SINGAPORE
MARCH 2012
PASSION PEBFECT WEEKEND
A PERFEOT DEIV=
UrHEN YOUR JOB lS ALL ABOUT A PERSONAL PASSION, THERE',S NO DIUIDIIIG LINE BETWEEN WORK AND PLAY. THAT IS CERTAINLY TRUE FOR. THTS SELF-CONFESSED GOLF FANATIG. TEXTON6 CHEOW ENG PHOTOGRAPHY VERNON WONG ART DIRECTION
FAZTIE HASHIM
PATHIGK BOIIUERS MANAGING DIRECTO&
LAGUNANATIONAL GOLTAND COUNTRYCLUB Patrick Bowers is one of the lucky few who can say he does
what he loves every day. As
the managing director of Laguna National Golf and Country Club, he gets to tee off
with the best golfers and play on the most stunning courses/ all in the name of work. It's no wonder there's little difference for him between a weekday and a weekend. You could say the
4'1
-year-old
Canadian cultivated his interest early,
starting off by picking balls at his local driving range when he was only eight years old. Today, he enjoys a multi-faceted career in the golf industry, one that has taken him across 33 countries and five continents.
Twenty years on, one thing remains
constant: his passion for the game.
"My skill level, on the other hand, goes downhill!" he says with a laugh.
Whether he's being overly modest or not, it's indisputable that Bowers knows the ins and outs of the business, while also
playing a mean game, holding a class "A"
,,YOU
professional status within the Canadian PGA. He certainly isn't overawed when he tees
off with tour professionals such as
fiery Scotsman Colin Montgomerie and
former world No. 1 Tiger Woods during the course ofwork. Aside from having the good fortune
to play with the greats, he also gets to visit (and play on) golf courses all over the
CANNCT RELY ON ANYBODY BUT \CURSELF TC HAVE A GREAI SCCRE,"
lndeed, Bowers has a house atthe 18th hole
ofthe Horseshoe Resort in Canada
and always puts in a few rounds whenever he is back on vacation.
"l enjoy the skill challenges in golf, especially the deft touches needed around
the greens," he says about his favourite aspect of the game. "l also Iike the fact that
golf
is
something you control. You cannot
butyourselfto
world. The ones that left an impression are
rely on anybody
the highly exclusive Moscow Country Club
great score or to win a tournament."
More significantly, he likes the positive
in Russia and Le Touessrok in Mauritius, but his favourites remain the links-styled courses, like those on the British lsles and Melbourne sand belt.
traditionalist," he adds.
"l'm more of
have a
a
traits it brings out in people. "Camaraderie, sportsmanship, honesty and integrity. Golf has stood for these values
for a long time.
It still does and always will."
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