Technical staff from AGIF Members, namely Bernhard, Jacobsen and Toro, participated in a series of week-long courses in Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. They conducted training sessions on golf course equipment maintenance with a focus on maintenance of reel and rotary mowers, preventative maintenance and safe operation of turfgrass equipment, and delegates were encouraged to get their hands on reel set up and how to perform maintenance checks.

More than 100 delegates from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan participated in this first ever seminar – they ranged from golf course superintendents to mechanics to club general managers and even greens committee members. 2011 was the first year of what is hoped to be a three year education endeavor. AGIF hopes to continue support for this program and information on the 2012 program will be shared with all AGIF Members in due course as the Education sub-committee looks for expertise from within the AGIF membership to support these education sessions.

Steve Wilson from Bernhard said, “It was a wonderful opportunity to support the golf industry in India with much needed education. Delivering education was the first priority, however we were also able to meet golf course managers and expand our network within India. Being a member of the AGIF opened the door to this event. I’m not aware of any other organization in Asia that could have provided such an opportunity.”

Feedback from the delegates was extremely positive too. Comments like ‘the training was delivered at just the right level for year one” and “I’m looking forward to building my knowledge with next year’s training” were received.

To learn more about this training session, check out the following links:-

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/asianturfgrass/sets/72157628114647000/detail/ 
• http://www.randa.org/en/TheGolfCourse/The-golf-course/News/News/2011/November/Indian-Golf-Union.aspx
• http://www.blog.asianturfgrass.com/2011/12/turfgrass-teaching-in-india.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+viridescent+%28Viridescent+-+the+Asian+Turfgrass+Center+blog%29

The panel was jointly organized by GCSAA and CMAA China Chapter held alongside the Asia Golf Show and brought together industry leaders – Dominic Wall (R&A), Rhett Evans (GCSAA), Jonathan Smith (Golf Environment Organization) and Joe Steranka (PGA of America) – to discuss the importance of a sustainable approach to golf course maintenance while also touching on a subject of major importance to the Chinese golf industry, water conservation.

Speaking to a room full of interested golf club managers and operators, the panel discussed how golf clubs should address the environment, utilize limited water resources and outlined where managers and facilities can get insight, guidance, and certification that will make a positive impact on their respective club’s image and bottom line.

Dominic Wall shared information on water conservation and solutions and illustrated some successful case studies from Europe. Jonathan Smith also shared how clubs can run responsible yet a resource efficient business in our ecologically rich environment and provided information on their environment certification programs.

Dates of the 5-days training meetings are as follows:-

• East Zone (RCGC, Kolkata) – 7^th till 11^th November
• North Zone (Army Golf Course, New Delhi) – 14^th till 18^th November
• West Zone (BPGC, Mumbai) – 21^st till 25^th November
• South Zone (Eagleton, Bangalore) – 28^th November till 2^nd December

Check out IGU’s website at www.indiangolfunion.org for more information on this event.

The Asian Golf Industry Federation is proud to be associated with this program and we thank our members – Bernhard & Company, Jacobsen and Toro – for assisting to deliver the training sessions.

Alan is a main-board Director of Ransomes Jacobsen Ltd, a division of Jacobsen Textron. Originally from UK, he relocated with his family to Singapore in July 2011 to take up his new appointment as Managing Director for Asia Pacific.

He joined Textron in 1996 after having worked with their distributors in key account and sales management roles. From Regional Manager (UK) in Jacobsen division of Textron, he was appointed Manager UK Branches in year 2000, Sales Manager UK and Ireland in 2003, and Sales Director of the EMEA and India business in 2004. He has experience working with various environmental organizations when he was based in Europe.

Alan studied Agricultural Engineering in college – he subsequently received further training in business finance and general management, completing several Textron University courses in the US at the same time.

Notice of meeting and the various prescribed forms have been emailed to all AGIF members.

All members are reminded of the following important points:-

• Registrations for the meeting will commence at 2.15 pm – please be punctual.
• The member is allowed to send 1 corporate representative – who is the current corporate nominee as per the AGIF membership roll – to represent it at the meeting.
• For the purpose of this meeting only, in event the corporate nominee is not able to attend, the member can nominate another representative who is 21 years old and above to represent it at the meeting. The name of the representative should be submitted to the Secretariat no later than Thursday 13 October 2011.
• Only corporate nominees and / or their designated representatives or proxies are allowed admission to the meeting.
• Only Charter and Ordinary members have voting rights. Each member is allowed one vote.
• In event voting is required, voting by proxy for members who are not physically present will be allowed. The proxy, name clearly indicated on the prescribed Proxy Form, must be a Board of Committee Member.
• The positions opened for nominations and elections to the Board of Committee Members are those of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and 4 to 8 Committee Members. All nominations must be completed on prescribed Nomination Forms and received by the Secretariat no later than Tuesday 11 October 2011.
• Any member desiring to submit at the AGM a motion shall give notice of such motion in writing to the Secretary within 10 days from 26 September 2011. Your motion(s) must be received by the Secretariat no later than Thursday 6 October 2011. Acknowledgement of receipt will be sent for motion(s) received within 2 working days; otherwise the motion(s) is / are deemed not received and hence will not be tabled at the AGM.
• It will be greatly appreciated members whose accounts are overdue can arrange to settle their accounts soonest. This is to avoid any technicalities and / or complications which may arise questioning the validity of your membership at the meeting.

We look forward to seeing you all at the Annual General Meeting!

Organized by the Philippine Turfgrass Association in cooperation with the Federation of Golf Clubs (Phils) and the Asian Golf Industry Federation, the event attracted more than 130 participants. Attendees travelled from as far away as Singapore, Vietnam, Korea and Hong Kong and included club owners, general managers and course superintendents. With a turnout better than expected, the conference room was filled with some standing to hear the various lectures on selection of grasses for the Philippines climate, drainage, tournament set up and preparation, and rules of golf for the superintendent. The AGIF provided support for Sittichai Dusadeeporn the General Manager of Course Maintenance at Siam Country Club. Sittichai provided two presentations sharing his years of experience preparing and setting up Siam Country Club for the Honda LPGA Tournament.

On the second day, participants headed out into the field to learn more about spraying and sprayer calibration, aerification techniques, and how to mark the golf course.

Thanks to the support of the Asian Golf Industry Federation, the 2011 PTA Golf Course Maintenance Management Conference was the largest and most well attended in the history of the Philippine Turfgrass Association. By supporting Sittichai’s trip, the AGIF was able to assist in building relationships between superintendents within the region helping to grow and share information between countries.

Asian Golf Industry Federation to hold 2^nd AGM at Asia Golf Show in Guangzhou

“We’re thrilled to add the Asian Golf Industry Federation to the collection of stellar associations we look forward to welcoming at this year’s Asia Golf Show,” added Brian Thomas, the show’s General Manager. “As organizers of one of the region’s key golf trade events, we are great admirers of the way AGIF is vigorously spearheading the growth of Asia’s golf industry through its comprehensive training programs, conferences and outreach initiatives.”

The Asia Golf Show is co-organized by the China Golf Association, and is the only golf show in South China to enjoy strong official support from the PGA World Alliance, GCSAA and CMAA China Chapter. The show will take place from October 20 to October 22 at the Jinhan Exhibition Center in Guangzhou.

For more details, please visit www.chinagolfshow.com.

第二届亚洲高尔夫产业联盟年会将与2011亚洲高尔夫球博览会同期举办

“我们非常荣幸能够邀请到亚洲高尔夫产业联盟加入我们的展会，使本就已星光璀璨的合作联盟更为锦上添花。我们非常欢迎所有的合作机构参与到我们的展会中并希望能够在亚洲国际高尔夫球博览会上与他们碰撞出新的火花。” 博览会总经理Thomas先生补充道。“作为亚洲地区其中一个领先的高尔夫展会主办方，我们非常欣赏AGIF在推动亚洲高尔夫行业发展进程中所做出的积极努力以及所起到的表率作用。其举办的综合全面的教学培训课程，学术论坛以及宣传推广活动使众多亚洲高尔夫从业者获益匪浅。”

亚洲国际高尔夫球博览会是中国南方唯一得到行业顶级协会大力支持的展会，本届展会由中国高尔夫球协会以及北京励展光合展览有限公司联合主办 , 将于2011年10月20日至22日 在广州锦汉展览中心举办。欲了解更多信息，请登录 www.chinagolfshow.com.

The initiative was endorsed by the Vietnam Golf Association. Golf courses and driving ranges throughout Vietnam were invited to submit their proposals and after a short listing and several rounds of deliberation, the AGIF awarded a grant of USD$10,000 to The Montgomerie Links to implement their programme.

The “Grow the Game” initiative across all socioeconomic strata in the central coast region ofVietnamwas successfully concluded with over 3000 Vietnamese being newly introduced to the game of golf! Congratulating the Montgomerie Links, Wong Khen Jee of the AGIF commented, “The AGIF is very satisfied with the completion of our initial “Grow the Game” programme inVietnam. The Montgomerie Links team was very thorough and professional in their implementation of the programme and we hope that many of the thousands of Vietnamese introduced to golf will continue to learn and play this great game.”

The programme was supervised by Lee Marshall, head professional at the Montgomerie Links Golf Academy. It is a comprehensive golf programme devised specifically to introduce people of all ages to the game of golf through basic requirements and skills. As part of their strategy, the Montgomerie Links took golf to an array of local schools, retail outlets and mixed used developments where Lee assisted by his local coach protégées, put golf clubs in people’s hands, taught them basic golf skills and introduced them concepts of the sport.

“It’s extremely gratifying for The Montgomerie Links to accomplish our goal and introduce over 3000 Vietnamese to golf for the first time, thanks to the AGIF grant with support from the Vietnam Golf Association,” said general director Jon Tomlinson. “Most important, it’s an affirmation of our passion for, and approach to, bringing golf to the area which now also allows The Montgomerie Links to drive our instructional golf program “Let’s Go Golf” to encourage these new golfers to become regularly active in the sport”.

After scoring a first in the Vietnam market, the AGIF is currently working on their next programme in another Asian market to be implemented in late 2011 or early 2012. More information will be announced in the coming months.

We hope Members like the new contemporary look and feel, and enjoy the simple and fast navigation around the website.

Lastly, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our Members who are golf architects for allowing us to enhance the website with their beautiful golf course images.