Ian Stafford who has been busy planning the 2018 staging of the Pro Shop Challenge at Kinsale Golf Club.
Picture: Niall O’Shea
2020 was a different year for everyone in golf, from course owners to golfers to professionals. With forced closures for over three months of the year, golf professionals were effectively shut down during the closures. While there were challenges, there were also opportunities and Kinsale based PGA Professional Ian Stafford definitely took advantage of the opportunities. As well as getting to spend more time with his family, Ian has continued his own habit of furthering his professional qualifications. Having started his PGA training in 2000, Stafford didn’t stop with his PGA qualification.
In 2016 he achieved Continue reading
Popular golf teaching Professional Ian Stafford was recently awarded the Fellow designation by the PGA. The Innishannon and Kinsale based pro has continued to invest in his continuing professional development and now becomes only the second PGA professional in Munster to hold the fellow status. Ian’s latest qualification was approved by the APAL process (Accreditation of Professional Achievement and Learning). Each application is considered by the APAL Council which consists of longstanding PGA Members, representatives of the R&A, the golf industry, an advisor from the university sector and two PGA Senior Staff members. On the island of Ireland there are currently over 500 PGA Professionals only 12 of which currently have Fellow status, with Stafford being the youngest to reach Fellow level at 36. This follows on Ian’s qualification as a Level 3 Advanced Coach which he achieved in 2016, and his motivation stems from one of the cornerstones of his teaching. “As a coach I’m 
Ian has vast experience working with and developing skilled golfers having served as a Regional Coach for the ILGU for the past number of years and coaching the Irish Ladies and Girls teams at 2 European Championships. Ian also is also the coach to the junior club in Kinsale Golf Club which has produced 3 boys Internationals in the past 18 months. The topics Ian will be covering on the day are:
Mark is both an accomplished golfer and rugby player and works as personal trainer and Titleist Performance Institute trainer at Dennehys Health and Fitness.