pga igi
PGA IGI opens Sydney campus
David Newbery
traineeship with the PGA of Australia.
[email protected]
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“This is a great next step for those players
maintaining a handicap of less than three,”
O’Brien said. “With the right playing standard,
the pathway through to the PGA Professional
Year Program takes four years”.
NYONE contemplating a career in the
golf industry now has the chance to
study in Sydney.
The PGA International Golf Institute (PGA
IGI), based on the Gold Coast for the past
20 years, recently entered a partnership
with International College of Management,
Sydney (ICMS) to establish a combined
curriculum of golf and business courses.
The Sydney campus is only in its infancy,
but six students started the program in May
– four from Australia and one each from
Vietnam and Turkey.
PGA IGI Dean and Executive Officer Dominic
O’Brien said the Sydney campus was identical
to the Gold Coast campus, which delivers
golf and business courses and practical golf
skills to its 60 first-, second- and third-year
students.
“It (Sydney) is set up in the same model as
the Gold Coast,” he said.
“We went to Sydney because when we
looked at our (Gold Coast) student numbers
we found that the majority of our domestic
students came from southeast Queensland.
“Even though we had a lot of interest,
the interstate students weren’t necessarily
travelling to join the program so we decided
to open a Sydney campus to meet the market
demand.”
O’Brien said the Sydney students first
partake in a Diploma of Golf Management
over two trimesters with options to go
on and complete a Bachelor of Business
PGA IGI Sydney campus students with Dean and Executive Officer Dominic O’Brien (second from
right) and PGA IGI Sydney coordinator Anna Booth (far right).
Management with International College of
Management, Sydney (ICMS).
or HELP), meaning no upfront payment is
required to enter the program.
The academic classes are at ICMS, which is
located at Manly atop the hill overlooking
the Northern Beaches, provides a stunning
backdrop.
“During each trimester of the Diploma of
Golf Management, students are involved in
weekly PGA IGI golf competitions and weekly
group skills classes with PGA professionals
(two per week), which are held at Monash
Country Club.”
O’Brien said PGA IGI was strongly linked
with its education partner ICMS, which
shares the PGA IGI’s focus on post-study
employment.
“As part of their bachelor degree studies
with ICMS, students complete an industry
work placement. This prepares students for
the workplace following co