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In this episode of Growing Golf, we sit down with Karen Proctor, Sales Director - Head of APAC for Textron Specialized Vehicles in Asia.

Karen shares her inspiring journey from growing up in Saudi Arabia to becoming a vocal advocate for women leaders in the golf industry.

Now based in Singapore, she brings a wealth of international experience and a passion for leadership and diversity.

We discuss:
- Karen’s early life and international background: Karen's upbringing in the Bahamas, Saudi Arabia, and England, and how it shaped her global perspective.
- Career Beginnings: Her initial steps into the hospitality industry, working in hotels, and her unexpected transition into the golf sector.
- Challenges and Growth: The early challenges Karen faced, her approach to leadership, and her development into a confident industry leader.
- Gender Diversity in Golf: Karen’s experiences as a woman in a male-dominated field, the importance of representation, and her advocacy for diversity in the workplace.
- Future Turf Managers Initiative (FTMI): Insights into the dedicated leadership program and its impact on young professionals in the golf industry.
- Mentorship and Networking: The significance of mentorship in Karen's career and practical advice for young professionals looking to advance in the golf industry.

Useful links
McKinsey: How Inclusion Matters: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-wins-how-inclusion-matters
‘Greater visibility of golf careers needed’: https://www.syngentagolf.com/greater-visibility-golf-careers-needed

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-proctor/

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Web: https://www.syngentagolf.com/
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Thank you for tuning in to Growing Golf. Stay tuned for our next episode where we continue to explore the people, stories and strategies that are shaping the future of golf.

What’s it really like to be a female golf coach in a world where 93% of coaches are men?

We asked Amy Millward, Molly Moore and Jamie Taylor, three leading teaching professionals on three different continents, in this no-holds-barred roundtable discussion.

Hosted by Sarah Gwynn, the trio talk through the challenges they have faced, the omnipresence of stereotypes, and how the industry can attract more new golfers.

We also discuss what’s happening in their respective regions – Dubai, the UK and the US – for women in golf, and whether the sport is genuinely doing enough to welcome greater diversity.

Amy tells of the success she has had building a strong community of women golfers at the Claude Harmon Academy in Dubai; Jamie surprises us with a statistic about African American LPGA professionals; and Molly suggests how golf can rethink participation.

Golf venues everywhere can learn from the valuable insights and ideas of these three ambitious women.

Share your questions, opinions and comments with Syngenta Growing Golf on LinkedIn or X, or by writing to us: golf.syngenta@syngenta.com

Syngenta Golf: www.syngentagolf.com | @syngentagolf

Miranda Robinson used to be regularly mistaken for a drinks cart girl when she was a golf course superintendent.

But, as her name nickname ‘The Smiling Superintendent’ suggests, she would always laugh it off and focus instead on “showing them why I belonged there and why I was a leader”.

“It’s very easy to be sensitive to other people’s perceptions of you, but you can’t control how someone else thinks,” she says. “All you can control is how you present yourself, and becoming negative doesn’t give you any advantage.”

Miranda came into golf purely by chance.

Despite playing every sport going at high school, she never considered a career in turf until two of her friends found summer jobs at the local golf club and encouraged her to join them.

She quit her well-paying role in a factory, immediately fell in love with working on the course and has spent the best part of two decades as an assistant or superintendent.

Miranda tells host Gary Firkins why she was always destined to succeed in a male-dominated industry, her hopes to encourage more women into the industry, and what helped her through a struggle with mental health as a 20-year-old.

Share your questions, opinions and comments with Syngenta Growing Golf on Twitter, LinkedIn or by writing to us: golf.syngenta@syngenta.com
Syngenta Golf: www.syngentagolf.com | @syngentagolf
Miranda Robinson: @turfmow

Jim Beatty had little interest in golf growing up in his native Chicago. That was until a visit to Nebraska and a meeting with the state's first African American PGA of America Golf Professional, Steve Hogan, changed all that.

Hogan, who ran a par 3 course in Omaha at the time, introduced Beatty to the game and from there, he was hooked.

This proved to be the catalyst for a decorated career in which Beatty not only runs his own business, Jim Beatty Golf Ventures, but also founded the African American Golf Expo and serves as the Executive Editor of the African American Golf Digest.

He sees it as playing his part in a wider movement towards bringing greater diversity into the game of golf.

And while his motivation is rooted in the growth and sustainability of the game, Beatty points to a significant commercial opportunity for the industry too. African Americans value to the US golf market tops $4 billion, yet they make up only 5% of the United States' 25 million golfers. Beatty believes there is an opportunity to double or even triple this number.

But how can the industry realize this?

Beatty explains one of the key aspects is to make new golfers feel welcome and has a word of advice to PGA Professionals: "Start greeting your new golfer in the parking lot (...), pick up their clubs, the more you make them feel familiar and less threatened, the longer they are going to stay in this industry."

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Join the debate
Share your questions, opinions and comments with Syngenta Growing Golf on Twitter, LinkedIn or by writing to us: golf.syngenta@syngenta.com

Syngenta Golf: www.syngentagolf.com | @syngentagolf
Jim Beatty Golf Ventures: jimbeattygolfventures.com
African American Golf Expo: aagolfexpo.com
African American Golf Digest: africanamericangolfersdigest.com

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To discover new insights and hear inspirational stories from those making a difference in the golf industry, visit http://www.syngentagolf.com
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Mahaley Nemtuda has turned her life around.

From a troubled upbringing in which she left home early, faced expulsion from school and became a mother at a young age, she is now forging a career as a trailblazing turf professional.

The assistant superintendent from Mansfield, Ohio is juggling life, work and studies but wouldn’t have it any other way, as she puts it “you can only be as successful as you are dedicated.”

In a wide-ranging conversation, Mahaley describes a chance encounter with host Gary Firkins at a networking event during this year’s GCSAA Trade Show & Conference in which she asked him, “How do I network?”

She also opens up about her challenging formative years and the help and support she’s received from both her partner, Colby and the turf teams she has worked with.

Mahaley also talks about her plans to give back. Having been helped by mentors around her she now has plans to face her fears of speaking publicly so she can help other students as they embark on their careers in turf.

Join the debate

Share your questions, opinions and comments with Syngenta Growing Golf on Twitter, LinkedIn or by writing to us: golf.syngenta@syngenta.com

Syngenta Golf: www.syngentagolf.com | @syngentagolf
Ohio State University ATI: https://ati.osu.edu

In this special episode of the Syngenta Growing Golf podcast on the week of the US Women's Open, we are joined by Pebble Beach Superintendent, Bubba Wright and Syngenta's Kimberly Gard.

Bubba and his team will be joined by a 33-strong all-female volunteer turf crew to ready the course for this year's tournament.

This the third time leading females from across the country have been invited to volunteer, the first having taken place at The Olympic Club, San Francisco, where its Director of Golf Maintenance, Troy Flanagan first came up with the idea to bring in an all-female volunteer turf crew.

Syngenta's Kimberly Gard helped Troy turn that vision into a reality, and has carried it forward into successive US Women's Opens.

The initiative has gained recognition on The Golf Channel and has been the subject of a YouTube docuseries. It has also encouraged the women involved to form group chats, create their own 'women in turf' social media channels and push for greater visibility for their role in the profession.

Bubba and Kimberly tell host Gary what the volunteer crew will bring to the week, the significance of using the platform the tournament to help increase the visibility of women in turf and the importance of the friendships and networks established - and carrying these forward.

Join the debate

Share your questions, opinions and comments with Syngenta Growing Golf on Twitter, LinkedIn or by writing to us: golf.syngenta@syngenta.com

Syngenta Golf: www.syngentagolf.com | @syngentagolf
Breaking the Turfgrass Ceiling: https://www.youtube.com/@womeninturfteam