What People Say
Two of the most prestigious personalities in the world of Pitch & Putt, write about their past, present and future at the service of Pitch & Putt. Carlo Farioli is the current President of IPPA and John Hudson was the first President of IPPA.
“Dear friends, dear sportsmen who love pitch & putt, who like to play the hardest part of golf, it is my pleasure to welcome you onto the new IPPA website.
In this time finally after two years of “dark days” cause of Covid the new IPPA website is on the net thanks to the work of Marco Foi and Valentina De Simoni and his team of programmers who gave us this web page.
Remembering that 2019 was the tenth anniversary of IPPA, today I renew that the number 9 is a “magic” number for international Pitch & Putt and for IPPA in particular.199 … 9!!! October – Following a meeting that was held in Italy between delegates from England, Ireland and Italy, representatives of 6 P&P associations meet in Dublin and agreed to found the European P&P Association, the first historical stone of governing body for international Pitch and Putt.
200…9!!! First “World Strokeplay Championship” in La Grande Motte, France, under FIPPA “umbrella” – 12 countries, 120 players.
200…9!!! After disagreement over membership criteria, a group of countries left FIPPA and founded IPPA, with one federation per country, including golf federations .
201…9!!! a new era for IPPA. International P&P is proposed as a true sport that embraces P&P national federations and associations in one with golf; to promote and spread the sport, with the fundamental recognition of R&A for IPPA projects, programs and initiatives for golf worldwide.
9 a.m. of 9 May 2022!!! now new begins for many years to come: Ip…Ip…Ip… IPPA!
I discovered the competitive sport of Pitch & Putt 20 years ago and fell in love with it immediately. I soon changed from a mediocre golfer to a less-than-average P&P player and tried to convince others that this was different from golf, faster, more accessible and, above all, more fun!
My friends and colleagues, first in EPPA and then later in FIPPA, realizing that I would never make a good player, tried to turn me into an administrator. When a group decided to found IPPA in 2009 they asked me to preside over this venture to work more closely with golf. We were fortunate to obtain the ongoing support of the R&A and we can now boast a membership of 30 countries and we are still growing.
Since my close friend Carlo Farioli replaced me as president, IPPA has taken on a new dimension and more recognition as an international sport thanks to his work with other international bodies such as Panathlon International, Peace and Sport, CSIT and GAISF. We have good links with R&A, EGA and IGF.
I truly believe that this wonderful sport is at long last going to achieve the rank and recognition it deserves on the international sporting scene.
