PGA Members recognised at 2024 Foremost Golf Awards

16/05/2025

Several PGA Members were recognised at the 2024 Foremost Golf Awards.

The successful candidates excelled not only in business and retail, but in building relationships with their club members, according to Foremost Golf Managing Director Andy Martin.

“We’ve always wanted to reward our members for their best performance. It always inspires members to raise the bar,” said Martin. “They’re competitive individuals as golfers, they always want to win an award and they’re always coming back to us and saying, ‘What’s the criteria, how do I win one of these awards?’

“If it creates that competitive element, then fantastic. If it drives us to excel, then that’s what awards are all about and that improves the performance of the group. It’s something that we’re proud of and something I really enjoy doing.”

Working with his wife to create a thriving business in Devon, Head Professional Steve White of Thurlestone won the coveted Foremost Member Professional of the Year award and has been a Foremost Golf member for over 25 years.

“My passion to drive business and do well is inherent in being a professional sportsman,” Steve said. “Tell me a professional that doesn’t want to progress and be the best at what they do? The spin off from this motivation is the desire to make players better and to help people to enjoy the game of golf regardless at what level they wish to play at.”

Trevor Newsham and Ryan Done of Heysham shared the Elite Marketing Programme (EMP) Member of the Year award, recognised for their progress in digital marketing and overall business performance.

The pair’s ClubFit Golf initiative helped them stand out from the crowd, offering services to members using a GCQuad Launch Monitor to guide coaching and custom fitting.

“Our best members are those that embrace the golf club,” said Martin. “Are they sending out content about course news, member news, and what’s happening in terms of events? It’s not solely about retail, it’s about the community they’re supporting in a local environment, and that’s what Trevor and Ryan do so well with their ClubFit Golf proposition up at Heysham.”

“It’s hugely rewarding, because there’s a lot of pro shops under the Foremost banner,” Newsham said. “There’s a lot of very good shops right across the country, and they seem to have gone from strength to strength.

“When you look at some of the stuff they share from other shops throughout the UK in terms of their set-ups and how they market themselves, you get a huge amount of satisfaction from the fact they’ve said that we think you’re doing the best job within that period.”

Head Professional Jamie Carney of Robin Hood Golf Club was named Breakthrough Member of the Year.

With the help of his father in the construction of the studio, driving range and winter drainage projects, plus his mother who works in the shop, he has taken the Solihull club to new heights.

“I’m extremely proud to win the award,” Jamie said. “I’ve worked very hard over the last five years and dedicated a lot of time to building the business, the pro shop, the studio and the range. We get our yearly visits from the Foremost guys, so they get to see the changes that we’re making each year. To get the recognition for that and to win the award is extremely satisfying.”

Foremost Golf offer a wide variety of services to over 990 members, including a Central Invoicing and Payment System as well as comprehensive digital marketing services and an online lesson booking system.