INSIGHT
David Scott:
“I see The PGA as the gold standard of golf”
The Captain of The PGA explains why he feels his fellow Professionals are the ideal choice for top jobs in golf clubs
PGA Professionals cover all the bases when it comes to providing at high-quality golf experience, says the Association’s Captain David Scott.
Speaking to The NCG Golf Podcast, Scott, the General Manager at Dumbarnie Links in Fife, said golf organisations that employed a PGA Professional “get the right person” and indicated that was why a host of his fellow Members are filling top jobs in the industry.
Scott was recently named only the sixth Honorary Professional of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews following a stellar 40-year career, which has also included spells at Kingsbarns and the Old Course Hotel.
In his role as PGA Captain, he recently attended the Association’s latest graduation ceremony at Birmingham University where the latest crop of PGA Professionals completed their three-year training.
He said: “It was quite the most magnificent ceremony of 125 young professionals coming through. It was a huge honour and quite emotional when you see that’s the future of our game and knowing they work very hard to get through their exams and come through on top.”
And asked if there was another avenue in golf that could match the PGA Qualification, he told the podcast: “I would say this, but I see The PGA as the gold standard of golf.
“You really have got an extra rung up the ladder for interview, if you’ve got the qualifications.
“You’ve got four or five different angles. I’m in golf management now so somebody off a five handicap could easily get my job and, no doubt, do a really nice job.
“You really have got an extra rung up the ladder for interview, if you’ve got the qualifications.”
“But to have that extra element with the PGA background and knowledge I have for running events, and playing to a good level, and coaching and so on, I cover an awful lot of bases as a PGA Professional.
“Coming up through the training, through the golf shop, or through university, you’re gleaning an awful lot of information so you’re much more rounded perhaps than somebody coming in from a different discipline or business and coming to manage a golf course.
“In the old days, the secretary or manager might be a retired bank manager. That’s great, they’re really good at the business element, but what do they know about the golf and man management as well and the softer sides of man management?
“Retailing is a really big deal these days so you’ve got to understand cost of sales and what’s selling and then there is food and beverage as well.
“You’re covering all the bases to create an overall high-quality experience – rather than, ‘I’m really good at accounts and that’s why I’m in here and selling memberships’.
“I think employing a PGA Professional, you get the right person. There’s no question. That, I think, is why there’s a consistency across a lot of the top jobs now that they’re looking for a PGA Pro – because they cover so many bases.”