The news concerning the IPMA Open Golf Cup preceding the IPMA World Congress on Project Management in Krakow, Poland this month is all positive. The international tournament for project managers included golfers from all over the world. Players from South Africa, Germany, Finland and even Australia came to compete at one of the most beautiful golf courses in Europe, the Krakow Valley Golf & Country Club.

However, it cannot be certain if they had come to Poland tempted by this prestigious event or by the opportunity to taste chocolate directly from the fountain…? This unusual delicacy, provided by Carrywater Consulting (www.carrywater.pl), one of the tournament sponsors, sweetened golfers’ efforts at the game.

The tournament prizes were provided by partners of the “IPMA Open”: Microsoft (www.microsoft.com), Murator Publishing House (http://www.wydawnictwo.murator.pl), Polimex Mostostal (www.polimex-mostostal.pl), Multifarb (www.multifarb.pl), NTB Wellness Technik (www.wellnesstechnik.pl), and Transsystem (www.transsystem.com.pl).

The IPMA Open Golf Cup brought the triumphant victory to Jakub Podolec from Cracow. Not only did he win the open classification, but he also won the competition of the low handicap players. Moreover, he appeared to be the number one in the longest drive competition. At the seventh hole, where the contest took place, Jakub hit the ball over 260 meters. This result was rewarded by Wojciech Woziwodzki, the president of Carrywater Consulting, who presented to the winner a basket of exquisite drinks.

Ladies didn’t lag behind. The best lady golf player was Eeva - Liisa Haukka from Finland, for whom awards were provided by Polimex Mostostal. The winner of the category of handicap 24.1-36 was Boguslawa Twardzik, who finished ahead of lots of men. Among prizes for this achievement was subscription of “Good Interior” from Murator Publishing House.

Both in the golf and in management, strategy plays a significant role. Golf round reminds project managers’ of the demands of the jobs. Golf games depend on the strategy, techniques and decision making. A golf round is divided into stages over 18 holes, like projects are divided into milestones. The game is always uniquely dependent on weather, conditions, partners and decisions made at each stroke. As in management, any wrong decision once made has its consequences in the final result.

Golf is one of the most recognized forms of compensating relaxation for the daily stress of project managers. It is a natural and wonderful training for project managers, as well as a test of their resistance to risk and temptation, functioning under stress and conditions of tiredness. On the other hand it also fulfills a natural need for ethical behaviour and good relations with other people.

In its attitude, PM is similar to golf in its philosophy of strategic games, which is seen by its results as an effect of equal planning, as well as precise decision making made by concrete individual, unrepeated conditions.

The best Project Manager Award of the IPMA Open Golf Cup came to Matti Haukka from Finland, who was rewarded with a Microsoft professional manager’s kit. Well equipped, he could attend the most prestigious and most important event in the field of project management worldwide in the present day – 21 IPMA World Congress (www.ipma2007.com), just inaugurated with the golf tournament.

The IPMA Open Golf Cup was the first of the cycle of tournaments under patronage of International Project Management Association (www.ipma.ch), a worldwide gathering of several thousand professionals from over 50 countries specializing in the field of project management.

See you next year.
Report provided by Marta Maciolek, Sponsorships & Exhibitions Manager, 21st IPMA World Congress Team in Krakow, Poland.