Competitors in this season’s PGA South West events will be well-served for Rules of Golf expertise as all three full-time members of the region’s tournament team are now qualified to referee at Open Championship level.
Regional manager and PGA Professional Rob Moss is a Level Four R&A Certified Referee, while Charlotte Britton and Luke Warren have attained Level Three Certified Referee status and can officiate at elite level tournaments.
Warren, a Tournament Director, and Britton, a Tournament Controller, sat and passed the written exam under The PGA’s auspices in December and have now completed the qualification process by attending the Level 3 Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar (TARS) run by The R&A at St Andrews.
They and delegates from 40 golf federations or governing bodies worldwide attended the three-day seminar which covered a variety of topics relevant to a referee’s role.
“These included agronomy, pace of play, course evacuation and suspension of play, and equipment rulings,” explained Britton.
The seminar also included role play sessions in a conference room that had been converted to house golf course features.
“There was a bunker and penalty area, and qualified referees who adopted the roles of players asked us to give rulings on a variety of scenarios,” Britton added.
“There was also a question-and-answer session with Paul Lawrie, the 1999 Open Championship winner. He gave us a player’s view in respect of the Rules and what they expected from referees.
“Shona MacRae, the R&A’s Director of Rules, also gave a presentation, and that was inspirational.
“In fact, the whole experience was inspirational. As well as enhancing my knowledge of the Rules, the course was so wide-ranging I learned about aspects of the game I hadn’t really considered such as agronomy.
“Add to that spending time in a town steeped in the history of golf and meeting a host of friendly and helpful people, made it an unforgettable experience.
“I was told beforehand it would be a good week, but nothing prepared me for how good it was. I can’t thank The PGA enough for making it possible for me to attend and advise anyone else who gets the chance to grab the opportunity.”
Warren was similarly effusive and added: “Listening to and learning from the experiences of Paul Lawrie, David Rickman, the chief referee at the past 27 Open Championships, and Shona MacRae, was invaluable.
“I can’t wait for the new season to start so that I can put into practice what I’ve learned.”
