Australian PGA Professional Matthew Ballard has been appointed the National Coach for the Singapore Golf Association.

Having competed on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia for over 10 years, Ballard changed his career direction in 2015.

Motivated by his passion for the short game, Ballard undertook the PGA’s Bridging Program to formalise his qualifications and establish a career coaching players at the highest level including Adam Scott, Adam Bland and Sam Brazel as well as members at his home club of Sanctuary Cove.

Ballard has garnered a reputation for being a very knowledgeable and progressive coach who incorporates technique, strength and mental performance into his holistic approach to the game.

With the Singapore Golf Association allocating considerable time and resources to their high performance program they began the search for a full-time coach to drive its national golf development.

Ballard was selected from a host of highly credentialed coaches from across the globe with the Singapore Golf Association posting on their Facebook; “The SGA is currently in the development process of nurturing new talent and grooming young golfers. Matt, with his vast experience, can help in its high-performance program by taking over a fresh team of golfers from the national, development and junior squads.”

Delighted to accept this new position, Ballard is ready to attack the challenge which will see him and his family relocate to Singapore.

“I would like to extend my gratitude to the Singapore Golf Association for this appointment, a role that I am honoured to accept,” said Ballard.

“I look forward to working closely with the SGA team on further developing a successful high performance program for the nation’s best athletes.

“To all my Australian friends and family, staff and clients at Sanctuary Cove and the PGA of Australia – I can’t thank you enough for your friendship and support of my coaching career.

“This is an amazing opportunity for my family, one for which we are very grateful and are extremely excited to begin our journey.”

Ballard joins a long list of PGA of Australia professionals who have utilised their qualifications and expertise to pursue an international career.

He also joins a host of PGA of Australia professionals to be named the national coach of a country’s golf program including Gareth Jones who leads the Japan Golf Team and Peter Knight who guides the Taiwan team.

“On behalf of the PGA of Australia and our professionals I would like to congratulate Matt on earning this opportunity,” said Geoff Stewart, General Manager – Education and Membership for the PGA of Australia.

“The PGA of Australia training and education programs are acknowledged as some of the best in the world and the proof of that is in the calibre of PGA Professionals we produce.

“Matt is an excellent example of this training as well as the diverse career opportunities made possible by being a member of the PGA of Australia.

“We are delighted to see quality PGA Professionals like Matt excelling in their chosen fields and we are extremely proud to have them representing us in the international golf industry. The Singapore Golf Association high performance program has made an excellent appointment and is in very safe hands.”