Admission Review Programme (ARP)

One thing I have neglected to mention so far is the ARP element of the PGA which all prospective professionals have to partake in. I guess all my focus so far has been on that ruddy playing test.

However, to elaborate on the ARP, it is basically a 2-day induction to the PGA Foundation Degree Programme (the 3 year course which we all have to go through) which is carried out at The Belfry (the PGA headquarters of the UK).

The morning started delightfully - with a 4am wake up to drive there. The Belfry is all the up near Birmingham, some 180 miles away!!! Bummer considering I dislike distance driving intensely. Anyways, I rolled up about 7.30ish and the registration wasnt until 9 so I just decided to hit some balls on the driving range. This was no normal range, on the corridor to the range there were studio's for all the top golf manufacturers, where I then found out that all the top UK players go to experiment with new equipment! Cool, I thought.

Anyways, the morning began with a basic introduction to the programme and an overview of all the different things we will be covering over the 3 years which include coaching, business (AGAIN! - I now have 6 years business education behind me!), rules and tournament administration, sports science and club repairs.

After this we checked into our hotel rooms but that was non eventful.
Then, we were given a talk by a chap called Graham Jackson about distance learning. With the exception of a one week residential course per year, this entire course is done by the post via the mail and the balance of trying to balance this with my job and also my main priority - my playing career is not a particularly thrilling one. I digress....

After an unusual lunch, the afternoon session was spent in a business and rules workshop which was quite interesting.

The evening was spent entertained by a few beers, a posh meal in the suite where the European Ryder Cup dined and a wee trip to famed 'Belair' nightclub. However, I was a good lad and tucked myself up before midnight.

The second day basically consisted of 3 workshops - swing, sports science and club repairs which I found particularly interesting.
Then the head pro gave a talk about the various avenues we can go into when qualified professionals and I didnt realise how many there were - playing, equipment, coaching, corporate organising, dinner speaker, rules official, retail - the list goes on!!!!

I learned an absolute bundle and definitely am committed to enrolling upon completion of a certain test......