The mistrust between the Finnish Golf Association and the star players came to the fore on Tuesday, when the players criticized the association’s new coach selection in an interview with Urheilu.
The association chose a former competitive player as the coach of the amateur national teams Mikael Salminen, 36, although this one has no PGA training, for example. Salminen has been teaching part-time for the past six years, but has not been involved with competitive golf in recent years.
– This is a completely farcical show from the Golfliito. It does not surprise us top players, because the level of activity has been this for years, one of the most famous players in Finland Mikko Korhonen comment.
The confusion caused by Salminen’s recruitment was just a drop in the ocean. The association’s actions have irritated many professional players for a long time.
– I’ve never heard anyone say “joke, how well the union has handled things”. The general discussion is really negative, which is a shame, Finland’s number one women’s player Matilda Castren says.
According to Castren, 28, he has had “some kind of friction” with the union for several years. The latest concern concerns the summer Olympics in Paris.
– The preparation for the Olympics has been completely non-existent. I asked many times last year, what is the name of the job when the games are coming up. Now it’s less than eight months until the Games, and we still don’t have any activities, sighs Castren, who is aiming for an Olympic place.
“Frankly pathetic”
Castren represented Finland in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics Sanna Nuutinen, Kalle Samoojan and Sami Välimäki alongside. According to him, the preparation was handled clearly better at that time.
– At least a couple of years before the start of the Tokyo Games, there was camping and remote meetings. Things were clear.
Castren describes the current situation as very frustrating.
– Frankly speaking, this action is quite pathetic. Other players prepare for the Olympics for years. Sweden, Norway and Denmark are currently training their best players. We haven’t had any camps or development days for Paris. No resources have been provided. Apparently, players who are in Finland are allowed to visit Urhea’s gym and use those services.
Castren is not the only professional player who says he has zero confidence in the sports association. Kalle Samooja, who is aiming for Paris, is on the same lines as his colleague.
– Because of the Olympics, I have to be in contact with the association. Otherwise, there is no interest in communication when there is no point in the activity. Last summer, they were eager to organize a training day, but it was also very difficult to make it happen. Things get done better when you do it yourself, Samooja comments.
The players hope for change
Professional players Castren, Samooja and Mikko Korhonen have publicly demanded more professional behavior from the Golf Association. The players are especially concerned about the development opportunities of young Finnish players.
– When I was a teenager, the union handled things just fine. We went to a lot of foreign camps and received support for foreign competitions. We received a certain budget for the competitions, which covered a large part of the trip. It was worth going there. Nowadays, I have heard from players and coaches that the camps are basically self-funded or they are not organized at all, says Castren.
– It’s sad to open up about this directly in public, but I’ve also told the union directly what I think. The Golf Association owes the players that things are handled well.
The boss of the Golf Association on criticism: Welcome to the discussion
– We are happy to discuss with the players more, replies the Executive Director of the Golfliito Juha Korhonen about the non-existent Olympic preparation.
But have you had any preparation for the Olympics?
– Yes, it has been.
Can you open up about what kind of activities you have organized with the Olympics in mind?
– In these Olympic projects, the players have been offered exactly what they want to do, according to their state of will. After all, they usually have their own coaches and good teams that support them, so of course we haven’t gone there to mess things up. We have inquired from them what they want and then acted according to their state of will.
According to Juha Korhonen, the Golf Association has recently organized, among other things, a camp in Dubai. However, he was unable to specify who attended the camp.
– As I said, of course we are happy to discuss if the players have some thoughts.
Professional players hope for more professional activities from the Golfliito and are especially concerned about the development opportunities of young players. For example, nowadays the camps are self-funded or they are not organized at all. So have there been any changes to this in recent years and how would you comment on this?
– You have to ask about that professionalism from those who say this. We are happy to discuss this with the players as well, if there are any shortcomings. After all, work is done here for them when we talk about the development of elite sports. Welcome, the players probably have our contact information. When it suits them, they are very happy to talk, says Juha Korhonen.
The Olympic Committee’s top sports representative: “Cats must get on the table”
Tommi Pärmäkoski is one of the Finnish Olympic Committee’s top sports managers. Golf is one of his responsible sports.
Pärmäkoski initially emphasizes that the sport itself is basically responsible for the top sports activities of each sport.
– That is the starting point of everything. The role of the Olympic Committee is to spar with the sports in their elite sports plan and operations.
– Another big theme is that we want to support Finnish elite sports. In this case, from the Olympic Committee’s point of view, the Paris Games are extremely important.
The task of the Olympic Committee is to support Finnish athletes on this journey.
– This is now a big discussion point. When talking about the success of elite sports and the Olympics, the athletes as individuals are always ahead of everything.
– It’s good when things come up, because they are the first to contact the Golf Association. This is something we want to work on cooperatively, constructively.
Pärmäkoski praises that he works as a player’s representative in the steering group of competitive golf Antti Ahokkan and belonging to the group as well Mikko Ilonen work, how they have brought out the views of the players.
Pärmäkoski does not take a direct stand on other concerns, such as the professionalism of the Golf Association, but says that it is the Olympic Committee’s role to help the association.
– After all, experiences like this, especially if they arise from athletes, are their genuine feelings. Then this is a big deal. You have to put the cats on the table and get the right people to talk at the table. When things like this come up, it’s usually about longer-term issues and events.
– I want to look ahead. In sports, of course, we would like to be proactive, but now the situation is reactive. We try to make solutions as quickly as possible, to get the right people around. Without taking a stand for or against who has acted rightly or wrongly, issues must be discussed when they surface.