A New President, A New Game Plan

The Professional Golfers Association of Malaysia (PGAM) is on a mission to raise standards among its teaching pros.

- Roger Rodrigo

Malaysian Golf professionals for a long time were not viewed in a positive light. And, the former association used to make matters worse with constant in-fighting and divisiveness.

The Malaysian Professional Golfers Association (MPGA) has been a body filled with controversy, factionalism and negative affairs that was eventually suspended by the Sports Commissioner in 2009. But a new body has emerged in between – the Professional Golfers Association of Malaysia (PGAM). Since July 2016, it was headed by new president Valrick Harris Zainal Abidin, who has begun to run their affairs in an orderly fashion.

Harris, as he is more popularly known, is the first golf professional to head the association since it first began in 1975 when it was headed by Tun Hamid Omar. He believes the answer to raising the standards of the professional game lies in uplifting the level of coaching in the country currently.

“Golf coaches are like school teachers so you have pre-school, primary, secondary, high school teachers, college lecturers and university professors. At this stage (using this analogy) we would have many primary and secondary-level coaches and a few high-level coaches,” he explained.

He says there are only five or six elite coaches (certified coaches who can teach professionals) which is barely enough. Harris wants to develop a holistic approach towards coaching. Their most recent seminar held at the Templer Park Country Club attracted 30-odd participants and was helmed by well-known golf coach Shane Gillespie, the PGA Tour’s head instructor at their Florida-based golf academy.