Cosgrove's game-changing golf services win PING's TGI Golf Custom Fitter of the Year For Ireland

10/07/2024

Newlands Golf Club Head PGA Professional Brian Cosgrove is revelling in his newfound status as PING TGI Golf Custom Fitter of the Year for Ireland.

Brian Cosgrove is a vastly experience PGA Professional having begun his career in Rathsallagh before moving into a Director of Golf role in Killeen Golf Club and he has served in Newlands Golf Club since 2019.

He was recently announced as PING’s TGI Golf Custom Fitter of the Year for Ireland and was understandably delighted with the award.

“Winning that was huge. We went over to PING headquarters in the UK. It was a great accolade to get, we go to Arizona in October to their main factory for a tour and some golf and it’s supposed to be out of this world,” said Cosgrove.

“The engineering and the science behind it is a number of years into the future and it’s very interesting to get an insight into that. It’s good recognition for what we do here.

“PING works well here at Newlands as it’s quite a tight, treelined golf course and PING is a forgiving brand in the drivers, woods and hybrids.”

Introduced in 2016 the PING TGI Golf Custom Fitter of the Year Award sets out to recognise those TGI Partners who show an outstanding commitment to custom fitting, PING, TGI Golf and overall retail. Three regional winners are selected each year from England & Wales, Scotland and Ireland – these three winners are then flown to the brand’s global HQ in Phoenix, where the overall winner will be crowned in the famed Gold Putter Vault.

Cosgrove established Brian Cosgrove Golf Academy in 2009 and his academy has been taken up a notch with the development of a new state of the art swing studio which he feels has helped take his custom fitting and teaching to the next level.

“We have an online booking system which works really well so people can book at home on a Sunday night after a bad game over the weekend. They can log in and see our availability with myself and Stephen Quinlan. We have a suite of options, and they can book as they see fit. They can also call into the shop too.

“I enjoy the custom fitting side of things and because the swing studio is state of the art, it provides an excellent fitting experience. The lesson experience is great too but from a fitting point of view the studio comes into its own.

“However, being a PGA Pro you have to be very diverse and cater across all different aspects.”

Cosgrove has brought through plenty of young aspiring PGA Professionals and has recently recruited Stephen Quinlan. He has been impressed with the skillsets that the programme provides and feels they are suited to dealing with the hectic lifestyle of being in a golf club.

“I had Ian Lynam who was brilliant and I have Stephen Quinlan now who is fully qualified. Newlands is busy enough to have two Pros, if not more. I have a shop manager, Ross O’Reilly who is going to turn Pro in the winter. It’s a very busy club with room for a lot of professionals.

“There’s plenty of variety in the PGA Programme and you have to be ready for that because every day is different. One day you are retailing in the shop, the next you are giving a bunker lesson, doing a loft and lie, custom fitting.”