Destination Golf - September 2016 * | Page 30

Peter Walton at NAC 2016 welcome reception with Thomas Pashley, President, Pinehurst Resort © Peter Ellegard

DG: FOUR QUICK-FIRE QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR
OWN EXPERIENCES:
• What’s the difference between a Golf Professional and a
Golf Tourism Professional?
PW: About 24 strokes in my case! Ask any Golf Director at golf
resorts around the world and nine times out of 10 they are lucky
if they get to play 18 holes more than once a month. Golf tour
operators usually play more but generally not as well!
• What’s the most unusual golf travel request you have
received?
PW: A few years ago I got a call from Iron Maiden’s manager asking
if we could arrange a round of golf for the band in Santiago, Chile,
at the end of a gruelling South American tour. Unfortunately, most
courses are closed on Mondays in that part of the world, but a
couple of back-stage passes for the granddaughters of a golf club
president and the course was duly opened!
• What’s the best advice you have been given on a golf course?
PW: Without doubt it was a while back in Madeira, when one of
our IAGTO members recommended I switch to the claw grip. I
have never looked back! What’s more, my game improved even
further last month when it was suggested to me that I use it only
with the putter…

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Destination Golf .TRAVEL

• What is your most memorable moment on a golf course?
PW: I would have to say that it was playing in the company
of Colin Montgomerie at the inaugural Star Trophy at Mission
Hills Haikou in China. Being able to watch a top pro prepare for
a tournament with his caddy at such close quarters was a real
privilege. It was almost as good as being mistaken for a celebrity
by Chinese school kids from Hainan Island who were lining the
fairways in droves!
DG: On a final note, in the age of the internet there is a
mountain of information about golf destinations and courses
but it can often be hard to sort the chaff from the wheat.
How important are golf travel publications in disseminating
that information and helping readers to decide where to take
their golf holidays?
PW: Some 70% of golf travellers are on the lookout for a new
destination to visit but this brings with it the uncertainly of
knowing whether or not the golf experience on offer is right for
them. Golfers therefore seek out inspiration, information and
reassurance before they book and this is what friends, fellow
golfers, golf tour operators and golf publications can provide.
An unbiased view of how a golf course or golf destination is
today incredibly important to golfers planning a golf vacation,
and that is why the work of golf travel writers and the
publications, like Destination Golf, dedicated to telling their
stories are a corner stone of the golf tourism industry!