Positive mind-set out there
Many folks are of the belief that the golf industry is buoyant and nowhere near as bleak as some would have us believe
CONTRARY to a growing school of thought that this country’s golf sector is going through turbulent times there are some stakeholders within it that steadfastly declare they are “not doing too badly” and are managing to keep their heads above water.
One of these is the largest retail chain in Malaysia – MST Golf, who have similar business concerns Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and also carry the SportsDirect.com franchise.
The Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour is also making a positive impact on the local front and continues to broaden its base with an increasing number of foreign players in their events co-sanctioned with the Asian Development Tour – of which there are 12 scheduled for this year – and three with the Asean PGA Tour.
Ng Yap, the chief executive of MST, in an interview with TeeUp said they were pleased with how the first half of this year unfolded for them and that they were not adversely affected by the introduction of GST – the government sales tax instituted in April.
“We are aware that some quarters in the economy said they suffered downward turns after GST came into effect,” said Ng. “But we barely felt it.
“Maybe this is because the number of golfers is a very small in terms of the overall population, which some analysts is about one percent.
“And because of this we are looking forward to the second half to continue in that vein.”
Asked if their growth was in double digits for the period mentioned, Ng said this was not the case, but he did add: “In some respects it is because we have invested heavily during this time.
“We have opened superstores in Melaka, Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, and five in the Klang Valley – in Subang, where the company’s headquarters is, Kelana Parkview, UOA in Kuala Lumpur’s central business district, Shah Alam and Sunway Putra.”
He added: “We also have plans to open two more superstores next month. One will be in Penang and the other at Bandar Utama in Petlaing Jaya.”
Explaining their progression and concept, Ng said these facilities were all 5,000 square feet or more in size.
“And as you have noticed that since we have collaborated with SportsDirect we are now in a position to offer our customers an all-in-one facility whereby golf and all the other sports are catered for under one roof.
“This has expanded our portfolio considerably and widened the scope we can offer our customers.”
The PGM Tour too has strengthened its standing with more than 40 events on the calendar, including twelve Development Qualifying School Circuit events.
Chairman Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid said they were always looking at ways to enhance the Tour and were pleased that this year the prize money climbed above RM6mil for the first time.
“Each year, since we started the Tour (in 2010), the number of events has gone up and so too has the prize money been increased.
“In the first half of this year three Malaysian players have won four of the 15 tournaments co-sanctioned with the ADT – Arie Irawan won two and Wilson Choo and Nicholas Fung one apiece. Hopefully by the end of the season we have managed to win a few more,” pointed out the PGM chairman.
“But that is not all,” he added. “The overall standard of the game has improved for our players and that remains one of our objectives – we want to see our players improve and go up in the world rankings.
“As we all know, the Olympic Games will accept golf back for the first time in more than one hundred years in Rio de Janeiro next year, and we could have players feature there if they are high up enough in the world rankings.”
There might some substance in saying that certain quarters in the golf industry are finding things a bit tough at the moment, but qualification for the Olympics would be a huge boost for Malaysia and go some way to underscoring the notion that there are positives that can drawn from this sector – and many of them at that.
The PGM Tour, in the midst of its mid-season break, will resume with the Swiss-Garden Closed Championship at Damau Laut Golf & Country Club in Lumut, Perak from July 22-25.