School designed to avoid hard knocks

Sergio Garcia burst onto the professional scene just over a year ago. In a very short time he became a recognised figure, and a win at the Irish Open and a second place at the US PGA secured his position as a serious contender just five months after his debut.

El Nino is a rarity in Europe. He had been well groomed for his professional position; he was as professional as an amateur could be, if you get my meaning. There were no surprises for the Spaniard on tour, he was prepared for all eventualities both on and off the course. This is not the case for most young hopefuls in Europe.

The Australian government, through some gentle persuasion, recognised the necessity of early grooming for their potential young sports players so that when they arrived on the professional scene they would not be overawed by their surroundings.

When we were hit with a barrage of unknown youngsters at the top of leaderboards in Australia at the end of last year it did not come as any surprise to Ross Herbert and his associates at the golf division of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). You see, all these "unknowns" have been brought up through a specialised programme run by the AIS, designed to get the best out of their potential stars quicker than you can say Didgery Doo. With the costs involved in today's game, and more players chasing a limited number of sponsors, it becomes difficult to sustain a slow developer. The AIS tries to eliminate the teething problems for novices on Tour. In January of 1992 the resources of the Australian Sports Commission, the Australian Golf Union, Women's Golf Australia and the Australian PGA were combined through the AIS. Ross Herbert, who had looked after national men's squads for 14 years, took over as head coach. Ross has been a pro for 20 years and played the Australian tour for five years. The commission provides a base funding and the national bodies contribute. They run a "Developmental Elite Programme" for 17 to 19-year-olds.

Ross explained to me during one of the many rain delays at the PGA championship in Wentworth a couple of weeks ago that they are moving towards an "elite programme" to ensure a "quality finished product". I was thinking to myself at the time, as I watched the rain bouncing off the practice green, how could you instill a 12-month golf programme in this part of the world when you are presented with such inhospitable practice conditions at the start of summer? A good climate is always a good starting point for encouraging anyone to play golf, which does put Australia in a somewhat advantageous position. Of course there are other deciding factors apart from the weather. The "Go Go Golf" programme is available, if they choose to adopt it, to primary schools throughout Australia. It is a way of introducing 8 to 12-year-olds to the game with modified techniques, emphasising enjoyment and participation in a safe environment.

Brett Rumford, who won the TPC at Royal Queensland last December as an amateur, is a product of the AIS centralised residential programme based at Sandringham, south east of Melbourne. He was experiencing his first taste of European golf at the Forest of Arden last week. It is no coincidence that they choose the sandbelt area of Melbourne as their headquarters for this programme. Sandringham is at the heart of the "cradle of Australian golf". There are at least 20 championship courses in this celebrated stretch of golfing paradise. The base is about 400 metres from the fourth hole at Victoria GC, and about 600 metres from the 18th at Royal Melbourne. Here the pupils learn everything from the swing to dealing with living away from home, from nutrition to physiological and psychological development, from media training to more traditional tactical skills.

The system is reducing the need for aspiring young Australian golfers to search for a scholarship in America, the route Steve Elkington took so successfully in the early 1980s. Now more hopefuls can receive an equally good grounding in all the relevant aspects of the modern game, although they are missing out on the competitive side by staying at home.

Two promising youngsters, James McLean and Tammie Durdin, chose to take the American training route, having gone through the AIS system at home. McLean holds the NCAA title in America, the first Australian to do so. Tammie Durdin was ranked number one in women's college golf last October. So the AIS has not stopped Australians from wanting the American influence, but it has opened up golf education to a much wider group than was previously available before 1992. If you see Aaron Baddeley, Brett Rumford, Brad Lamb, Scott Gardiner or Geoff Ogilvy, all products of the AIS system, at the top of any global leaderboards this year, don't be surprised. Just as Sergio Garcia wasn't intimidated by seeing his name in bright lights so early in his young career last year, these Australian novices will not be phased by fame this year.

Nor will Ross Herbert at the AIS be surprised to find that some of his "quality finished products" are performing promptly at the highest level.