By Rahul Banerji
The 13th edition of the Asia Pacific Golf Summit (APGS) will be held on November 4 and 5 at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon, with a galaxy of speakers and notable golf personalities scheduled to attend.
It is the first time the summit is being staged in India, or anywhere South Asia, for that matter.
APGS 2019 will have two business days that will see speakers cover a wide array of contemporary issues before golf, especially related to the game’s growth at different levels and the opportunities fast-changing technologies are bringing to golf, and its development.
Top event
The first edition of APGS was held in 2007 at Singapore. Since then, it has grown to become the Asia Pacific’s top knowledge and business networking event for the golf industry.
In the years since 2007, the Summit has been held in Shenzhen, China (2008), Kuala Lumpur (2009), Bangkok (2010), Pattaya (2011), Jerudong, Brunei Darussalam (2012), Jakarta (2013), Singapore (2014), Singapore (2015), Hua Hin, Thailand (2016), Da Nang, Vietnam (2017) and Bangkok (2018).
Legendary attendees
In the past, legends of the game and the industry have attended the APGS including the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus, with 18 major titles to his name, the peerless Arnold Palmer (via video feed), South African great and designer of the DLF GCC’s Black course, women’s golf legend Annika Sorenstam, first ever winner of the Indian Open Peter Thomson of Australia, tennis great Jimmy Connors and others.
Besides these sporting icons, other notables have included the best names in golf architecture and the captains of industry in the game, the Asia Pacific Golf Group website noted.
APGS is owned and produced by the Asia Pacific Golf Group (2014) Pte Ltd, a leader in golf publishing and events in the region.
The summit will also see the prestigious 2019 Asian Golf Awards being ceremoniously unveiled during the Gala Banquet on November 6 across 47 categories.
2019 Asia Pacific Golf Summit Programme
Day One
8.50 am: Welcome Address, Mike Sebastian, CEO, Asia Pacific Golf Group, Singapore
9 am: Keynote Address, Meagan Fallone, CEO, The Barefoot College India
9.40 am: Preparing Golf For The Digital Age, Michael Cole, Chief Technology Officer, European Tour, UK
10.20 am: The Country Club Is Alive And Healthy, Michael Leemhuis, MD, The Collection Clubs, USA.
11 am: Time To Keep It Green, Andy Johnston, GM/Director of Agronomy, Sentosa GolfClub, Singapore
11.40 am: The Age Of Super-Grasses Is Here!, David Doguet, Founder/President, BladeRunner Farms Inc., U.S.A.
2 pm: A New Service Paradigm Looms, Andy Stangenberg, Founder/President, Q-Principle Inc., USA.
3 pm: Making Golf Fun! Jeremy Dale, PGA certified coach, speaker, MC and auctioneer, Jeremy Dale Golf, UK
4 pm: Awakening To A Nightmare, Andrew Wood, Founder/MD, Legendary Marketing, USA.
5 pm: Dialogue Session – Is Golf Headed For Better Days? James Cronk (chair), President, Cronk Group, Canada; Michael Leemhuis, MD, The Collection Clubs, USA; Andrew Wood, Founder/MD, Legendary Marketing, USA; John McNair, V-P – Golf Operations, JC Resort, USA
6.30 pm: APGS 2019 welcome reception
Day Two
9.30 am: Women In Golf’s Cross-Hairs, Elisa Gaudet, Founder, Executive Golf International/Women’s Golf Day, U.S.A.
10.10 am: A Fireside Chat – Driving Women’s Golf To New Heights, Kavita Singh, President, Women’s Golf Association of India
10.40 am: Investing And Growing Junior Golf, Raymond Roessel, Chairman of PacificPine Sports Group and CEO, Golf for Shankai Sports Group, China
11.20 am: China Gives Golf Tourism Thumbs Up, Simon Yang, Director of Club Operations, Mission Hills Group, China
11.50 am: Saudi Arabia: Exciting New Frontier, Majed Al-Sorour, Chief Executive Officer, Saudi Golf Federation, Saudi Arabia
12.45 pm: The Power Of 5G People, James Cronk, President, Cronk Group, Canada
2 pm: Training And Skills Upgrading, Stephen Bernhard, Executive Chairman, Bernhard & Co. Ltd, UK
4 pm: Golf Tourism – Is It Being Handled Well? Rudy Anderson (Chair), President/CEO, Pacific Links, International, Canada
Panel Members: Mark Chapleski, President, Troon International, UAE; Mohamed Juma Buamaim, Founder/CEO, Golf Citizen, UAE; Brandon De Souza, Chairman & Managing Director, Tiger Sports Marketing, India; Ben Styles, Vice President of Golf, Hoiana Shores Golf Club, Vietnam
5 pm: The Ultimate 5G Proposition For Golf Courses, James Prusa, Principal, James Graham Prusa Associates, USA.
6 pm: STS Pub Nite
Also read: Winding up in Myanmar; golf at Pun Hlaing is a good way to do so
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