Golf pro versus the pro golfer

Having had various conversations in recent weeks involving colleagues, friends and golfers in general, it is still clear to me that the differentiation between a “professional golfer” and a “golf professional” is somewhat cloudy, to say the least.

OK, I’ve probably confused you already.

Over the past couple of years, and specifically since starting this column in XPRESS, I have made it a point to start educating (or perhaps better informing) the public on exactly what the difference is.

At the heart of the matter is the fact that every golf professional or professional golfer started out with a passion for the great outdoors and, more importantly, a talent for knocking a little white ball around what we can describe in most instances as beautifully manicured fields.

As with all skills whether playing golf or playing a piano, the cream will always rise to the top and, in time, decisions on said career paths are ultimately made.

Career path

What I mean is, those golfers that can, do (or at least dedicate themselves to attempting to play top-level golf and qualify for a major tour), and those that clearly can’t or choose not to for whatever reason, such as myself, often choose a career within the game – hence the term golf professional as opposed to professional golfer.

Whether from a tourism standpoint or purely as a recreational tool to support local residents – the business of golf now directly and indirectly contributes significantly to the GDP of dozens of countries around the globe.

Where tourism is concerned, golf acts as a feeder to local economies by supporting airlines, hotels and restaurants and it is well researched that in general the travelling golfer has a much higher spend threshold than a typical tourist.

Golfers are creatures of habit and they are a specialist breed, so much so that when they choose their destination it’s not because of the beautiful beaches, guaranteed sunshine or such things like good shopping. Far from it. Golfers just want good golf, and decent “après golf” helps too!

My point here is that whether you are a travelling golfer or a local resident – golfers want, and in many ways demand, the very best of service and products and they are willing to spend their hard-earned bucks to get it.

Gatekeepers

So what is the role of the golf professional?

Simply, golf professionals are the “true professionals of the game” and when trained to the exceptionally high standards demanded of them by the various global Professional Golfers’ Associations they are left with the skills across many specialised areas of the golf industry (such as retail, golf operations and coaching) and are tasked with a major role in managing the expectations of golfers and to act as the gatekeepers to the business of golf.

I have been a PGA qualified golf professional for around 12 years now and through my role with the UAE PGA we hope that one day soon we will see the first Emirati PGA-qualified golf professional enter our ranks.