A passion to develop potential

Teaching young golfers about etiquette would be a challenge for anyone, but Bronnie Winter is ideally suited to the job.
The Northland Golf development manager is no stranger to education and she has  long been partial to the sport, so the position was made for her. "I've been involved in working with youth since the 1970s ... and my passion really is watching people develop their potential - that's what I'm about really," she said.
Running junior development camps, like the one in Waitangi two weeks ago, with  golfing etiquette one of the topics up for consideration with the teenage prodigies, there is often little time off on the weekends for Winter but she has no complaints.
"It started as a 30-hours-a-week job, and it has now become 40, and over the last four weeks I've worked between 45 and 60 hours. It's one of those kind of jobs, but I love it."
The group of 22 youngsters had a session with  golf referees about slow playing and the right way to play  a round and then had a go, when they played the Waitangi course, the following day.
"I think golf is a great sport in terms of developing kids because not only is it a physical activity that takes them out into the fresh air but it's great for personal development in terms of etiquette, decision making, personal management and learning to control emotions - there are so many life skills they need to develop to become a good golfer," she said.
The other part of her job is coaching in schools and training volunteer coaches to work at the clubs. "Predominantly it's about working with golf clubs to get them to go through an accreditation system that makes sure that everything is in place to encourages juniors - and also working with the feeder schools to encourage kids to come along and play, so it's a two-pronged attack in building playing numbers."
Winter is originally from  Australia. She first came to New Zealand in 1966, and since arriving has  spent most of her time in Northland, including 17 years in Ruakaka.
She was a member of the Waipu Golf Club in the late 1960s to early 1970s and always retained an interest in the game even though her work often claimed more of her time.
In 2005 she was employed as shop manager at the Northland Golf Club, where she ran tournaments and the shop but also began to help Northland Golf Club pro Quenton Diment develop his
junior programme, which led to her to her current position.
Golf is often seen as an individual sport but Winter says that's something of a misconception. The Northland Golf Junior Academy often makes trips away to
tournaments  in which plays compete as individuals or in teams.
The coaching academy, which she manages, is made up of 50 under-18 children from throughout the North from three different squads.