What’s it really like to be a female golf coach in a world where 93% of coaches are men? We asked Amy Millward, Molly Moore and Jamie Taylor, three leading teaching professionals on three different continents, in this no-holds-barred roundtable discussion. Hosted by Sarah Gwynn, the trio talk through the challenges they have faced, the omnipresence of stereotypes, and how the industry can attract more new golfers. We also discuss what’s happening in their respective regions – Dubai, the UK and the US – for women in golf, and whether the sport is genuinely doing enough to welcome greater divers ..read more

Miranda Robinson used to be regularly mistaken for a drinks cart girl when she was a golf course superintendent. But, as her name nickname ‘The Smiling Superintendent’ suggests, she would always laugh it off and focus instead on “showing them why I belonged there and why I was a leader”. “It’s very easy to be sensitive to other people’s perceptions of you, but you can’t control how someone else thinks,” she says. “All you can control is how you present yourself, and becoming negative doesn’t give you any advantage.” Miranda came into golf purely by chance. Despite playing every sport going at ..read more

Jim Beatty had little interest in golf growing up in his native Chicago. That was until a visit to Nebraska and a meeting with the state's first African American PGA of America Golf Professional, Steve Hogan, changed all that. Hogan, who ran a par 3 course in Omaha at the time, introduced Beatty to the game and from there, he was hooked. This proved to be the catalyst for a decorated career in which Beatty not only runs his own business, Jim Beatty Golf Ventures, but also founded the African American Golf Expo and serves as the Executive Editor of the African American Golf Digest. He sees it a ..read more

Mahaley Nemtuda has turned her life around. From a troubled upbringing in which she left home early, faced expulsion from school and became a mother at a young age, she is now forging a career as a trailblazing turf professional. The assistant superintendent from Mansfield, Ohio is juggling life, work and studies but wouldn’t have it any other way, as she puts it “you can only be as successful as you are dedicated.” In a wide-ranging conversation, Mahaley describes a chance encounter with host Gary Firkins at a networking event during this year’s GCSAA Trade Show & Conference in which she ..read more

In this special episode of the Syngenta Growing Golf podcast on the week of the US Women's Open, we are joined by Pebble Beach Superintendent, Bubba Wright and Syngenta's Kimberly Gard. Bubba and his team will be joined by a 33-strong all-female volunteer turf crew to ready the course for this year's tournament. This the third time leading females from across the country have been invited to volunteer, the first having taken place at The Olympic Club, San Francisco, where its Director of Golf Maintenance, Troy Flanagan first came up with the idea to bring in an all-female volunteer turf crew ..read more

Craig Haldane, Director of The Bernhard Academy, says course managers should “leave your ego at the door” in order to create great team culture. After a 26-year career managing world class venues including Gleneagles and Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, Haldane is now training the next generation of golf course managers – and sharing his experience and expertise to improve the performance of turf teams while retaining valuable talent. Talking to host Gary Firkins, Haldane says, “I have a unique perspective from the journey I’ve had – different cultures, different languages, different purpose. I’ve p ..read more

Designer of 2023 Ryder Cup golf course at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Dave Sampson, joins host Gary Firkins to discuss how to create a stadium course fit for the world’s best. He tells us how his love affair with the game started back in his native South Africa, his unconventional start in course design and the growing importance and role that sustainability plays in all aspects of golf course architecture. He pays tribute to the people working behind the scenes to make the Ryder Cup happen, including Golf Course Superintendent Lara Arias and her turf team. Finally, Dave tells us abo ..read more

Host Gary Firkins is joined by social intelligence experts Jacques de Guigné and Claire Martin from Ipsos and Mark Birchmore from Syngenta to discuss the findings of a pioneering social media listening project analyzing 16.1 million mentions of golf. With a huge influx of players over the past three years, matched by the inexorable rise of social media, what are existing customers saying about golf, what do new participants think and how can clubs and courses engage prospective players? The panel discuss key insights from the report, including golf’s negative reputation generated by controvers ..read more