“My name is Steve Oostrom and I reside in Kingston, Ontario. I have been a CGTF member and examiner for over 10 years. I started teaching Conor Rodrigues when he was 4 years old at the Westbrook Golf Club. At the time I was operating Canada’s Favorite Golf Schools in Kingston.

“Conor is a left-handed player who reminded me a lot of myself at that age for the love and passion that he has for the game. He attended almost every junior golf camp that I ran for four years straight and became one of the top junior golfers in the Kingston area.

“At the age of 8, Conor won his first Canadian Junior Golf Association linkster tournament, with a nine-hole score of 39. Now, at age 15, he is a member of the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston, Ontario, and has become one of the top junior golfers in all of Canada. He now plays many of his golf tournaments on the American side, with the American Junior Golf Association.

“There is no question that Conor has a great future in golf, but, most importantly, through golf, he has turned into a polite, respectful and fi ne young individual.”

David Reid, Master Golf Teaching Professional, has been directing the golf development program for the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, for 24 years. During that time he has worked with everyone from Canadian tour players to brand new beginners. Reid was an examiner with the Canadian Golf Teachers Federation for 10 years, and during this time he was instrumental in certifying more than 350 aspiring golf teachers from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Vancouver, British Columbia.

And Reid’s teaching accomplishments continue. He has taught more than 16,000 individual lessons and has a client list of over 10,000 students. The junior program that he conducts in Thunder Bay is the longest running municipal program of its type in North America. More than 6,000 junior participants over the last 24 years testify to its popularity. In the USGTF’s instructional DVD, Marketing Yourself as a Golf Teaching Professional, Reid shares with all USGTF members many of the secrets to the success of this program.

He attained his Level III certification at Hidden Lake in May of 1995 and his Level IV Master’s certification in Port Saint Lucie in 1998. He has participated in several World Golf Teachers Cup events and served as playing captain for Team Canada in 1999.

According to Reid, “Having the opportunity to teach this game has provided so many opportunities for me that I would never otherwise have experience. Mostly, I enjoy providing encouragement to those wanting to improve. Several of my former students have gone on to US colleges and have graduated from golf management programs both in Canada and the United States. They all stay in touch and this of course gives me great satisfaction.”

Just this past summer, we had two USGTF-Singapore teaching professionals, Peter Lim and Clayton Ong, who were instrumental in bringing 294 participants from 87 Singapore schools to compete in a National Schools Handicap/PC Championship. It was a tremendous event and one endorsed by our Ministry of Education.

Our principle of stringent candidate selection for any who desires to teach under the USGTF-Singapore umbrella is beginning to yield subtle dividend. Inevitably, more people have realized the importance of learning golf from candidates who have undergone proper certification, and not just because a teacher is a good player.

USGTF-Singapore is an organization that people here have come to respect.

Note from USGTF-Singapore president, Sammy Oh:
It is with mixed emotions we announce USGTF-Singapore director Ben Ang will be transitioning out of the USGTF-Singapore director role in the very near-term. His tremendous efforts in building the foundation of USGTF-Singapore and maintaining it are very much appreciated. He is so much about quality and doing things right for the WGTF and USGTF-Singapore organizations. This says so much about the character qualities Ben possesses not only in his personal and professional life, but also in his membership and representation of USGTF-Singapore. Please join me in wishing Ben Ang well and much success on all his future endeavors. In the meantime, we are currently looking for a suitable replacement to fi ll the USGTF-Singapore director role. Please contact us at kusgtf@gmail.com if you are interested or would like more information.

“Who wants to teach has to learn and who wants to multiply has to share.” These fundamentals have been the philosophy of the DGTF since our inception. We would like to express our thanks to all who have worked with us to make this possible, like Leo van Bennekom, Kristine Siewers, Donald Armour, Arno Hovius, Henk Beekhof, Sven Muts, Leonard Smid, and many others. We owe special thanks to all professionals who have been willing to share their knowledge with us, like Bob Toski, Gary Wiren, Phil Allen, Thomas T Wartelle, Mark Harman, and the president of the WGTF, Mr. Geoff Bryant.

To honour the tenth anniversary of the DGTF, an invitational tournament was organized on the beautiful links course of the Kennemer Golf & Country Club, a world-class top 100 course and host of the European Tour. The tournament was sponsored by Club Golf Software and Mr. Eric van der Burg, who presented their state-of-the-art golf course management program, which will be presented to the international market later this year.

The DGTF invited all our partners and friends, and we were proud to find ourselves in the presence of many of the major people in the top of the Dutch golfing world. Many top golf course executives, the European Golf Course Owners Association, the Dutch Golf Federation, and many other special guests celebrated this day with us, showing the level of acceptance and maturity of the Dutch Golf Teachers Federation.

In the years to come, we will continue to develop the DGTF and work for what we believe to be one of the greatest contributions to the world of golf, to teach everyone who is inspired and driven to learn, and spread the values of the WGTF.

Our mission is to disperse, “The joy and happiness of playing golf”
Takashi Oya Level III Member

Takashi Oya is one of the most successful teaching professionals and business men in the golf teaching business here in Japan. We are proud to introduce him to members around the world.

Hello, my name is Takashi Oya. I have been a member of USGTF Japan since 2002. I am COO of the golf teaching company GEN-TEN (www.genten.jp). We have over 6,000 customers, with 13 instructors, and have set up teaching and coaching activities at 21 golf courses leased throughout Japan.

“Generally speaking, most traditional golf teachers still use driving range or indoor facilities with the help of a golf simulator, etc. Some golfers may enjoy just hitting balls all day long. However, I believe golf is designed to be an outdoor sport. People will not get the real sense of joy that comes from playing golf under a roof. In 2005, I developed golf lessons specifically using a golf course to help give students a real taste of the ‘joy and happiness of playing golf.’

“However, I encountered a big challenge. The owners of golf courses were reluctant to let us hit balls on the fairway because we might damage the turf. Well, one well-known professor at a college agricultural department suggested that there were three different purposes of grass at any golf course, and therefore three different categories: grass to use, grass to see, and grass to reinforce the slope face. This concept really was the breakthrough that helped persuade club owners to accept my plan.

“My teaching concept gave considerable impact to other teaching pros and golf schools, and as a result, a few other instructors have also started to teach lessons on the fairway, and that number has been increasing considerably in recent years. It is also a positive influence on the golf industry in Japan, because hitting balls off the natural turf, rather than a sliding clubhead on the mat, almost feels like a different sport for most new golfers. They might have known about playing off the turf, but didn’t know how to do it or how it feels. Because of this, we are attracting a lot of attention as a pioneer in the market.”

The key success factors which lead to our success can be broken down into these four points:
1. Good Golf Courses
d access and provide a practice environment. Most golf courses in Japan have been constructed in areas away from a city, requiring a one-hour or more drive, and surprisingly, of these golf courses, only 20 percent or less have driving ranges. I carefully select, negotiate and make agreements with golf courses that meet these conditions.

2. Excellent Instructors
We employ a dozen excellent certified instructors from USGTF Japan. They have a standardized swing theory, reliable teaching techniques and skills. We are unique, since all our teaching professionals have taken their training from USGTF Japan. This has helped to improve the quality and consistency of our teaching.

3. Two-Way Communication Marketing
We update our website daily to give students new ideas and information. It is a marketing technique that emphasizes two-way communication with our students/customers. Instructors update a customized lesson diary in their blog, so that a customer may review the lesson and provide feedback on the feelings he or she had during and after the lesson. It makes for continuing communications with the instructor. This helps to keep a relationship with the customer that is very important to our business.

4. Our Vision
Our mission is to teach the joy and happiness of playing golf. Most golfers who come to us don’t know or forget how to enjoy playing golf. This happens because many teachers teach the swing mechanism only. Therefore, we teach the joy and happiness of playing golf from the very beginning. Happiness gives students the incentive to progress. Happiness enhances the desire to improve skills. ‘Golf is a game and it should be fun.’

“We will continue renewing these key success factors to greatly infl uence the improvement of our golf lessons, both now and into future. Our success has helped me to commit to continuing to take a leading role in this area of the golf teaching business.”

I, Peter T. David, would like my name remembered as the golf teaching professional who made a difference in the lives of West Indian local golf pros. I have started a charitable junior golf program for the less fortunate children of St. Lucia as a way to seek new talent for the future of golf in my country. By so doing, I can guide the path of those junior golfers and help show them the way which was showed to me by Stuart Woodman, which did shape up my life to being a decent citizen.

I will serve my Caribbean fellow golf professionals with the highest level of respect for their profession. However, they will have to take the full ECGTF certification course to attain their qualification, which will also be under the guidance of the president of the USGTF, Mr. Geoff Bryant, myself, and the committee in place to handle the certification program.

I will also set up the ECGTF Cup as a pro-am event, where professionals will have a chance to bring their best students to compete against the best teaching pros and their teams as an annual event, where we will also invite all other teaching pros from the USGTF and the WGTF to participate.

Golf teaching professionals out of the Caribbean can now look at a change in the way they will teach the game. We can learn how to make a successful industry.

In unprecedented fashion, green fees were waived for the first time in a competition for domestic professionals. USGTF-Korea’s director, Kim Yong Ho, stated that USGTF-Korea was happy to be able to waive the financial burden of green fees, allowing members to focus on building relationships with each other. With each of our members’ knowledgeable and resourceful backgrounds, these rare opportunities help synergistically and “colorfully” build upon the already strong network among our members. Oak Hills Country Club director Kang Tae Su said the growing population and increase of national golf teaching activities enable leaders to have the means to sponsor events like this.

Participants of the tournament are divided into Senior, Middle Senior, Regular, and Women’s divisions, with age groupings in each division. Cho Myeong Rae won the Senior division with a score of 72; Choi Ji Sun was runner-up with a 73. Middle Senior division winner was Park Sang Yong with a score of 71; Choi Jong Dae was runner-up with a 74. Regular division winner was Jun Yu Hee; Lee Min Gu was runner-up with a score of 76. Women’s division winner was Kim Eun Ji; Kang Hee Sook was runner-up. The tournament also gave special recognition and an appreciation plaque to Master Teaching Professional Ryu Ju Young, who is the USGTF- Korea director of the 9th chapter. The tournament award ceremony was held by USGTF-Korea director Kim, education chairman Lee Hak-O, round chairman Kim Gu Sik, and Oak Hills director Kang.

USGTF-Korea currently consists of 9,500 members. 500 of these leaders are “born” into USGTF-Korea every year. USGTF-Korea president Sammy Oh relays USGTF-Korea’s goal is to continue to teach these leaders how to develop expert golf training skills, as well as continuing to organize greater prize money tournaments every year, allowing for continued relationship and career building opportunities.

This facility is set in the picturesque Dee Valley at Tongland, just outside Kirkcudbright in South West Scotland and the clubhouse offers some stunning views of the surrounding countryside.

Brian is a WGTF of Great Britain and Ireland coach and has forged strong links with many local schools, for coaching junior golfers. His premises have earned sports club accreditation status with Dumfries and Galloway Council.

At Brian’s facility, coaching is also delivered through the Scottish government’s club golf program which has targeted all Scottish primary school pupils.

One of the things we like to do at all of our courses is to use real life candidates for training purposes. The
accompanying photo shows some of the students, along with our participants.

Earlier this year, USGTF-Thailand renovated and expanded its facility. A few of the additions this year are a brand new classroom with an indoor putting green, a fitness room, and a club fitting room to further enhance the USGTF-Thailand learning program.

At our brand new facility, we are not only teaching golf but we are also educating our students in anatomy, biomechanics and basic physical assessment for golf teaching professionals. We firmly believe those who pass USGTF-Thailand’s certification course must be the absolute best in their field.

Currently, USGTF-Thailand is working with the national performance institute on coaching ten Thailand tour players who play in the Japan Golf Tour, the Asian Tour, and the China Tour. A few of these players touring are: Prayad Marksaeng, Thammanoon Sriroj, and Thidapa Suwannapura. The USGTF-Thailand also proudly lends our support to government of Thailand Sport Science Division.

Note from USGTF-Thailand President, Sammy Oh: Natthanon has been doing a great job of taking his time and laying the groundwork for building a strong USGTF-Thailand foundation. We want to take this opportunity to appreciate all the great work he is doing with USGTF-Thailand.

One of our main goals is to increase the popularity of golf among our young generation. As a result, we expect to attract as many kids as possible. We want to involve them in different golf activities. This requires the creation and development of golf programs for children in Bulgaria.

We have developed several junior golf training programs, using the potential of golf simulators.

“THE GOLF AND I”
This is a comprehensive junior golf training program with modules for introducing the game and step-by-step development of junior’s golf skills.

• First Touch to Golf – Nine-week beginner’s entertaining junior program – Golf and Girls, Golf and Boys, Golf and You, Golf and Your Family. This program introduces individual and group training (no more than four people) and includes basics of golf.

• Play and Learn – Nine-week indoor golf program. Step-by-step improvement of golf playability skills, rules of the game, and etiquette.

• The Basics for Tots – Six-week entertaining package for ages 4-6. Includes basics of golf and special games.

• Green Card – Get ready for golf course exam. We are looking for involving our Bulgarian schools and colleges in indoor and outdoor regular systematic annual Junior Training Program.

We are looking to involve our Bulgarian schools and colleges in indoor and outdoor regular systematic annual junior training programs.

Our next step will be to work on converting Bulgaria as a junior golf training center for Balkans and southeast Europe. This includes worldwide junior camps and tournaments. These projects will bring the game of golf into the next level of popularity in our country and will help young people to obtain unique experiences in friendship and sportsmanship.

World Golf Teachers Federation of Bulgaria is open for all suggestions and proposals from individuals from other WGTF member nations.

WGTF-Austria held a series of seminars this past year. Among them were a physics seminar and a sports medicine seminar. The physics seminar was conducted by Dr. Christian Haid. Dr. Haid pointed out that the golf swing presents various strains on the body, and he presented some ways to achieve a healthier swing. Seminar participants also viewed their own swings with a high-speed camera to see where they could be improved from a health viewpoint. Members who attended the seminar also pointed out that a professional always applicable to the average amateur, and that it’s important to consider an individual’s physical condition before embarking on a lesson program.

The sports medicine seminar was conducted by Dr. Holger Herwegen, one of the leading fi gures in sports medicine. An important part of the seminar was the revelation of the amount of physical stress that golf can deliver to a person’s body. During the four hours or so a walking player takes, the appropriate programs that involved useful training exercises.

These seminars are part of WGTF-Austria’s effort to keep the WGTF as the leading teaching organization in the world.

Callaway has invited and USGTF-China has accepted the offer of acting as the “training consultant” in this program. For the fi rst six months, USGTF-China will be responsible for training all the club members with regard to video analysis, communication skills, marketing, self-packaging and promotion, and teaching psychology. Further training will be arranged depending on needs in the future. USGTF-China will tailor training modules for the club. Training will started in October 2011.

USGTF-China has just completed its most recent certifi cation course in Shanghai. Twenty-one candidates participated in this program. As in the past, classroom training was conducted at Fudan University and the playing ability test was at Tainma Golf Club. The weather was excellent during this period of time. All candidates enjoyed the training and played well during the PAT.

USGTF-China has conducted a “practical skill” training course of seven days to some 15 professors of Beijing University. Beijing University is the No. 1 college in China and the “dragon head” in our educational system. All their students and teachers are literally the best in the country and role models to people in the fi eld. The purpose of us holding this training is to introduce and promote the USGTF brand to the No. 1 university in China.

When we introduce the USGTF and its teaching system to the professors and train them, we are well received. The professors are content and acknowledge our teaching system is superior for their students. They will endeavor to bring the USGTF system into all other universities and colleges in China.

Rudi van Heerden (33) from Orkney, Lionel Wearne (58) from Durban, Hermann Spangenberg (41) from Montagu in the Cape Province, Gary Pouponneau from the Seychelles, Raymond Garnell (26) from Klerksdorp, and Luke Kincaid (26) from Badplaas.

Gerdus Barnard is a new SAGTF examiner and has been instrumental in this capacity. Gerdus has been through some rigorous training the past two years and has formed a very special and unique way of communicating effectively with the course participants.

We look forward to the upcoming summer months here in South Africa and we’ll be conducting courses at Akasia Golf Club in Pretoria again. We trust that all the WGTF federations and their staff are doing well in promoting the game that we all love so much.

According to Billington, “There are already a number of GTF teaching professionals in Spain from various countries and I have already connected with many of them and will ensure that they are supported and feel part of a larger team.

“My mission is that the Spanish public be given the opportunity to learn how to teach and to build a first class reputation within the golf environment.”

My immediate goals in launching this business are to secure venues from which to host training, to develop relationships in the various sectors driving the golf industry in Portugal and to widely market this wonderful opportunity for aspiring golf teachers to earn certification credentials.

I look forward to learning from the experiences of the other WGTF member nations, and am particularly interested in joining the European golf teachers’ community. I recognize that the European Golf Teacher’s Cup, organized by the Netherlands chapter, was held in Algarve, Portugal, last November, which reaffirms my dedication to develop a teacher training school in my home country, and inspires me to have a Portuguese team competing in WGTF events in 2012. I remember being impressed several years ago, when I golfed in the resort areas of southern Portugal, that my USGTF credentials were honored for professional discounts on greens fees. I assume the credit for this recognition is due to the initiative and visibility of our European chapters and our vacationing members worldwide.

Thank you, Geoff Bryant, My congratulations to the WGTF chapters who have preceded me, for the impact you have made. for making this opportunity accessible to me, and to Jennifer Russakis at USGTF National Office for your expert help with all of the administrative and technical start-up details.

Since the late 1990s the fascination for golf has been increasing, and there have been a rapid increase both in the construction of new courses and driving ranges. A number of stand-alone golf ranges have also been established, and IGTF was one of the first institutions to offer prospective golfers an opportunity to take to the game in their 22-bay driving range with a 9-hole executive golf course in 2003 in Bangalore.

In the last decade alone, India has added over 100 courses, and some of them have come up in small towns (which a few years back was unheard of). IGTF has been contributing in a positive way towards the growth and development of the game by feeding the system with coaches which are in great demand in this part of the world.

In continuation of our efforts to keep the supply of qualified coaches, more certification courses will be offered. Please check our website, www.indiangtf.com.

As the accessibility and number of courses have increased, golf tourism is another area which IGTF offers to golfers from around the globe who are planning golf holidays to India. The summer months of May to July can host golfers in Bangalore, Coorg, and Ootacamund (Ooty). One can also plan to play on the heavenly exotic Royal Springs Golf Course in Srinagar.

The FOST is an international tournament format designed to encourage a new generation of junior golfers in Hong Kong and China, and in years to come, in other Asian nations. In coming years, most Asian nations will fi eld a team of golfers to represent their country at the Olympic level. This tournament is to give junior golfers the feel of higher-level international competition and to foster relations between countries (as well as the cultural experiences for each golf student). Eight children, sponsored for winning the Hong Kong final in their respective age groups, came to play the Australian students.

In a keenly fought final, the Australian contingent with home soil advantage gained the upper hand and won all age categories.

Winners:
Age 5-7: Sebastion Block 118, Josh Chong (HK) 124, Joel Smith 128
Age 8-10: David O’Donnell 118, Jackson Chong (HK) 120
Age 11-13: Corey Haase 85, Shannon Dawkins 88
Age 14-16: Daniel Staples 85, Ben Suen (HK) 92
Age 17-19: Braden Christofferson 77

As it was the very fi rst time for such young golfers from Hong Kong to come to Australia to play in a serious competition, the local media gave very good coverage of the event. Lilian Lee, the FOST competition director, was very impressed with the performance of all participants and pleased that, besides golf, the junior golfers (as well as the parents) greatly benefited from the cultural exchange.

“All players will definitely have higher incentives to improve their game when they go home, and I wish we could make the event a bigger one with more countries involved next year,” Lee said.

The young golfers and their families from both countries enjoyed the experience of competition as well as the personal relationships that they established.

It is our hope that in 2012 we could have many WGTF nations run their own FOST tournament and send students to Australia for the 2012 fi nals for a truly international junior competition. Please visit www.FutureStarsTour.com for further information, and contact andrew@australiangolfacademy.com if you are interested in your GTF participating in year 2012.