Giles Morgan, the global head of sports sponsorship of HSBC, is confident that the legacy of their inaugural Golf Forum will be felt in the coming years.

At the conclusion of the three-day seminar, which featured several leaders from the industry and beyond voicing their thoughts on the state of the sport, Morgan expressed his complete satisfaction on their inaugural effort in Abu Dhabi.

“We are delighted, not just with the quality and quantity of participation we have had, but also with the breadth of subjects covered during the Forum,” Morgan said.

“Some of the sessions, like the one on Millennials, were extremely thought-provoking and I don’t think I have seen more people taking notes in a seminar before. The topics discussed has opened the eyes of most of us to possibilities we hadn’t thought of before.

“The legacy of the Forum will be felt in the future. It has left people with lot of thoughts, which is always a great start. They have been forced to think out of the box.

“There was a general agreement that golf is in good shape, but there is also the need to constantly innovate and yet hold on to the intrinsic values of the sport.

“And also accepted were the facts that attracting younger audience, embracing technology and unlocking the potential of emerging markets and the growing female participation is the way to go in the future.”

It was also announced that the next HSBC Golf Forum will take place in Shanghai next year, along with the WGC-HSBC Champions.

“Because of the tournament, Shanghai makes perfect sense for us,” said Morgan. “The choice of Abu Dhabi was critical to the success of this year’s event.

“Three reasons for that really – one, because of our already-existing relationship with the emirates, the geographical location which helped us attract nearly 300 delegates from 30 countries, and Abu Dhabi’s growing influence in the world of golf.”

Earlier, there was another engaging conversation on Asia, considered by the whole industry as the continent which will drive the demand for golf.

The panellists included Mike Kerr of Asian Tour, Dominic Wall of The R&A, Midori Miyazaki of ISPS Handa and Nathan Andrews of Lavasa.