International Pairs has always been keen to explore new frontiers since its inception and it achieved a new first this month (March) with Vietnam joining the world’s largest competition of its kind for club golfers.
Craig Brogan, who runs trade and service company BROGOLF, has been awarded the inaugural licence for the south-east Asian country and will promote International Pairs to the corporate and open sector in Vietnam as well as all its clubs.
There are around 20 courses and 5,000 official club golfers in Vietnam but the sport is growing rapidly all the time, with several new courses on the way including three which are due to open by the end of the year.
"Golf is the new tennis. For a long time tennis was the luxury sport here but golf is taking over very quickly," said Brogan.
"Still a relatively tiny number of the population are playing golf as it is still quite expensive here, but everyone knows about it and wants to be into it. Why is that? Because it’s new, it’s luxury and it’s international.
"Once the word is out, we believe the competition will grow very quickly here and we look forward to a really big second year and then steady growth from there.
"We are very focused on assisting golf development here, particularly with the locals, and International Pairs will certainly achieve that."
Brogan, a 43-year-old Australian who has lived in Vietnam for the last six years, and his business partner Peter Brown (who was born in Saigon) both have wives that are Vietnamese and directors of the company. Together they will all share the inception of International Pairs into the Vietnam golf scene.
As well as the club competitions, the duo plan to hold two regional events - one in the south and one in the north - this year, culminating in a 36-hole national final at a venue yet to be announced.
And the winners will have the chance to progress and become Vietnam’s first-ever representatives at this year’s International Pairs World Final, which is being held at The Carrick on Loch Lomond from October 6-8.
Brown added: "We have been looking for opportunities to bring something new to the game, and appeal to all golfers local and foreign, and finally here it is.
"International Pairs is a great concept which is really simple and the format is a little different from the usual individual events.
"It promotes teamwork and appeals to all golfers, men, women and mixed pairs. It will be a breath of fresh air for golfers here with the link up to an international platform and it doesn’t get much better than to represent your country in a world final."
Ross Honey, managing director and founder of International Pairs, said: "We are always looking for new directions for International Pairs to grow and golf is really taking off in Vietnam and the rest of Asia. It’s very exciting.
"Craig and Peter have some great ideas to take the competition forward there and we are looking forward to Vietnam making their debut at the world final later this year."
More than 500,000 golfers, including West Indian cricket legend Sir Viv Richards and former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke, and over 40 countries have participated in the competition to date since its inception in 1998 and that number is forecast to increase rapidly with more countries than ever signing up to the global event.
Extensive footage from the International Pairs’ World Final Series was screened into around 350 million households in Asia in the two months before Christmas while leading hotel group De Vere, prestigious golf clothing brand Glenmuir and top golf manufacturers Excel have all agreed to sponsor the event in 2010.
For more details on International Pairs and how to enter in 2010, visit their website at www.internationalpairs.com or e-mail info@internationalpairs.com