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DOC HOLLOWAY

*With more than 50 years as a US-PGA member, Doc Holloway is one of the most respected and well known coaches in Asia.

*Mr. Holloway graduated from Colorado State University

with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology.

*He was a standout on the University Golf Team which gave him the opportunity to play with 2 of the greatest players in the game. (Jonny Miller and Hale Irwin).

*Doc started his coaching career at Doral Golf and Country Club in Miami, Florida.

*He then went on to spend several years as a Head Instructor with the world famous JOHN JACOBS GOLF SCHOOLS, which gave him the opportunity to work side by side and under the watchful eye of the great man himself, JOHN JACOBS.

*In 1995 Doc was invited by Jacobs Golf to start the first golf schools and academy in Mainland China at Mission Hills Golf Club, now the worlds largest golf complex.

*In 1998 he Moved to Hong Kong where he established the Doc Holloway Golf Academy.

He held the position of Director of Instruction at two of the most prestigious clubs in Asia. (Xili Golf and Discovery Bay Golf).

*Doc coached the three best players in China at the time, (Zhang Lian Wei, Cheng Jun, Wu Xiang Bing). All 3 went on to win European Tour Events.

Zhang Lian Wei was the first Chinese player to be invited to the Masters Tournament in 2004. Doc has coached several young players that have been successful on all major Tours---European, Asian, Thai, Korean, and Japan. Now in retirement, he still spends 7 months in Asia. The PGA of America has 11 Academies in China with the more on the way. Doc has been a true pioneer for golf in Asia and continues to give back to this great game.   

 MOVING TO CHINA

PGA MAGAZINE ARTICLE

Having taught in the States for well over 20 years, Richard ‘Doc’ Holloway upped sticks for in China in 1996 at 50 years of age and never looked back.

Richard ‘Doc’ Holloway, a Master Professional who joined the PGA of America in 1976, graduated from Colorado State University - where he teed it up with Johnny Miller and Hale Irwin - before starting his coaching career at Doral in Miami. He retired seven years ago but now spends six months of his life in China every year and six months in Scottsdale because of what he chose to do with his career on turning 50.

What he chose to do was work as a PGA of America professional overseas at the still fledgling Mission Hills resort in China, helping to start up a John Jacobs Golf School there after spending many years teaching at John Jacobs schools in the States. “He is probably the greatest teacher I have ever seen,” Holloway enthuses. I started with him in Scottsdale. That experience in the States stood Holloway in good stead when, in 1996, the opportunity to spread the John Jacobs Golf School wings overseas into China came up. Holloway was 50 years old when he headed out in 1996, but single at the time, which perhaps made the decision to change his life path quite so dramatically late on in life that little bit easier.

PGA: Was it easy uprooting and heading overseas at 50 years of age?

I wasn’t married at the time, my only son was in college, and they thought I was a good candidate. People with families are more difficult - to uproot the whole family and go somewhere like that is difficult. So I very quickly had to try and learn the language, and I did it fairly well - I wouldn’t say I’m fluent in Chinese but I’m good enough to get by. I went to Mission Hills at a time when there was only one course there - the World Cup course, a Nicklaus course. I spent three years there, then went on to Hong Kong and spent 12 or 13 years there.

PGA: How difficult is it to learn a complex language at 50?

Good question. I think I picked it up fairly well, but I had to as I was really thrown in at the deep end when I went to China - there weren’t very many foreigners at Mission Hills then. But like anything, some people have an aptitude for it and a lot of people don’t. 

PGA: Had overseas work crossed your mind before being invited to apply?

I wasn’t really invited to apply - there was no application! I got a call from the vice- president of operations at Jacobs Golf here in Scottsdale, and he said they would like me to go to China to start some golf schools. They gave me six months and said, ‘if you are not happy then, we will bring you back’. I stayed for 20 years and it was probably the greatest thing I had ever done with my life. I enjoyed it so much.

PGA: What were the key qualities you had that they were looking for?

I think it was my experience, number one. They thought that I was a little bit older so would maybe handle the situation - they knew what I would be getting into. Other than that, I don’t know, but I will tell you that the best qualification you can have is being really interested in going for the right reasons. You have to be interested in going over there to experience a new culture and different people. If you’re not interested in the culture and the people, it’s not going to work and probably won’t last.

PGA: What were your biggest challenges working internationally?

The culture is extremely different. It’s a lot better now but in 1996 China really wasn’t yet ‘open’. So the challenges were trying to work out the culture. I have a very good Chinese friend over there, and when I first met him he was young, very well educated and spoke perfect English. He said the big difference in doing business here in China for a western person is that when two people in the west want to do a business deal, they shake hands and both go off and assume the other is going to do what they said they were going to do. But in China, you can’t assume much of anything! Other than that, I found the people to be just fantastic. I have so many Chinese friends now over there.

PGA: What about the benefits of working overseas?

The biggest benefit for me was that it broadened my horizons; it changed my life dramatically. I’m a much different person than I would have been if I had stayed in the States. Anyone who is well travelled or who has an interest in living in another country and another culture... they just change! They are not the same person. When I come back to the States it’s very difficult for me to relate that to my friends, even to family. So the biggest thing is that I now have a real sense of the world rather than the small microcosm you get here in the States.

PGA: What was the most challenging role you undertook overseas?

Just trying to understand their thinking is kind of difficult. When I first got to Mission Hills, I had a difficult time getting the ownership at the club to give me all the tools that I needed - that I thought I needed - to be successful and do a wonderful job setting up the golf schools.

PGA: How long did it take to acclimatise so you felt confident and comfortable?

At least six months. After that time, Jacobs Golf called me and wanted to know if I wanted to come back [to the States]. I said, ‘No. I’m having the time of my life, I’m really interested in staying here’. But I think it took six months. Then, when I went to Hong Kong, I started my own company working at two or three different venues. One was Discovery Bay, where I became director of instruction, and we had a program that brought young PGA professionals over to Hong Kong. They would come for a month at a time, which allowed me to come back to the States for a month. I found out very quickly that some of the young people really wanted to come and take a look at another country; others got there and wanted to go home within a week! They couldn’t take the food; they couldn’t take the changes in their life.

PGA: How do you think you developed professionally working overseas?

It gave me a chance to develop teaching skills that are not necessarily verbal but visual. That is a big thing. When I got a Chinese person who didn’t speak any English, I found out after a couple of years that I could still teach them; I could still get them to understand through visual teaching.

PGA: And personally?

It made me grow as a person. That experience of going overseas and living there is completely different from traveling. I would highly recommend it.

PGA: Did you develop more on both counts than if you had stayed in the States?

Yes, unbelievably so. I am so happy that I did it - it changed my life forever.

PGA: What is the best advice you could give someone thinking of going to work overseas for the first time?

Make sure that the package covers your expenses; that you have an airplane ticket across and an airplane ticket back, so you don’t have to come up with three, four or five thousand dollars out of your own pocket if it doesn’t work or you don’t like it. If you have a wife and kids, you have to sit down with them and make sure that they are fully on board, because if they’re not, it just magnifies any problems a hundred-fold. So only uproot them and take a family if you have a very good package financially. If you’re going to Hong Kong, Shanghai or Beijing, you’d better have a really, really good package - an income in excess of US$100,000-150,000. If you don’t, then it’s probably not worth going with the family. But if you’re single, and you want to go for the experience, then maybe don’t factor in the monetary side so much. Just go and have fun and enjoy it!

PGA: Do you have to be a particular type of person or are there openings for all?

You have to be a certain personality. You have to look at yourself and be extremely flexible - because things are going to go wrong and you have to be able to adapt when they do. The personality part is probably one of the most important things - you have to know yourself. I’ve never been in management, I’ve been an instructor all my life. But if you’re going over there alone as an instructor, don’t necessarily put the money as a first priority. You have to look at yourself and say you’re going there for the experience of learning about the culture and the people and to have fun. If you can actually make your decision like that, I think you are on your way!

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