Adrian Wickstein appointed high performance director – SA
As a result of an initiative between Golf SA and Golf Australia, underpinned by the philosophy of One Golf, Golf SA is delighted to announce that Adrian Wickstein has been appointed as full-time South Australian high performance director based out of the Golf SA office.
The position combines the Golf Australia HP coach/Golf SA state coach positions that were previously held by Gareth Jones.
Wickstein is a highly motivated and qualified PGA golf coach with extensive experience in planning, developing and implementing high performance programs. He won the SA PGA Teaching Professional of the Year in 2017 and was an accomplished amateur, having captained the SA men’s state team in 2008.
Adrian completed his PGA traineeship in 2009 and became a full member of the PGA of Australia in 2012.
Adrian has been the Golf SA assistant coach since 2012 and Golf Australia assistant coach (SA) since 2017, and has most recently been lead coach of the Golf SA Tier 1&2 high performance program.
Adrian was the Golf SA women’s coach in 2017 and has coached the SA boys’ team the past three years, including in 2016 when SA won the national teams championship.
At club level, Adrian has been a teaching professional at Glenelg Golf Club since 2009 and has been actively involved in all aspects of the services provided including retail sales, individual and group coaching services, high performance coaching and mentorship.
The key areas of responsibility for the new appointment include to:
- develop and implement the state high performance program and development pathway in consultation with the Golf Australia HP director
- establish a world-class daily training environment for South Australian athletes in the high performance and development pathway
- to enhance the golf coaching and service provider team to enable additional ‘value-add’ to the athlete cohort
- manage, direct and co-ordinate the training and competition program for athletes in the high performance program and development pathway
- prepare and manage the operations of the Interstate and Junior Interstate Series teams
- prepare and manage the operations of the individual state representative athletes
- as part of the national HP leadership group, work closely with the other states and Golf Australia on the national strategy
- attend national and international tournaments and training camps when required
- enhance the “home-based coach and athlete” relationship within the high performance and development pathway
One of the critical and immediate tasks for Wickstein will be to co-ordinate the selection of the HP squads and set the training programs for 2018. The second task will be to prepare the state teams for the Interstate & Junior Interstate Series in April-May.
Golf SA recently announced new board member Rod Phillips, has taken on the role of chair high performance. Rod comes with a wealth of high performance knowledge and experience through the South Australian Cricket Association.
Phillips enjoyed a successful grade cricket playing and coaching career with Sturt and Adelaide University. He has worked for more than 20 years in cricket talent identification and HP and is a qualified Level 3 Cricket Australia coach. Phillips was a state selector from 2007-11 and in 2013 joined the SA Cricket Association board of directors. He is a qualified rules official and past club champion at Mount Osmond Golf Club where he is currently a member. Phillips is the current senior champion at Royal Adelaide Golf Club, where he also holds membership.
