Keno Turnquest is officially the first Bahamian to achieve the prestigious British Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Professional Qualification.
Turnquest recently completed the three-year PGA initiation program at the organization's Belfry headquarters in the United Kingdom.
The degree involves working through study guides, assignments, residential weeks at the National Training Academy, exams and attaining coaching awards. Among the subjects studied are golf coaching, sports science, equipment technology, business management, marketing, golf rules and tournament administration.
"People think that it's all about golf, but they really teach you how to run a golf business," said Turnquest. "Basically, my extension is business on the whole, and they give you the skills to practically start a business from the ground up."
The course is mostly done online, but Turnquest had to travel two to three times each year to sit exams and complete residential weeks, which consisted of one-on-one meetings with professors about their expectations for the new semester.
"I have both a four-year degree and a two-year as well, and by far this has been the most difficult experience I have faced," he said. "The grading system in the U.K. is much more complicated than the one in the United States.
"The exams are filled with essay questions and no multiple choice, so you have to know what you're talking about, you can't walk in guessing. The fact that it's online with no one down your throat with reminders about assignments makes it that much tougher."
The program also required Turnquest to play in seven competitive events each year, and finish with results that were near the top of the field.
The newly qualified PGA affiliate noted that at times the physical and mental strain felt overwhelming, but he was able to get through with the help of friends and family.
"There were two or three distinct times I can remember saying that I can't do this, especially at the beginning of the last year" he said. "I can clearly remember saying that I need to postpone this. But after sitting up and saying to myself that this is what I asked for, and that nothing worth having comes easy, I was able to get through it.
"I have to thank my wife as well. She was the one that was saying that I needed to keep going and keep pushing. Also, I have to thank Damien Mitchell Moore, because without him none of this would be possible. He is a Class 'AA' in the certification that I obtained, and he had to sign off on the papers for me to do the program. He also served as an advisor to me and helped to nurture me along the way."
To be awarded "AA" status, members must maintain 100 CPD points in a rolling three-year period, by engaging in relevant professional development.
Now that Turnquest is qualified, with a minimum length of time served in the golf industry, he can submit an application to be awarded any one of four additional titles, which include advanced professional, fellow professional, advanced fellow professional and master professional.

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