At 20 years of age, Kuerpasit Maneewan (Menn) has a vivid picture of a career he wants to pursue – a professional golfer. Menn obtained a Diploma of Sport (Development) with awarded Coach Certificate from Australasian Golf Academy (AGA) in Australia and is now studying a Bachelor degree in Golf Management at Ramkhamhaeng University.

Planning the route
Menn started playing golf since high school. When his mother noticed his love for golf and outstanding capability in this sport which back then was not yet popular in Thailand, she envisaged the potential growth of this sport and sent her son for a golf education in Australia when he was 12 years old.

“I see it as a life-long profession from a professional golfer to a trainer”, Menn said. He selected Australia due to the country’s great reputation in Golf and Golf education programs . Menn started his route learning Golf Management in Perth where he learnt from the type of grass used in different countries to staging golf events. He later undertook a Diploma program at AGA in Queensland which focused on practical training at a famous Robina Woods golf course where the institution is located. “Apart from golf skills and rules, I also learnt about psychology and everything a golfer needs to know”, he said. During study, Menn attended a ProAm tournament and gained the highest score among amateurs.

Putting all efforts
When asked what made him successful in education, he said “having a goal”.  “I improved from handicap 13 to 5 in 10 months as course completion requirement is handicap 5”, he explained. After course completion, Menn came back to Thailand and became the youngest golf trainer at 18 years old at Chaowarat Golf Academy and turned ‘teaching professional’ last year. His current aim is to become a ‘touring professional’ which is not far from his reach as he is making huge progress from daily practice, using training plan learnt in Australia.

Plenty options for Sports Education
A vocational qualification in Sports can be articulated into higher education degree. There are several sports programs available at Australian universities. Bond University offers a range of programs related to the discipline of professional sport. These programs include Exercise Science, Sports Science, Sports Management, and High Performance Science, a challenging new program about the understanding of high performance athletes, their coaches, the organisation and administration of elite sport. The University of the Sunshine Coast is another famous institution offering Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Sciences and Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Science that open up numerous career opportunities such as exercise scientist, sport scientist.

For those wishing to pursue this path, Menn said “Sport is a great career if you really love it and have self discipline.” Wantanee Maneewan, Menn’s mother, added that “I strongly support my son in what he loves to do. Menn gained both golf skill and English skill that allow him to progress in this unique career.”