Swiss PGA Junior Golf Summit
08.03.2017

Cameron McCormick (long term coach to Jordan Spieth) was the Keynote Speaker at the Swiss PGA’s first ever Junior Golf Summit.

Cameron highlighted player centred coaching that identifies solutions for competitive advantages and marginal gains for young golfers whilst ensuring their needs as a person are met. He demonstrated the depth of knowledge required to work with high performance athletes and showed systems that have been developed to ensure progress in all areas of the game. The philosophy is grounded in modern day sports science research, many of these concepts having evolved outside of golf and not just based on many swing trend models that are proposed by so many coaches. The results speak for themselves, not only having coached Jordan Spieth from the age of 12 to world class performer of today but 4 of the last 8 US Junior Champions and 5 No. 1 US Amateur players and it is hoped Swiss PGA coaches are now equipped with more tools to help this type of player.

Galvin Luznyj, a long term Swiss PGA member, reflected on his evolution of a coach and showed the questions he has answered whilst participating in a University programme in Sports Coaching. It was great to see a link some of concepts Cameron talked about and how they can also be applied in practice in a club in Switzerland.

A panel discussion on Tuesday highlighted the many great projects now taking place in clubs around Switzerland by PGA Professionals. With the support of ASG initiatives and J+S support, there is a wave of energy battling against declining junior numbers. It is now hoped more Pros and Clubs will get on board and follow suit, with some great ideas being shared. 

To Conclude, Professor Richard Bailey, possibly Europes most experienced Golf Researcher, highlighted some of his findings in his expert field of Child participation in sport. The ideas of play and learning replace older words of practice and teaching. He highlighted the challenges of demographics, environment within clubs and the real influences over children that need to be tackled by clubs and coaches alike should the numbers wish to trend positive. Finally professionals took part in a first known study in Child Participation in Golf based around the findings of previous academic surveys. It is hoped this continuing project together with Professor Bailey will provide some small parts to the puzzle in encouraging young people to participate in the game we all love.

The event was a success with the participation of more than 60 Swiss PGA members and delegates from the ASG and some Junior Captains. 

The Swiss PGA will continue in their pursuit of the most knowledgeable advisors in the world of golf to aid their members to grow the game!