Phuket, Thailand: The second PGA of Great Britain and Ireland Members’ International Conference proved to be bigger and better in 2018 following its return to Thailand’s Laguna Phuket Resort.
Last month’s conference brought together almost 50 PGA Members and delegates from 16 countries to one of Asia’s finest fully-integrated resorts and home of the first PGA-branded facility in Thailand.
The conference was an opportunity for PGA Chief Executive Robert Maxfield and his management team to outline their vision and future plans for the association, an Executive Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.
Maxfield said: “We are delighted with the positive response and feedback we have had from PGA Members about the 2018 conference. We wanted to build on the success of last year’s event, and I firmly believe we’ve raised the bar this time around.
“That was largely down to a fantastic line-up of speakers who were all very well received from delegates. This was a fantastic platform for us to reach out to our overseas members to gain feedback about what they want from the association. We hope this becomes an event for diaries each year.”
Attendees heard from leading figures from the golf industry who shared their experiences and passed on invaluable advice. Highlights included a presentation by highly-respected performance coach Ian Peek, while Richard Hughes delivered an engaging workshop about the impact of using modern technology.
Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club’s Peter Downie spoke about how investing at the Hong Kong facility has led to an increase in member satisfaction and engagement.
There were also presentations by Mike Orloff, owner of Australian media platform ‘Golf Industry Central’, Asian golf travel expert Mark Siegel, Carl Heaton, Founder of training company Web Courses Bangkok, Simon Wordsworth of PGA Partner 59Club, Bruce Williams, Syngenta’s Global Head of Marketing Mark Birchmore and James Cronk.
Paul Wilson, Assistant Vice President/Group Golf Director of Laguna Golf, said: “We were glad to be the host venue for the PGA Members’ International Conference for the second year running with PGA Members from around the world gathering at our integrated destination resort.
“It has been a pleasure working with the PGA since the signing of our branded golf academy, and we look forward to working together with the association even more closely in the years to come.”