"And upon their return, they can write on Facebook that they know Slovenia very well,” says jokingly Boris Košuta, the President of the Professional Golfers’ Association of Slovenia, during the interview.

What kind of organisation is PGA Slovenia?
The PGAS is an association of professional teachers and players of golf. It is organised in sections which are responsible for education, junior golf, competitions, clubs and courses, fitness and health, women’s golf, senior golf and equipment. All members of the governing board, the supervisory board, disciplinary board and sections work for the PGAS on a voluntary basis.

How does the Golf Association of Slovenia function?
The Golf Association of Slovenia is an umbrella golf organisation and is a member of the European Golf Association. The GAS brings together clubs, while the PGAS brings together referees and golf course greenkeepers. It is a branch association which, with our help, conducts and manages the realisation of the strategy of development of golf in Slovenia.

Let me mention that qualifying rounds for the footgolf world cup were held in Bovec. Families where not every member of the family is a keen golfer can relax and have some fun in another way, since the non-golfers in the family can all play footgolf.

Your role model is the PGA of Sweden. How do you cooperate with them?
That’s true, the Professional Golfers’ Association of Sweden is one of the best organised professional golf associations in the world. Our mentor is Mikael Sorling, the Chief Executive Officer of the PGA of Sweden, who visits us once a year. He greatly contributes to the development of our association with his experience. Sweden has 700,000 active golfers, who like to play golf outside Sweden since their golf season is short. They mostly play in traditional golf destinations, such as Spain, Portugal, Italy and Turkey. In future, we would like to attract a larger number of Swedish golfers to Slovenia, since in addition to playing golf at excellent courses, they can also visit attractive tourist destinations, such as Portorož, Goriška Brda, Terme Čatež and Bled. The air carrier, Adria Airways, is also working in our favour by opening a regular service between Ljubljana and Stockholm.

Slovenia is otherwise very successful in golf; is there a future Tiger Woods to look out for?
The PGAS is very proud of our member, Tim Gornik, who became a permanent participant at prestigious European competitions this year. However, the PGAS is primarily an organisation for golf teachers. If you wish to become a teacher and a PGA member, you have to undergo training and sit for exams. But you don’t need to do this if you just want be a golfer. Talent is required and above all a lot of practice. Tiger Woods can just play golf according to the PGA rules. But he could teach it only if he underwent suitable training. So, a licence is required for teaching golf, but for playing in tournaments, good results are required. The competitions are ranked and good results in a certain rank enable progression to a higher rank.

Golf is said to be a gentleman’s game. Why do you need a disciplinary board for?
This is stipulated in the Societies Act. The PGA is here to educate new golfers about the techniques of playing together with the rules and etiquette on the course. A training package, which includes eight hours of training with a golf teacher, four hours with a referee and playing nine holes, was prepared by the Golf Association of Slovenia. Playing with a professional teacher after the completed training course is much more pleasurable because you are guided and can progress faster.

What attracts foreigners to Slovenian golf courses the most?
In addition to our beautiful courses, it’s the fact that several different things can be combined with golf. I think Slovenia is perfect since it has many additional options for spending free time. Everything is within reach, which makes it a real paradise for golfers. I’ve just returned from South Africa where distances are great. When you arrive at your destination, you’re already tired from travelling. It’s similar in Iceland. Short distances are a great advantage in our case.

In your opinion, what grabs the attention of a foreign golfer in Slovenia?
Slovenia has wonderful golf courses and natural sights. Upon arrival, a guest can spend the night at Bled and play golf there. The next day, he can visit Ljubljana and the famous Jože Plečnik’s Central Market. He can play golf on two nearby courses in Arboretum Volčji Potok or Smlednik. The next destination is the Primorska region with Postojna Cave and Lipica which has a golf course next to the stud farm. The guest then goes to Portorož and plays golf at the Adriatic golf course. The experience is topped with the delicious Primorska culinary offer and supreme wines. The Padriče golf course is near Trieste and Goriška Brda with exceptional tourist offerings are also in the vicinity. Then there is also Otočec, Ptuj and Moravske Toplice. All golf courses are surrounded by beautiful nature and many other tourist attractions.

Is there any known professional athlete who plays golf?
The most known professional sportsman who also plays golf and is our honorary member is the ice hockey player Anže Kopitar, who organises a charity golf tournament every year. Other known Slovenian top sportspeople who also play golf are Jure Košir, Primož Ulaga and Tone Vogrinec. The greatest promoter of golf in Sweden was Sven Tumba Johansson, the legend of Swedish ice hockey, who completely committed himself to golf after retiring from professional ice hockey. He wasn’t active only in Sweden, but also in Estonia and other Baltic countries and Russia. He organised charity tournaments for children from socially deprived families and also some competitions which are still part of the European Tour. A good man, good organiser, good golfer and a popular Swede known round the world thus attracted to golf almost one million of his fellow countrymen.

Danila Mašić, SINFO