well on its way to launching the golf industry in the region on a path towards renewed growth and progress.
The charter for this new body, which promises to become a major powerhouse on the golf landscape of Asia was announced at the AGF’s 1st Annual General Meeting held in Singapore in conjunction with the PUTRA Cup tournament, an annual championship which was started 47 years ago by the first Malaysian Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra.
“This is a milestone development for golf in ASEAN and we are indeed inspired by the spontaneous support that we have received from the ten partner countries within ASEAN,” declared a joint communiquà© issued by the outgoing president, Dr Ong Leong Boon who is also the president of Singapore Golf Association and the incoming president, Mr. Rungsrid Luxsitanonda, Thailand Golf Association’s president. Under the Charter, the host country of the PUTRA Cup, will hold the presidency for a year.
The communiquà© said, “The AGF will serve as a platform for all of us to work together to help create a brand new era of growth and expansion for golf and in the spirit of cooperation, we hope to strive to make ASEAN one of the most exciting regions in the world for golf.”
The AGF is represented by national golf associations drawn from the ten member states of ASEAN. The countries include:
Brunei
Cambodia
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Vietnam
The ASEAN region is made up of a population base well in excess of half a billion people. It is reported that there are some 700 golf courses in the region together with a full complement of driving ranges and teaching facilities.
“This constitutes a large and growing market for golf and with the economic expansion that the region is experiencing, we can only look forward to exciting times ahead for the AGF and its members,” the communiquà© pointed out.
Some of the areas that the AGF will endeavour to work on will be to provide a well structured education and training programme for its members. “We have identified this as a major task of the AGF and working together with key international bodies responsible for golf and the golf trade, we will be embarking on an ambitious programme to raise the level of management expertise amongst those who are employed in the golf industry in our region,” the communiquà© revealed.
“One of the main objectives of the AGF is to help our members keep abreast of development in the industry and to assist in drawing up plans to make the ASEAN region one of the finest locations for golf in the world,” the communiquà© emphasized.
Other programmes that the AGF will be examining will include junior golf development and the potential for golf tourism promotion. “These are vital areas for our future growth and we will be making concerted and focused efforts to grow our junior programmes and to see how our members can benefit from golf tourism,” the communiquà© concluded.
The full-time secretariat for the AGF is located in Kuala Lumpur and its Secretary General is Mr. A S Khamis.
Contact details: aseangolffederation@gmail.com