There is no question that from the time you started until now, the HKGA has developed some very fine players through the junior programme, and that at an international level, Hong Kong is performing better than it ever has done. Which begs the question: why leave now?
I’ve actually been thinking about it for a while, and have stayed longer in the role than I originally envisaged. This is the end of my eighth year and we have achieved many of the goals that we set out at the beginning. The junior and international programme has grown a great deal - it is a very large programme now - and I feel it’s the right time for some fresh faces and fresh ideas. With a great new sponsor on board in HSBC, the timing is right and my successor, William Chung, has plenty of experience having been HKGA President on two occasions.
What were the goals that you set out to achieve in the early days?
Rewind eight years when we started. We had a core group of six to eight good junior golfers between the ages of 10 and 12 with some younger ones coming up. We knew we could only concentrate on elite golf as we didn’t have the money or the access to do any grassroots development - and we needed results. We decided to set some lofty goals. The goals were to make the Asian Games; to see our younger players being competitive on the Asian stage, make it into the top-50 in the junior world rankings and to make golf more recognized in the Hong Kong sporting arena.
But we also wanted to instill something more to the juniors than just results. Sporting competitions are good for youngsters; it’s good for their physical and mental health as well as general well being. Golf in particular teaches you humility, determination, dedication and discipline, to name just a few attributes. The sort of self-regulation that we have in golf is also a plus for youngsters as they learn to accept the good with the bad. In golf, there is no short cut especially if you want to become a successful competitive full-time professional.
