Foremost Golf has launched a series of Educational Workshops aimed at developing the skills of its members and establishing their credentials as key employees at their respective golf clubs.
One of the aims of the five regional Workshops is to begin the process of transforming their pro shops into Centres of Excellence and to help improve their standing in all key areas of the golf club.
Foremost members who sign up for the Workshops will also be given expert advice on how to differentiate themselves from their off-course competitors by highlighting tuition, custom fitting and other services only a qualified PGA on-course member can provide.
The first of the five workshops will be held at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel in Bristol on February 28th, before heading onto Guildford, Livingston and Harrogate, before finishing in Birmingham on March 14th.
The Workshops are approved by the PGA and attendance counts towards the Continual Professional Development (CPD) programme. Information collated from the Workshops will be shared, allowing the PGA to organise future presentations for non-Foremost professionals at which Foremost will assist if required.
“We believe the new Educational Workshops will offer members invaluable advice at a time when the future of the PGA professional is being threatened like never before,” said Paul Hedges, CEO of Foremost Golf Ltd.
“The simple fact is that some clubs now seem to view the services of a professional as a bit of luxury and we need to address that criticism and show that it’s simply not true. The key is to educate our members in a wide range of subjects that will help them to sharpen their business skills and to develop the expertise required to play a more central role in club life,” added Hedges.
“We need to help members to overcome their current challenges and protect their futures in an ever-more competitive business world.”
Foremost Golf’s new Educational Workshops are to be run in conjunction with Miller Brown and Crossover Technologies.
Paul Sanders (from Miller Brown) is a tutor on the PGA’s professional development programme for the past five years, and a man with considerable retail experience, working with Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and other leading high street outlets. He also has a deep understanding of golf retailing, having worked across the spectrum of golf retail, ranging from municipal operators to some of the best-known venues in the game, including The Belfry and Valderrama. He has been designing golf shops around the world for over 20 years and regularly speaks at golf events, including Golf Europe and the inaugural PGA/Foremost show at Harrogate.
Crossover Technologies is renowned for its success in providing electronic point of sales systems (EPOS) for small and medium-sized retailers. It offers an extensive range of products, from simple point of sales solutions to multi-site fully integrated club systems. All systems are backed by a dedicated support centre, and are continually evolving. New innovations include Points4Golf, CPC (Common Product Code) and Stock Trac, systems designed specifically to make businesses more profitable and easier to run.
Foremost’s Educational Workshops www.foremostgolf.com
The 5 educational Workshops
- South West – Ramada Jarvis Hotel, Bristol North, Avon – Monday February 28th
- South East – Ramada Jarvis Hotel, Guildford, Surrey – Thursday March 3rd
- Scotland – Deer Park Golf & Country Club, Livingston, Scotland – March 7th
- North East – Ramada Jarvis Hotel, Harrogate, North Yorkshire – March 9th
- Midlands – Ramada Birmingham North, Staffordshire – March 14th