Golf management academy to be opened in Sintok, Malaysia
The Youth and Sports ministry of Malaysia has decided to launch a golf management skills academy in Sintok, aimed to promote the booming Golf industry in Malaysia. The academy will train local manpower at all levels according to international standards.
The academy will not only attract more youth to the game but also provide theoretical as well as practical training to golf professionals. The academy will pick twenty students to train, with the mandatory age bracket of 16 to 30 year-olds. The students must
be Malaysian to qualify for the training programs at the academy. The full time training program is planned to be scheduled for six months at all offered levels.
Youth and Sports Minister, Mr. Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, has announced that the academy will be set-up at the premises of Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam (KGPA), also known as the Public Service Golf Club, which is situated in Bukit Kiara. He also declared
the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) as a partner in the academy.
UUM was selected because it has been recognized as a centre of excellence for golf sports with in the universities of Malaysia. The Vice Chancellor of UUM, Professor Datuk Dr Mohamed Mustafa Ishak, expressed his contentment with the partnership and said
that the university has all the potential to achieve the goal of becoming a center of excellence with in golf. He also requested the government to upgrade the current golf course of the university from nine holes to 18 holes in order to provide full facilities
to students.
A number of Malaysian groups and organizations are interested in the proposed academy, named the Golf Skills Academy for Youth. The Youth and Sports ministry of Malaysia is working in close association with the Persatuan Penguasa Padang Golf, Malaysian Golf
Association, the Caddy Association, the Golf Club management Association Malaysia and the Malaysian Professional Golf Association to yield superior results. These organizations have worked tremendously for golf in Malaysia before and are well aware of the
golf talent prevailing in their country.
Ahmed Shabery in his statement at the launching of the Universiti Utara Malaysia Track and Field Championship (SUKUUM) said, “The golf sports industry is capable of creating many job opportunities and this academy will train locals to be trained to become
skilled manpower such as caddies and so on, the UUM might be able to help....for example, the cost of constructing a golf course is substantial, one hole may cost RM1 million, some may cost RM3 million or RM4 million. The UUM may be able to think of a better
way of constructing the course.” He said that Government will lend its full support for the project despite the cost, "Currently, the golf courses are not well managed except for private golf courses which charge playing fees. Payment is not the issue, but
we want the golf industry to be well managed.”
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