In the spirit of Celebration of Nations, Declan McCollam is the perfect example of how Troon can take you all over the world.
Declan McCollam was born in Northern Ireland. His family relocated to Australia when he was young due to a divide in religion and unrest in the country. As a young child in Ireland (as soon as he could walk) he began joining his dad and his uncles every weekend at a small links course nearby. He knew at an early age that he wanted to be a Golf Professional and began his notable career as the Head Professional at a private club in Germany. In 2000, he took a job with Troon and moved back to Australia to become the Director of Golf for Brookwater Golf & Country Club. And thus, began his journey to work on three continents with Troon.
Declan went from Australia to Dubai, then back to Australia, followed by work in Europe, back again to Australia and ultimately landed in India. His roles varied from Operations Manager to General Manager (GM) of several properties (including returning to Brookwater in 2018 as GM) and heading up Business Development in Australia for Troon.
In 2020 during the Pandemic, he moved to India to take on the role as GM at Prestige Golfshire Club, India’s #1 ranked golf course. Troon has managed this facility since opening day and has had many milestones at the club – none more so than three consecutive wins from 2020 to 2022 as the #1 golf facility in the country at the World Golf Awards.
In his current role, Declan inspires minorities by getting them interested in the game of golf. Many of his associates come from small villages and have had little access to golf other than through working on a golf course. His focus in India is to give the team self-belief and a “can do attitude” as well as providing training programs, golf tuition and access to practice at the facility, allowing the associates the opportunity to progress further with their careers in both golf and hospitality.
Learn more about Troon’s DE&I Initiatives, Associates and Stories.
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