Dear UNGC Members and Potential New Members to the UNGC,

On behalf of the United Nations Golf Club Executive Committee, I would like to send a warm welcome to all of you. We are looking forward to seeing you once again in 2023 and have a very exciting programme developed for this year. The United Nations Golf Club (UNGC) is a dynamic group of golfers consisting of serving and retired staff of International Organizations in Vienna, Permanent Missions, Embassies and their families. We are one of the oldest established UN clubs and have been active for over 30 years. Our roughly 200 members range in skill from first-time beginners to single-digit handicappers, and in promoting the sport of golf we emphasize participation and having fun.

We will begin the 2023 season with the UNGC Annual General Meeting (AGM) which will take place on Wednesday 8 March. Please visit the UNGC Website (https://www.ungc.eu/) for further information.

This year, the UNGC will provide additional support to introduce beginner golfers to the wonderful sport of golf and how they may set up to play golf in Austria. In late 2022 the Executive Committee collaborated with our partner clubs to develop such a programme to welcome new golfers. We are pleased to announce that we have organized an introduction to golf for beginners (Schnupperkurs). This will take place on 16 April 2023. Beginner golfers will have the opportunity to meet with a golf pro to learn more about golf in Austria and to have the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of the golf swing. It will be a relaxed setting and the club will provide the equipment and balls. You just need to show up! Additional information may be found at the UNGC website.

In keeping with the theme of skills improvement, we are pleased to announce that we will continue the spring training sessions with Mr. Dylan Bawden, Fellow PGA Professional. Additional detail on the spring training clinics may be found at the UNGC website.

The UNGC team captains have been busy developing the tournament schedule for 2023. This year the UNGC will host eight tournaments at some of the best golf courses around Vienna. The UNGC tournaments are a highlight for the Austrian golf community and include interesting prizes, tombola’s, wine tastings from various wine producers, as well as dinners and other social events in the evenings. We also have a Golf Safari planned to GC Haugschlag in July. Please see the UNGC website for an overview of the golf programme for 2023.

I will end my letter with some personal news. I am sad to announce that I will be ending my term as President of the UNGC in March 2023. Linda and I will be relocating to Amsterdam in May 2023 as we begin the next chapter in our lives. It has been an amazing two years as President of the UNGC and I am honoured to have been a part of such an amazing club and community. We will be accepting nominations for the UNGC Executive Committee, including the role of President in the coming weeks with the intent of finalizing the composition of the 2023 Executive Committee at the AGM.

I wish you all an enjoyable 2023 golf season.

Warm regards,

Brett