So hands up if you’ve had about enough of terms like “credit crunch”, “recession” and “bear market”.

I’m sure financial institutions and politicians employ people to come up with the latest in depressingly funky jargons. I’ve come to the conclusion that 99 per cent of the human race are either manic depressives or we all just enjoy a nice dose of bad news from time to time.

Anyway, having said all that, unfortunately I have my own dose of bad news. The Brits among you will no doubt have been keeping your eye on the astonishing slide in value of the pound against the dollar. It’s remarkable to think that at the time of writing this article the pound has lost 25 per cent of its value against the dollar in just two months.

The golf club industry is a rich and diverse business and in times of economic uncertainty, facilities require their managers to possess all the tools in the bag, in order to lead their operation to a safe haven of security.

It’s thanks to the global efforts of the Club Managers’ Association of America (CMAA) and more recently, the Club Managers’ Association of Europe (CMAE), that club managers around the world will soon be better placed and prepared to do so. For decades associations such as the PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association) and various national Golf Course Superintendents Associations, have led the drive for improved and ongoing education within their memberships. However the story of the club manager has been very different.

So OK, it’s a game whereby the guy that gets the ball in the hole in fewer shots than the other guys wins, but as the now legendary short game master Dave Pelz puts it, it’s more a matter of statistics.

Pelz has become cemented in the minds of golfers worldwide for his contribution to the remarkable rise in fortunes of Phil Mickelson – that is of course, more so in recent years.

Mickelson, already a class player and in the top five in the world rankings when they were first acquainted, went on to win his first major of his career due to the timely intervention of Pelz.

It is a well-known fact that the voice of the collective over the voice of the few carries a tremendous amount more of weight and purpose.

As I sit in the lounge at Muscat International Airport I’m reflecting on a number of interesting conversations I’ve had during the past couple of days, on the development and future prospects of the Oman golf industry.

Oman has for some time now positioned itself as an upcoming tourist destination.

Many of you will know that aside from my day job I also represent the UAE Professional Golfers’ Association in the form of my role of Secretary of the organisation.

The association has been evolving at a tremendous rate over the past 18 months and that is mainly down to the enthusiasm, commitment and dedication of a number of PGA Professionals across the United Arab Emirates that have a passion for the brand and what it represents in the game of golf.

The majority of amateur golfers (and some professionals also) don’t really know or understand what the PGA brand is all about, which is sad in a way, but for those of you who sat through the opening ceremony of the recent Ryder Cup, you would have seen quite how much the US national PGA body are promoting their place and value within in the game.