Announcing the publication of a brand new book featuring
Graham Moore International Golf Schools
Golf Tourism by Simon Hudson and Louise Hudson
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Below is the Full Exert from this book
Graham Moore International Golf Schools
Golf Tourism by Simon Hudson and Louise Hudson
Claim the special introductory 10% discount ONLY available via the Graham Moore International Golf Schools website, by quoting the code Click here to save 10% on the hardback
by quoting GMINT10 ***
Below is the Full Exert from this book
Junior participation is intrinsic to the healthy future of any sport industry. Graham
Moore has been running golf academies for junior golfers since he noticed a lack
of junior facilities in the UK back in 1990. Regarding the future of golf, Moore said
‘I think without juniors in any sport, you don’t have an industry, you’ll have a dying industry.’
Based out of England, he spends five months each year in the USA, touring golf championships with his top juniors. He set up the Graham Moore Golf Tour Ltd, his inter national junior golf tour division in 2004. A former European Tour player during his teens, he became a fully qualified golf pro by the age of 19. After several years working in the travel industry, he set up Graham Moore Inter national Golf Schools
and Junior Academies. ‘Everything just piggy-backed from there,’ he said. ‘I now have junior development programmes, junior academies, plus I work with professionals, too.’
In 2001 he formed the world’s first junior only golf club, operating out of Cheshire, UK. Membership varies between 45 and 110 kids, around 80 per cent boys, with an average age of 10. ‘It’s unique because it’s a roaming golf club, fully affiliated to every union as well as the Royal & Ancient in the UK. We use two local public courses and have 75 events throughout the year in addition to the junior tour,’ he said. In 2002 Moore received the Vale Royal Sports’ Award for his work with golf development and in 2005 he became a fellow of the PGA in recognition of his achievements within the golf industry.
His tour division attracts five to 21-year-old competitors with events held in Britain and Europe. ‘It’s been sanctioned by all the hierarchy in golf, the English Golf Union (EGU), the English Women’s Golf Association (EWGA), the Scottish Golf Union (SGU) and also backed by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews. They give accreditation and handicap adjustments for the older kids,’ said Moore. Crans Montana, Switzerland – the home of the Omega European Masters – hosted Moore’s European Championship event in 2009. In 2010 the Graham Moore Junior World Championships were scheduled for Providence Golf Club in Florida. Moore’s UK events attract between 35 and 65 players, mainly from the UK but also from Germany, Spain and France. Moore expected up to 150 junior players from all over the world for the Crans Montana event. ‘And the 2010 World Championships should get a minimum of 150 competitors and maybe as high as 400 for year one of this event,’ he added.
Moore’s marketing is mainly done online. ‘Golf Empire in the UK does e-blasts for me. Also I’m on the US Junior Golf Scoreboard which promotes me on the front of their website as well as all of my tournaments that are two days or more,’ he said. He also has links with instructors.com, a US site. His own website gets 25,000 hits per week as well as numerous indirect hits through his affiliations with other companies. ‘Word of mouth is also one of our best marketing tools,’ he added.
Moore was impressed by the existing framework for junior golf in the USA when he first brought players over from the UK to play in tour naments. ‘I created all my junior golf programmes because there was nothing like it available in England and Europe,’ he said. ‘Bringing my kids over to play in the US world champion ships was a big eye-opener because they were suddenly playing on major courses having qualified on par 3 courses in England. It was initially very frightening for the kids.’
Moore believes in introducing children to golf at a very young age: ‘I’m unique in the UK because no-one does anything like I do. I instruct two-year-olds and up and I start by using golf equipment I developed with the Golf Foundation years ago: a big sponge ball and plastic golf club, linked in to Key Stage 1 and 2 lear ning.’ Every year he selects promising juniors – usually in the 14-16 age group – to attend tour naments, mini tours and programmes from his base in Florida.
Nurturing his juniors up to college age and scratch standard, he then introduces them to three colleges in the USA (Colorado State, University of Colorado at
Boulder and the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque) where he handpicks their coaches to link in with his teaching principles. ‘I get the kids ready for the facility and train them for a four-year course stateside to advance them beyond what I can do in the UK where I am limited by the weather and by access.’ Many of his junior golfers go on to become PGA professionals.
He says juniors are not necessarily attracted to golf just because their parents play it. ‘There’s a wide spectrum but two things make it a lot more likely for kids to take it up. Firstly, I give people life skills and people skills because the kids have to spend a lot of time with me and my team of coaches (who I’ve also trained up since they themselves were kids). It’s a good start in life even if they don’t want to become a pro golfer. Secondly, I get kids whose parents play golf and have aspiring ideas for their kids. I’m recognized as one of the leading coaches around the world.’
Academy programmes are flexible, usually incorporating around 21 lesson dates over an 11-month period for £235 (around $500). The juniors also compete in five golf competitions, six skills tests, and get club caps and shirts included in the price. Lessons are then scheduled perhaps two at a time with a practice period over three weeks. ‘I’m not a believer in too many consecutive lessons. Kids can only take so much information in at one time. They then go on to the next level at the next lesson after they’ve had a chance to put their new skills into practice,’ said Moore. He has developed junior programmes, Levels 1 through 18, with colourcoded merit cards. He now calls these motivational levels the Graham Moore Junior Academy Order of Merit. The kids work towards the various levels in groups of six with Moore or one of his assistants.
Moore also runs private lessons with different pricing for amateurs, pros, beginners, etc. and works with around 600 adult clients. ‘My main remit, however, is with junior golf,’ he said. He has regulars from Australia and Malaysia who he sees just once a year: ‘They’ve been coming to me for the past ten years, both to England and to Florida, for intensive training. I also have some European lads who come over to England for a weekend four or five times a year.’
Entry fees to events in the junior tours are relatively affordable – anything from around $40 up to $150 for a whole-day event, depending on the location. Moore uses prestigious courses such as four-time R yder Cup venue, The Belfry, as well as the National Golf Centre at Woodhall Spa (the home of the EGU) and St Andrews. The Crans Montana European Championship costs around $400 per competitor in fees for the full week’s events.
Moore has been disappointed with the approach to junior golf in the UK. He compares it unfavourably with Australia where he worked for eight winter seasons using the initiatives from the V ictoria Institute of Sport. ‘I think we have to lear n from these other nations who have got great depth in their sports of all kinds,’ he said. He was also impressed with both American and Canadian junior golf which is infused, he said, with the winning spirit. ‘UK kids are taught to compete, every other country is taught to win – that’s a massive difference,’ he commented. Moore has seen growth in junior golf in China and Thailand. He attended the Mission Hills Asian Championships in 2007 and made contacts with several Chinese juniors interested in training and competing in Europe.
For his inter national fixtures, Moore hooks up parents of juniors with airlines, tourism boards and operators. For US tour naments, he uses GOLFPAC, which packages hotels, car hire, and golf course arrangements – everything except flights. He has a portal on his website promoting GOLFPAC as the preferred operator for the GM 2010 World Championships. ‘Bookings can be made directly through my website. It makes life a lot easier now we’re going more inter national. W ith WorldPay you can pay with a credit card. It creates more business for me with less of a time factor.’
No stranger to celebrity endorsement, Moore has secured sponsorship from his friend, Miguel Angel Jimenez. Jimenez, a Spanish pro golfer now a regular on the R yder Cup team, has been a friend of Moore’s for 30 years. He endorses and is currently sponsoring the GM National Junior Tour, with the inaugural Miguel Angel Jimenez Trophy in August 2009. V illa vacations in Spain will also be put up for first prizes.
Following on his success with juniors, Moore has focused on another neglected segment of the golf market. In March 2009 he inaugurated his Ladies-Only Profes sional Golf Tour.
Sources : Personal interview with Graham Moore FPGA March 2009 www.gmintgolfschools.co.uk
Moore has been running golf academies for junior golfers since he noticed a lack
of junior facilities in the UK back in 1990. Regarding the future of golf, Moore said
‘I think without juniors in any sport, you don’t have an industry, you’ll have a dying industry.’
Based out of England, he spends five months each year in the USA, touring golf championships with his top juniors. He set up the Graham Moore Golf Tour Ltd, his inter national junior golf tour division in 2004. A former European Tour player during his teens, he became a fully qualified golf pro by the age of 19. After several years working in the travel industry, he set up Graham Moore Inter national Golf Schools
and Junior Academies. ‘Everything just piggy-backed from there,’ he said. ‘I now have junior development programmes, junior academies, plus I work with professionals, too.’
In 2001 he formed the world’s first junior only golf club, operating out of Cheshire, UK. Membership varies between 45 and 110 kids, around 80 per cent boys, with an average age of 10. ‘It’s unique because it’s a roaming golf club, fully affiliated to every union as well as the Royal & Ancient in the UK. We use two local public courses and have 75 events throughout the year in addition to the junior tour,’ he said. In 2002 Moore received the Vale Royal Sports’ Award for his work with golf development and in 2005 he became a fellow of the PGA in recognition of his achievements within the golf industry.
His tour division attracts five to 21-year-old competitors with events held in Britain and Europe. ‘It’s been sanctioned by all the hierarchy in golf, the English Golf Union (EGU), the English Women’s Golf Association (EWGA), the Scottish Golf Union (SGU) and also backed by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews. They give accreditation and handicap adjustments for the older kids,’ said Moore. Crans Montana, Switzerland – the home of the Omega European Masters – hosted Moore’s European Championship event in 2009. In 2010 the Graham Moore Junior World Championships were scheduled for Providence Golf Club in Florida. Moore’s UK events attract between 35 and 65 players, mainly from the UK but also from Germany, Spain and France. Moore expected up to 150 junior players from all over the world for the Crans Montana event. ‘And the 2010 World Championships should get a minimum of 150 competitors and maybe as high as 400 for year one of this event,’ he added.
Moore’s marketing is mainly done online. ‘Golf Empire in the UK does e-blasts for me. Also I’m on the US Junior Golf Scoreboard which promotes me on the front of their website as well as all of my tournaments that are two days or more,’ he said. He also has links with instructors.com, a US site. His own website gets 25,000 hits per week as well as numerous indirect hits through his affiliations with other companies. ‘Word of mouth is also one of our best marketing tools,’ he added.
Moore was impressed by the existing framework for junior golf in the USA when he first brought players over from the UK to play in tour naments. ‘I created all my junior golf programmes because there was nothing like it available in England and Europe,’ he said. ‘Bringing my kids over to play in the US world champion ships was a big eye-opener because they were suddenly playing on major courses having qualified on par 3 courses in England. It was initially very frightening for the kids.’
Moore believes in introducing children to golf at a very young age: ‘I’m unique in the UK because no-one does anything like I do. I instruct two-year-olds and up and I start by using golf equipment I developed with the Golf Foundation years ago: a big sponge ball and plastic golf club, linked in to Key Stage 1 and 2 lear ning.’ Every year he selects promising juniors – usually in the 14-16 age group – to attend tour naments, mini tours and programmes from his base in Florida.
Nurturing his juniors up to college age and scratch standard, he then introduces them to three colleges in the USA (Colorado State, University of Colorado at
Boulder and the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque) where he handpicks their coaches to link in with his teaching principles. ‘I get the kids ready for the facility and train them for a four-year course stateside to advance them beyond what I can do in the UK where I am limited by the weather and by access.’ Many of his junior golfers go on to become PGA professionals.
He says juniors are not necessarily attracted to golf just because their parents play it. ‘There’s a wide spectrum but two things make it a lot more likely for kids to take it up. Firstly, I give people life skills and people skills because the kids have to spend a lot of time with me and my team of coaches (who I’ve also trained up since they themselves were kids). It’s a good start in life even if they don’t want to become a pro golfer. Secondly, I get kids whose parents play golf and have aspiring ideas for their kids. I’m recognized as one of the leading coaches around the world.’
Academy programmes are flexible, usually incorporating around 21 lesson dates over an 11-month period for £235 (around $500). The juniors also compete in five golf competitions, six skills tests, and get club caps and shirts included in the price. Lessons are then scheduled perhaps two at a time with a practice period over three weeks. ‘I’m not a believer in too many consecutive lessons. Kids can only take so much information in at one time. They then go on to the next level at the next lesson after they’ve had a chance to put their new skills into practice,’ said Moore. He has developed junior programmes, Levels 1 through 18, with colourcoded merit cards. He now calls these motivational levels the Graham Moore Junior Academy Order of Merit. The kids work towards the various levels in groups of six with Moore or one of his assistants.
Moore also runs private lessons with different pricing for amateurs, pros, beginners, etc. and works with around 600 adult clients. ‘My main remit, however, is with junior golf,’ he said. He has regulars from Australia and Malaysia who he sees just once a year: ‘They’ve been coming to me for the past ten years, both to England and to Florida, for intensive training. I also have some European lads who come over to England for a weekend four or five times a year.’
Entry fees to events in the junior tours are relatively affordable – anything from around $40 up to $150 for a whole-day event, depending on the location. Moore uses prestigious courses such as four-time R yder Cup venue, The Belfry, as well as the National Golf Centre at Woodhall Spa (the home of the EGU) and St Andrews. The Crans Montana European Championship costs around $400 per competitor in fees for the full week’s events.
Moore has been disappointed with the approach to junior golf in the UK. He compares it unfavourably with Australia where he worked for eight winter seasons using the initiatives from the V ictoria Institute of Sport. ‘I think we have to lear n from these other nations who have got great depth in their sports of all kinds,’ he said. He was also impressed with both American and Canadian junior golf which is infused, he said, with the winning spirit. ‘UK kids are taught to compete, every other country is taught to win – that’s a massive difference,’ he commented. Moore has seen growth in junior golf in China and Thailand. He attended the Mission Hills Asian Championships in 2007 and made contacts with several Chinese juniors interested in training and competing in Europe.
For his inter national fixtures, Moore hooks up parents of juniors with airlines, tourism boards and operators. For US tour naments, he uses GOLFPAC, which packages hotels, car hire, and golf course arrangements – everything except flights. He has a portal on his website promoting GOLFPAC as the preferred operator for the GM 2010 World Championships. ‘Bookings can be made directly through my website. It makes life a lot easier now we’re going more inter national. W ith WorldPay you can pay with a credit card. It creates more business for me with less of a time factor.’
No stranger to celebrity endorsement, Moore has secured sponsorship from his friend, Miguel Angel Jimenez. Jimenez, a Spanish pro golfer now a regular on the R yder Cup team, has been a friend of Moore’s for 30 years. He endorses and is currently sponsoring the GM National Junior Tour, with the inaugural Miguel Angel Jimenez Trophy in August 2009. V illa vacations in Spain will also be put up for first prizes.
Following on his success with juniors, Moore has focused on another neglected segment of the golf market. In March 2009 he inaugurated his Ladies-Only Profes sional Golf Tour.
Sources : Personal interview with Graham Moore FPGA March 2009 www.gmintgolfschools.co.uk
e-mag, Graham Moore FPGA
contributing article writer
includes a case study of the GM Brand &
Graham's pupils profiles
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April
July
contributing article writer
includes a case study of the GM Brand &
Graham's pupils profiles
Please click above to sign up for the free magazine or below to see the GM Articles
April
July