Wongs honoured again by Clubmakers Association

BY JOHN DECOSTE

Dana Wong admittedly doesn’t do what he does for honours or recognition, but that doesn’t mean he won’t accept them graciously when they come along.

Wong and his wife Pam, owners of the Village Golf Shop in New Minas, and their business were recently recognized by the Golf Clubmakers Association as one of the Top Ten Clubmakers worldwide for 2008-2009.

It marked the second straight year the Wongs have received the award. Dana was also recognized as the GCA Worldwide Clubmaker of the Year for 2004-2005, while also receiving the designation for both Nova Scotia and Canada that same year. “I’ve never been one that craves the spotlight, but I’ve been recognized at every possible level for the work we do,” he said last week. “It’s almost getting embarrassing,” he acknowledged, “but at the same time, you should be always trying to improve your craft and not get stagnant, and to always be learning something different. It’s nice to have your efforts recognized.”

Wong is constantly at work inproving his craft. He attends the GCA annual convention in Austin, Texas every year, which he credits for giving him exposure within the industry. “It’s always a great chance to meet fellow professionals, share their experiences and learn from their expertise,” he said. “I’ve met some really great people over the years, made some good friends and gotten lots of useful tips, and had lots of doors opened to me.” And now that he is better known, due in large part to the awards he has won, “people ask me what works for me, which is great. I have no problem at all passing on what I’ve learned to others.”

Wong is kept busy designing and building golf clubs and also doing custom fittings for golfers of all ages and skill levels. “I have more and more people coming from further and further away,” he noted, citing customers from Germany, Scotland, Bermuda, the Fiji Islands and even Iceland. “I had one fellow from Iceland come to Nova Scotia specially for a fitting. He showed up Saturday morning, gave me his order, then took off to tour the province. He came back Monday morning and we finished the fitting.” Wong, meawhile, had “worked all weekend” on the custom order. “I’ve done fittings for people in every province in Canada but Manitoba,” as well as the southern U.S. and overseas. “I’ve been emailing a man in Australia and another in England. Sometimes I refer them to qualified clubmakers closer to where they are.”

Awards aside, Wong really loves what he does. “It’s the type of business you really need to have a passion for,” he says. “It’s rewarding to hear people you don’t even know, or haven’t ever met, endorsing what you do. You like to think you’re doing good work. It’s nice to have it validated by others in the industry.”