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International golf industry conference

The second Golf Business Conference will take place in Warsaw, Poland between 23-25 April 2008. The event is run by Golf Poland, and is considered one of the most important meeting grounds in this rapidly developing region of Europe. The first Golf Business Conference took place during April 2007 in Wroclaw, with over 100 delegates from 18 countries attending.

There are 130 golf courses in Central Europe at present, with the number constantly increasing as more and more facilities are built. The sheer variation is also impressive; from high budget golf facilities to inexpensive pitch and putt courses.

Similarly, the number of golfers has also grown. Over 40,000 people are registered to national golf bodies in the Central Europe region. In Poland alone, over 10,000 people currently take part in a golfing activity of some kind. Simultaneously, golf tourism is becoming more popular, which in the future, has the potential to become an important part of golf development.

Featured conference speakers include Denise Adams, David MacLaren, Jerry Kilby, Terry Coates, Michael Pask and Ian Randell.

All the event speakers are considered international experts in their respective areas. Denise Adams has worked with over 80 golf clubs on programmes for attracting new members author of over 80 club programmes for golf clubs all over the world. David MacLaren is the director of PGA European Tour Courses, which consists of eleven facilities in different European countries. President of the Sport Facilities Managers Union, Jerry Kilby has extensive experience of managing the highest quality golf courses. Terry Coates, who is speaking for the second time at the Golf Business Conference, is one of the most famous figures in the golf tourism industry. Michael Pask is a director of IMG, one of the biggest sport marketing companies in the world. Ian Randell is the director of the PGAs of Europe.

“The organisation of conferences in Poland is an important factor in stimulating golf development in our part of Europe,” says Pawel Lewinski, organiser of the event. “This type of meeting, where people with experience in many different aspects of the golf industry gather in one place to share their knowledge and opinions, is very important.”

“Each step brings more and more development to golf in Poland and in the Central and Eastern Europe region,” says Marek Podstolski, president of PGA Poland. “There are many very good golf courses in Poland, on which even the biggest tournaments could be played. With the help of PGA Poland educational programmes, the number and professionalism of golf teachers continues to rise. This is, without doubt, a region in which the dynamic development of golf will be clearly observed.”

“We are seeing, throughout the golf industry, worldwide developers and golf property operators faced with many of the same challenges,” says Denise Adams, vice president of marketing at Kitson and Partners. “There are proven successful marketing strategies that need to be shared with emerging golf markets and developers.

“This knowledge, coupled with well thought out and implemented marketing campaigns, will reduce the challenges and help emerging markets and developers achieve their intended results,” Adams continues. “The Golf Business Conference is an ideal platform for an exchange of ideas, strategies and standards of operation relating to actual developing and operating golf properties in all disciplines – from high-end daily fee and resort to fully private golf clubs.”

The Toro company is once again the main conference sponsor. The supporting sponsors are Jeff Howes GolfDesign, Syngenta and Eurobest.

The official media representatives are Golfbusinessnews.com, Golf Digest Cz&S, Golf Course Architecture, Sportplus, Golf&Life, Golf, Golf24.pl and Manager Magazin.

The event’s honorary patrons are the PGAs of Europe, PGA of Poland, Polski Zwiazek Golfa, EGA, CECTA, EGCOA and CMAE.

The conference organiser is Golf Poland. For more information, go to www.golfconference.eu, telephone +48 503-041-628 or email biuro@golfpoland.pl