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Former successful professional Greg Turner has launched an ambitious scheme to nurture the future young professional golfers from New Zealand.

Turner has launched his Wedge initiative - Winning Edge - that is designed as a comprehensive programme to help create Kiwi World Champion golfers by bridging the gap between outstanding natural talent and internationally competitive success.

He has some heavyweight support for the scheme including US Open champion Michael Campbell, All Blacks Grant Fox and Anton Oliver, sailors Russell Coutts and Tom Schnackenberg and tennis icon Brett Steven.

Wedge will provide logistical and financial support, mentoring and practical guidance for young professionals.

"Our young golfers are arriving in the professional ranks highly skilled and motivated but grossly under-prepared both in terms of financial resource and logistical support. As the Tours are becoming more professional, better structured and players better prepared, we find ourselves slipping further behind," Turner said.

In a nutshell the program will provide infra-structure at four main levels:

• Logistical support - assisting in the day to day conundrums involved in planning and executing a domestic and international schedule
• Financial - assisting in raising the requisite funding
• Mentoring - providing access to and the assistance of some of New Zealand's leading sporting and business minds
• Practical - assisting in the successful formulation of the strongest possible domestic competitive arena. This will be serviced by Turner's Golf Tour of New Zealand events. Next week's Carrus Tauranga Open follows the Olex Taranaki Open, with Turner confident he will be in a position to have six events up and running by the end of this year.

The embryo of Wedge was formed over two years ago when Turner brought together a group of like-minded sports stars to address what he perceived as a worrying inability to convert New Zealand's skilled and talented elite amateurs into successful performers on the world stage. "There is a lot to be said for the No 8 wire attitude of the Kiwi, but while that resilience and self-sufficiency undoubtedly served us well in the amateur era, in today's environment it is sadly outdated. You can't fix your IBM with wire cutters and a sledge hammer."

"They have a huge collective and individual knowledge of competing and winning at the highest level in their respective fields. The experiences they had gained transcend the boundaries of different sporting codes and potentially bring fresh ideas to old problems." Turner said that the scheme is in its infancy but ultimately needs to provide for all of our fledgling professionals. "Management companies find themselves only really being able to justify a cherry picking approach. I think we need to be far more comprehensive - basically saying to those with ambition to be world class players that if they're prepared to put their backside on the line - then we'll give them all the help we can. If this means assistance to 50 players then so be it."

Turner said the goal should be New Zealand having 10 golfers in the top 200 in the world within the next 10 years and a kiwi hoisting a major championship every decade rather than every generation.

Initially Turner mooted the Wedge programme as a seamless scheme for the high performance amateurs with the support of New Zealand Golf and Sparc. Both organisations have indicated support, but Turner felt it important to push ahead with the programme while the two organisations work through other funding priorities.

However Campbell, who has spoken about his desire to help develop future champions, has put his support firmly behind the project.

"There is absolutely no question that if we are to give our talented golfers the best chance to become world-class players, the strongest possible domestic competition is critical. Greg's GTNZ Tour is a key part of that," Campbell said. "The other structures in the programme are important too and so I'm 100 percent behind Greg's plans and will do everything practicable to offer my support."

Turner said he is continuing his discussions with Campbell about the specific role of the US Open Champion.

Also Turner has elicited the help from ex-pat corporate high flier David Moore and former New Zealand Golf Chief Executive Phil Aickin as key components for the scheme. Moore is based in London however continues to have a strong interest in New Zealand. His companies are involved in sports promotion, mostly motorsport and he was manager of formula one driver and World Champion Jacques Villeneuve.

He believes that closing the gap between being a gifted natural athlete and being World Champion requires mental skills discipline and focus that most young men and women do not naturally possess.

"Greg's Wedge initiative addresses these realities and gives the elite golfers of New Zealand an opportunity to draw on the experience and expertise of those who have succeeded in sport and in business," Moore said. "When relationships of these kinds are set up and managed consciously, magic can happen. We generally believe that exceptional success requires years of denial and effort; a dark and lonely period. But it can happen in the blink of an eye if we believe that to be possible."

That's a view that is shared by Grant Fox.

"I guarantee if you took the group and sat them all down and talked about the mental side of what they do, there would be an awful lot of similarities. Sometimes coming from a slightly different perspective can be good. Sometimes in one environment you can't see the wood for the trees.

"This is about being part of an environment that's trying to help young Kiwi golfers achieve their dreams. We're talking about producing our next champions, and they're ambassadors for New Zealand as they generate an enormous amount of publicity. Look at what Cambo's done, look at what he's done for tourism in New Zealand. The exposure New Zealand would have had out of his US Open victory, well money can't buy that. Also, this is about helping youngsters try to achieve their dream. I think that's really important."

Moore said he finds it disappointing that this initiative has come from a group of individuals rather the national body.

"These structures should by now be an integral part of our national governing bodies if we wish to continue 'punching above our weight' in world sport."

Aickin, perhaps the best known face in amateur golf in this country, will head the administrative side of the team through the initial stages.

"Most of my work recently has been at the coal face of the competitive game - setting up tournament courses and running the golfing side of events. That means on a day to day basis I'm seeing, talking to and witnessing our best young talent in action. The talent is there for all to see and I'll relish my role in helping further develop that talent.

"I believe we do an admirable job at nurturing our talent through their amateur years, but when they turn pro we drop the ball."

The announcement is the first stage of the project which will require further financial backing, firm structures and resources put in place, with Turner hoping to have the scheme fully operational next year.

"This launch represents the beginning of the process. Now is the time to move while the glow of Michael Campbell's recent success is still fresh in our minds. The time is right to grasp the initiative."

Campbell, who next month defends his US Open crown, agrees.

"I know it will require support from corporate New Zealand as well but I am sure we can show how this support will be worthwhile.

"I've always said that I hope that my legacy would not just be in the wins I was able to achieve on the golf course but in the road that could be paved to help future Kiwi champions."