The Peek Report on Golf in Honduras
When PGA golf swing tutor, Ian Peek, expressed an interest in joining the list of PGAs of Europe Golf Development Consultants, colloquially known as ‘missionaries’, he paved the way for a daunting initiation into one of the sport’s most worthwhile initiatives.
Ian’s debut as a global golfing advisor took him to the Central American outpost of Honduras situated between El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala, a region better known for political unrest and the odd hurricane than for its fairways and greens.
Even getting there was not the simplest of tasks, with three changes of aircraft required, namely from Stuttgart to London Heathrow, on to Miami, from there to San Pedro Pula and finally to Tegucigalpa.
Fortunately, he was well qualified for the task. The widely travelled Scot has been a PGA pro for 20 years and a Fellow of the PGA, since 2005. Based in Germany, he has experience of coaching in the African state of Malawi as well as having played on the Asian, South American and Challenge Tours.
Now, however, he has an urge to continue his visits to the other side of the Atlantic and currently a return visit to carry on the good work is planned for the Head Professional at the Sigmaringen GC to be undertaken in December.
As a result of his initial 10-day fact-finding excursion, funded by surplus income from The Open Championship, he tabled a comprehensive and revealing report that concludes with a recommended 12-point, one-year Action Plan, designed to encourage Honduran golf to grow from grass roots upwards.
During his stay there he was to confirm that if Honduras is to develop a golfing culture it needs all the help, support and advice that can be made available. As one outstanding example, the term ‘grass roots’ has a particularly appropriate meaning since some of the ‘greens’ he encountered have no grass, let alone roots.
There are seven golf clubs in Honduras, six of which are nine-hole. The main one, Tegucigalpa G&CC, in the capital, has never fully recovered from the effects of Hurricane Mitch in 1998 when part of the course was destroyed and never repaired.
Prior to that the club had 700 members. But the results of the natural disaster saw this reduced by half, thus causing income and investment to suffer. The average wage in Honduras is not high. There is a good deal of poverty there. Golf battles against economic limitations.
On the positive side, however, Ian was met at the airport by Henry Kattan, President of the Honduran Golf Association, who escorted him throughout his travels to the country’s golf facilities and whose enthusiasm and drive ensured a packed and fruitful visit.
Henry, it seems, is the only active member of the HGA. No Board meetings have been held, for a quarter of a century, since 1982. In such circumstances where should a GDC begin?
The purpose of the visit, Ian was informed by his escort, was ‘to help the leading players and to improve the country’s standard of junior golf…’ and this he set about achieving. As founder and owner of the Impact Golf Academy and also developer and patent holder of the ‘NMS Fault Fixer’, a teaching and training aid, he was more than willing to comply.
Judging by his report he visited six of the country’s seven golf courses, (and coached players of all levels at most of them). He met the small band of (non-qualified professionals), talked to any of the potential officials whose help could be harnessed and made many instant recommendations.
These included establishing a HGA board to include a representative from each of the seven clubs, forming a Task Force of appropriate personnel to seek sponsorship, organise coaching sessions, seek state aid, including a schools programme and generally kick-start a golfing structure.
He also staged a ‘Rules Evening’ for interested parties, another area where some Honduran golfers are, understandably, not too well versed.
During his coaching clinics at the various locations, Ian was watched with interest by some of the existing professionals who previously had such limited knowledge of the technicalities of the golf swing (though one of them, worryingly, showed not the remotest interest in coaching juniors!).
Ian’s work attracted the attention not only of the local golf fraterni ty but also of the press. The outcome was that one newspaper devoted a whole page to the subject.
Currently there is no visible handicapping system in Honduran golf, another matter of extreme importance for the newly formed HGA Board to deal with. Also, equipment is desperately short. The need for range balls to be provided free of charge to the interested juniors was highlighted as being of paramount importance to attract them along.
Among his many recommendations was for a full-time, paid HGA official to be appointed and funded by clubs making an annual contribution, as in countries around the world advice to be sought on agronomy and green keeping to improve the poor state of the golf courses to set in motion a grading system for national squads at various levels to recruit a well-qualified national coach, possibly from Europe.
While willing to continue periodic return visits, beginning in December, his main concern for golf in Honduras is the lack of qualified coaching, someone who could nurture the elite players with the necessary structure in place, and visit the clubs regularly to encourage the development of players at all levels.
Footnote: Honduras is one of 24 countries around the world visited under the Golf Development Programme. The R&A are favourably considering the Peek Report, just as they have the other 23
