The Professional Golfers’ Association has invested in the development of its www.pga.info site, which includes a host of innovative features aimed at helping PGA members, amateur enthusiasts, and would-be golfers.
PGA commercial director Mike Gray believes novices or players on the move will appreciate the’find your nearest golf club’ service, which takes only seconds to provide contact details of the nearest clubs and their pros across the whole of the UK.
Another sophistication is that the site also provides constantly updated weather information, so golfers can discover the conditions they are likely to face when they reach their chosen course.
Among its other features are details of the PGA’s training programmes, including its National Diploma scheme, and the BA (Hons) Golf Studies degree it has launched with the University of Birmingham. More detailed information on these programmes and their future delivery will be provided from a members-only area.
There is a comprehensive round up of UK and European tournament activity, the latest information about the forthcoming Ryder Cup matches, etiquette and simple rulings of the game, and full details of all the European tours. World golfing news is covered via Reuters with the latest information about all major golfing events including the forthcoming 34th Ryder Cup matches.
A section on the history of the Association offers background information and archived data on the PGA, its members and its partners, plus a wide range of contact details within the world of golf.
Although the PGA Collection of clothes, equipment and clubs is displayed, there is no e-commerce element to the platform but a facility for finding the nearest stockist is planned.
The service will be operated in-house by the commercial department at the PGA’s headquarters ensuring that the information is always as up-to-date as possible.
The new platform is intended to meet the needs of professionals, amateur players and enthusiasts, alike. “We didn’t want to go for a site with ‘Flash’ intros, pop-up graphics and intrusive advertisements, which would distract from the initial purpose – to provide information on golf,” said Mike Gray. “The PGA site is intended to be a professional, efficient and functional means of providing information about all aspects of our activities and those of our partners. We now want it to become the first point of contact for anyone interested in golf.”
The new site and its sophisticated technology were designed by TM Communications.
PGA Information www.pga.info