Page 52 - 07.06 p1-56 (Final Print)
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STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD






                              FINLAND



            GOLF IN FINLAND










                                 By Karin Lampinen
                                 Director, WGTF Finland

              he known history of golf in Finland started        colleague Mikkis Bertling had the pleasure to
            Tlong ago with the Russian tsar Nicholas II in       work at our home golf club with juniors from
            1902. The tsar was an enthusiastic golfer, and       the ages of 3 years to 15 years. Each summer
            during his summer holiday when visiting Finland,     we held trainings, and altogether 120 juniors
            he had ordered a small field made for hitting        attended. After two seasons, we engaged in
            golf balls. Officially, golf landed in Finland       new challenges and started as freelance golf
            in the year 1932 when the first golf club was        coaches at some nearby golf courses, such
            founded. Twenty-five years later, the Finnish Golf   as (Aleksander “Sasha”)  Barkow Golf School
            Association was founded as golf had spread           and HLR-Academy. My longest tenure is at St.
            all over the country. The real golf boom began       Laurence Golf, also a golf course. Beyond golf
            after the mid-1980s when dozens of golf courses      coaching, I have worked as a caddiemaster
            were built in Finland within a few years.            and a greenskeeper on a golf course just to get
                As of today, golf is one of the most popular     better understanding of the golf business.
            outdoor sports in Finland.  There are more than           My golf coaching philosophy:
            150 golf courses all over the country. There is a         Every player is a unique individual, be
            total of a little over 140,000 golf members in golf   he a junior or a senior. An individual moves
            clubs in Finland.  About 10 percent of all players   and plays golf  in his personal way while
            are junior players and 28 percent are lady
            golfers.
                My passion for golf started in 2008 and I
            was immediately an active member in my
            golf club. During the years 2012 and 2013, I
            attended the Finnish Golf Association’s Level 1-2
            instructor courses, and in 2015 I flew over to the
            United States to attend the USGTF golf teaching
            certification course, Levels 1-3. It was one of the
            best things I have ever done in my life.
                As a golf instructor, I started with senior and
            junior golfers. I am a teacher by profession,
            which provides a good basis for golf teaching
            and coaching. In the beginning, I and my


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