GCBAA's Justin Apel wraps up his whirlwind tour of Asian golf.
Published October 31, 2011
(Sent from my iPad)
Saturday morning we needed to continue south in order to catch our return flight from Sanyo to Hong Kong. At the Asia Golf Show last week I was invited by the GM of Yalong Bay Golf Club Mr. Chen Yaxiong to visit his facility.
Our schedule allowed for a brief stop and we had the opportunity to visit with his Deputy General Manager Deborah Jiang. We had an interesting conversation on the opportunities available by our association in regards to member resources that can be used for local educational events. Mr. Yaxiong has been active in coordinating the activities of the Asia Club Managers Association. We discussed ways the GCBAA can assist in their future events.
Yalong Bay was the last scheduled visit on our Asia tour. We returned to Hong Kong from Sanya for Saturday evening and I had a return flight Sunday morning back to the US. Sitting in Chicago waiting for my final connection back to Nebraska, I had flipped through my stack of business cards of people I have met the past two weeks.
Looking at my notes, emails, friend requests on social outlets, this trip was a tremendous chance for me to network and meet many new people that are involved in the industry. We gathered ideas on ways we can continue to support our International Members, ways to recruit new members, and ways to offer assistance to our allied associations around the globe.
It was very interesting to witness the challenges others are experiencing in golf. One common theme is that no one person or group and support the industry alone. Working together shows proven results whether developing a course, constructing, and operating. Coordination is also necessary to educate their leaders of the benefits of golf to help lift some of the current restrictions on golf development.
The GCBAA is excited to continue to support the Asia Golf Market through our members and is excited to schedule education, both regionally and at upcoming China and Asia golf shows with the PGA and Reed Exhibitions. Visit our Facebook Page for pictures of our trip and watch our website at www.gcbaa.org for a feature in our upcoming 4th Quarter EarthShaping Newsletter.
I personally want to thank those members of our association who helped coordinate my travel through Asia.
A very special thank you to GCBAA International Committee Chairman John Holmes and International Membership Enhancement Chair Jeff Bine who traveled with me and scheduled our events and all of those that hosted us on our tour.
