INTERVIEW | IAIN VALENTINE
Iain Valentine The outgoing chief executive talks to Alex Jenkins about his 11 years in charge at the Hong Kong Golf Association. You were only the second full-time chief executive of the HKGA when you were appointed in 2002. What were your goals when you first took on the job? I wanted to encourage golf as much as I possibly could among the local community. One of the first things we did was take a group of local schoolchildren up to the Hong Kong Golf Club, who very kindly gave us the use of the New Course for the afternoon. The children had been to a driving range before but never to a course – and it showed. They could hit the ball off the tee but had no idea what to do next. A lot has changed since then, of course, and junior development has been at the forefront of what the HKGA has achieved. When I was appointed to the role all three national teams – men’s, ladies and juniors – were made up almost exclusively of golf club members. Now all the teams are made up of juniors or players that have been through the junior programme, and few are members of a golf club. That’s a big progression.
EFG Bank [the junior programme’s sponsors] then came in and helped from a financial point of view and they have been wonderful to work with. One of the biggest differences from a decade ago is more of our talented players are remaining amateur and not turning professional. Previously we built up amateurs and lost them, but through the junior programme many are learning that golf can be used as a pathway to university and a good career. It offers them alternatives but it also means they can continue to play amateur golf for Hong Kong. That is something I’ve been particularly pleased to see. What has been the most enjoyable part of your tenure? I have loved running tournaments. We have built up a very good tournament team, which includes our very experienced and dedicated rules officials as well as the HKGA staff – Dolla (Chui) and Calyx (Lai) – who are responsible for a lot of the coordination that’s involved. We have a reputation in Asia and around the world for hosting “proper” tournaments and that’s something I’m very proud of.
How has that progression been achieved?
Daniel Wong
In the early days we put on very few tournaments, but now it feels like there’s an event on nearly every week – either in Hong Kong or overseas – that our players are involved in. There have been various factors but certainly things took a big step forward when I appointed Brad Schadewitz as national junior coach. Brad, who is now the national coach, has been fantastic with the kids and the clubs and driving ranges have been very helpful in giving us the use of their facilities. The relationship between the HKGA the Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau has been an enormous help too. Kau Sai Chau has its own junior squad of players and they’re really happy if those players make the step up and make it on to our squad. They see it as natural progression and it’s a relationship that has been built up very successfully over the years. I have become very close friends with many of the staff there. 52
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The Hong Kong Open has grown considerably in stature over the past 11 years. What do you put that down to?
Through the junior programme many young players are learning that golf can be used as a pathway to university and a good career. HKGOLFER.COM
The relationship between the European and Asian Tours has become stronger, which has a lot to do with the personnel involved. The Hong Kong Open was one of the first co-sanctioned events in the region and the HKGA’s involvement today is much more than it ever was through the number of volunteers and referees we supply. We have a great venue in the Hong Kong Golf Club HKGOLFER.COM
We have built a reputation in Asia and around the world for hosting “proper” tournaments and that’s something I’m very proud of. and the Composite Course keeps on improving every year. The tournament itself fits into a very nice niche on the calendar – November and December is a wonderful time to play golf. The whole product has improved beyond anyone’s belief. You’ve developed quite the friendship with three-time Hong Kong Open winner Miguel Ángel Jiménez. How did that come about? Yes, we’ve become great mates. I got to know him the first year I was involved at the Hong Kong Open. We just got chatting on the verandah when all these children came up to him hoping for an autograph. Miguel sent his caddie off to his bag for some balls and he spent the next few minutes signing golf balls until he had none left for the tournament. ‘Don’t worry about it,’ he told his caddie, ‘I’m sure we’ll find some from somewhere.’ That was the start of what has become a very long relationship and we enjoy each other’s company. He’s a naturally very friendly guy and a fabulous player. He loves coming here. How do you see the future of Hong Kong golf? Very positively. While it has been disappointing to see some of the driving ranges closer to the centre of town close in recent times because of leasing issues, I think the development of the golf academy at Kau Sai Chau is going to be a tremendous asset. It’s going to help people develop a career in golf, not just as a professional golfer but through other areas like green keeping and pro shop management. It’s also going to become a fabulous training base for Hong Kong golf. The Jockey Club wants it to be world class and I’m sure it will be. And what about your own future? Now that I’ve reached this grand old age I look forward to playing some golf! End of an era (clockwise from above): Valentine with his good friend Miguel Ángel Jiménez after the Spaniard won last year’s Hong Kong Open for the third time; pictured alongside national coach Brad Schadewitz and the 2013 winners of the Hong Kong Junior Open – Lucas Lam and Chayanit Wangmahaporn; at the end of another busy event at Fanling, his home club. HK GOLFER・SEP 2013
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