Deqing, Zhejiang, China: Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) General Manager Nick Shan has stressed the need for golf to expand into schools and communities in China and around the Asia-Pacific region.

Shan shared his views during a keynote session at the 9th GCMC (Golf Club Management Conference) Members’ Annual General Meeting at Longshan Lake International Golf Club.

“It’s crucial for golf to expand into schools and communities. Growing the pool of golfers of different age groups across Asia-Pacific is key to growing the size of market that will enjoy the sport,” Shan told the 250 golf industry professionals in attendance.

“This will also help to provide a continuous depth of golfers that would like to work and support the golf eco-system. This increases the total addressable market for the whole industry which is healthy to continuously improve best practice and standards of excellence.”

Joining Shan as presenters on the topic of ‘Pathways for Regional Co-Ordination’ were GCMC Director Aylwin Tai and Rae-Vadee T. Suwan, Secretary-General of the Thai Golf Foundation and Founder of the Queen Sirikit Cup.

Rae-Vadee detailed the Foundation’s core missions – junior golf promotion, equipment support, tournament hosting, and public welfare programmes – while candidly sharing challenges in volunteer recruitment and retention. “Golf is an investment in people, communities, and the nation’s future,” she said.

Tai closed the session by playing invitation videos from Forest City Golf Resort (Malaysia) and Hoiana Shores Golf Club (Vietnam), extending learning opportunities to all members and industry partners.

Among the prominent figures at the conference were GCMC Deputy Director Zhao Guoxiong and Secretary-General Liao Liwen; Hu Xiaojie, Deputy Secretary-General of Zhejiang Golf Association; and Wen Baijin, Chairman of the host venue.

The three-day forum opened with a retrospective film on GCMC’s 10-year history, followed by pre-recorded congratulatory messages from Dominic Wall, R&A Asia-Pacific Regional Director, and Jason Koenigsfeld, Chief Education Officer at the Club Management Association of America (CMAA).

Wall outlined the R&A’s Asia-Pacific initiatives, including the promotion of women and junior programmes, sustainable course construction, and industry education, emphasising the region’s critical role in global golf development.

Koenigsfeld introduced CMAA’s BMI professional training courses for Asia-Pacific club managers and extended an invitation to GCMC members to attend CMAA’s Centennial Conference in Chicago next February.

Meanwhile, Sean Quinn, Senior Designer at Nicklaus Design, drew on dozens of global case studies to share professional strategies for upgrading existing courses. He emphasised that renovation success lies in streamlining landscaping to restore each course’s original design strengths, outlining five key considerations: pre-project planning, landscape optimisation, team selection, material procurement, and construction co-ordination.

He also predicted that compact nine-hole short courses would emerge as a new industry trend, offering an internationally replicable model for revitalising China’s established courses.