Voting in the 12th edition of the Asian Golf Monthly Awards – the region’s golfing Oscars – commenced on May 1 with prizes up for grabs in a total of 28 categories. There are 10 ‘Best in Asia Pacific’ segments, three ‘Special Categories’ and 15 ‘Country-by-Country’ accolades. Readers vote for their top-three favourites in each of the categories.
Voting will last for an eight-week period, concluding on Thursday, June 30, and clubs are encouraged to rally their supporters to vote on their behalf. Given Asian Golf Monthly’s expanding database, a record number of entries are expected this year at both www.asiangolfmonthly.com and www.asiangolfdaily.com
“Last year we had more than 30,000 votes being cast and that was a 50 per cent increase on 2009. This year we anticipate a further rise in the overall number of votes,” predicted Mike Sebastian, Asian Golf Monthly’s publisher. This year’s Awards sees the addition of one new category – ‘Best Value-For-Money Experience’.
“It’s a category that is not necessarily meant to reward the best course with the most ostentatious clubhouse and grandiose changing rooms. No! It is the intention for our readers to identify what they regard as the venue they have most enjoyed visiting in the past 12 months. It may be for the warmness of the welcome they receive from club staff, the fun nature of the course, the food and beverage selection and pricing, the ‘apres-golf’ or purely the general ambience.”
A notable change in 2011 is the appointment of a 24-strong panel of industry stalwarts located around the region and with a vast knowledge of the golfing facilities within their geographic areas. They include independent media figures along with prominent golf course architects and representatives of golf course management companies.
The nominations of this expert group, who between them travel to many hundreds of courses each year, will account for 25 per cent of the overall votes. The remaining 75 per cent will be down to votes cast by readers all over the globe.
Befitting its stature as the most comprehensive poll of the Asia-Pacific’s golfing facilities, the 2011 awards will be handed out to category winners at a lavish gala dinner at the conclusion of the fifth edition of the Asia Pacific Golf Summit at the Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall at the Royal Cliff complex on November 2.
Votes are cast via http://agmawards.asiapacificgolfgroup.com