Spey Valley master class for Highland children

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ROB EYTON-JONES
Highland children taking part in clubgolf programmes have been given a unique opportunity to watch European Challenge Tour players and develop their own golf skills at Macdonald’s Spey Valley Golf Course during this month’s Scottish Hydro Challenge Tour Event.
On Thursday, July 30 some 60 juniors from 10 Highland golf clubs will take part in coaching clinics with resident PGA professional, Murray Urquhart and enjoy a putting lesson and competition with his assistant Joe Francis. For the rest of the day they will watch Tour Pros in action.
“We are delighted to be hosting this event, the aim of which is to keep the children enthused and involved in golf,” said Murray Urquhart.
“From a clubgolf point of view it’s great to get the kids along to experience a golf course during a big European Tour event.
“They will draw inspiration from watching some of the best young players in Europe. In the coaching clinic they will learn different skills and shots that they will develop as they get older, such as how to fade, draw, short game chip and run.”
clubgolf is a partnership between the Scottish Golf Union (SGU), the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association (SLGA), the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA), the Golf Foundation and sportscotland.
This year 38,784 P5 pupils (2,335 of them in Highland) have been introduced to the game through clubgolf’s introductory game, firstclubgolf.
More than 250 clubs and facilities across the country are now delivering clubgolf programmes. Working within them to deliver coaching to around 10,000 children this summer are over 1,500 qualified volunteer coaches.
“This is exactly the type of opportunity that clubgolf is looking to develop,” said Willie MacKay, clubgolf’s Highland & Islands Regional Manager.
“In 2008, 1,513 juniors were involved in clubgolf coaching programmes at 45 golf clubs across Highland & Islands and it is these children from last year’s programmes that we have invited.
“For these up and coming young golfers to see how professional players tackle a championship course and deal with the elements, such as cross winds, and playing out of hazards is a valuable experience
“Some of the children we have invited will be playing the Spey Valley course in the Highland junior championships in October. So this is a great opportunity for them to see the course and how it’s being played.”
clubgolf’s invitation has been greeted with enormous enthusiasm across Highland.
Said Nairn Golf Club’s junior girls' convener Jenny Abbot:
“We have 90 juniors at Nairn and they’re so keen to go to this event at Spey Valley that we could have filled all places ourselves without any trouble.
“This will motivate them to see what they can achieve in later life. They can see that if they work at the game and put in the hours they too can achieve what the players on the tour can achieve. And they will be getting coaching as well which is a real bonus.
“We have been doing clubgolf at Nairn for six years. All kids we’re taking have come through our clubgolf programme and have handicaps; the girls between 25 and 19, boys between 16 and 14.”

Shiskine Golf Club’s seven volunteer coaches, Willie Kelso, Joe Faulkner, Gordon Stewart, Jacqui Rankin, David Henderson, Liz Kerr and Jenni Turnbull with PGA Pro Alan Martin (centre) who led the Level 1 training course). Image by courtesy of Rob Eyton-Jones.

Shiskine Golf Club making huge strides in

developing junior golf in Arran community

NEWS RELEASE BY ROB EYTON-JONES
Arran’s Shiskine Golf and Tennis Club, which last month received major investment from sportscotland to help transform its facilities, is making huge strides in developing junior golf in the community through the national junior programme, clubgolf.
clubgolf is the partnership between the Scottish Golf Union (SGU), the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association (SLGA), the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA), the Golf Foundation and sportscotland launched in 2003 following Scotland’s successful bid to host the 2014 Ryder Cup.
Shiskine golfers had become aware the average age of its member was heading towards the late 50s. They realised that the numbers of children playing golf on the island was shrinking and they admitted more could be done to offer local youngsters a structured coaching programme.
Through the forward thinking efforts of its members, in combination with clubgolf, improvements to its clubhouse and the adoption of a clubgolf programme (Shiskine is the first clubgolf centre on Arran) will have a double impact on local juniors.
“Our club is very much involved with the community,” said the Club’s clubgolf co-ordinator, Gordon Stewart.
“We have had a good relationship with the two local primary schools and have offered their children coaching in an amateur but enthusiastic way.
“But when we looked at the whole junior structure we realised we hadn’t got a proper training programme in place.
“Then, when we found out about clubgolf and proper structured coaching we decided to invest in training to push it forwards.”
To address its challenges the Club has been working closely with Ann Lang, clubgolf’s Regional Manager for South West Scotland.
This May it made a significant step by sending seven of its members on clubgolf’s two day Level 1 coaching course, held at the local high school. All seven became qualified coaches. Having since re- approached the local primary schools, the Club has attracted over 30 children to its clubgolf coaching which is supervised by its pro, Dougie Bell.
“We run the coaching on Monday evenings, take the children out for between one and two hours and we rotate the volunteers,” said Mr Stewart. “It’s working very well and the kids love it.”
Junior developments at Shiskine are having a knock on effect locally. Impressed by its results nearby Whiting Bay GC has made contact with Ann Lang to improve its own junior coaching.
Meanwhile, work on Shiskine’s new purpose-built clubhouse is due to start soon. When complete it will provide full disabled access, improved changing rooms and showers plus a room for bowling and tennis club members. In addition, a new restaurant and function suite will be available all year round creating a fantastic facility for use by the whole community.
“It’s very obvious to us that juniors are very keen but there were no facilities for them, no junior room or TV, so we are quite excited about providing that facility,” added Mr Stewart.
With the local driving range providing the practice facility to keep the coaching going through the autumn and winter, and other plans to hold junior tournaments, local children have everything they will ever need to keep them involved and developing in the game.
Rob Eyton-Jones
e: rob@eyton-jones.co.uk
Official clubgolf website: http://www.clubgolfscotland.com/

Short-listed six have high hopes

for DBS Junior Club Award

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
Six Scottish clubs have made the cut as finalists for the prestigious Dunfermline Building Society Junior Club of the Year Award for 2009, which will be announced at the ninth Scottish Golf Dinner later this month.
The successful clubs that made the short-list include two clubs from Dumfries and Galloway, Powfoot GC and Stranraer GC, along with three clubs providing strong representation from the West, comprising Kirkintilloch GC, Palacerigg and Ranfurly Golf Clubs. Duns GC in Berwickshire concludes the final line-up, from 29 clubs who entered this year’s Award.
Andy Salmon, Scottish Golf Development Manager and a member of the SGU judging panel said, “Last year’s inaugural award set a very high benchmark and as a result all of the clubs from across the country nominated this year have had to demonstrate a great commitment to the growth of the junior game.
“It has been extremely encouraging to see the fantastic results achieved by these pro-active clubs who have embraced a positive and inclusive culture for juniors – who are the future of the game - and we now have the very difficult task over the next two weeks of selecting the winner for 2009.”
All the finalists have been invited to the showcase dinner at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow on Friday, March 27. The winners of the title will be awarded a cheque for a £1,000 from the Scottish Golf Union and clubgolf, the national junior golf programme, to be invested in the club’s junior programme.
The winners' prize also includes two spots in a European Tour pro-am, playing alongside a leading professional golfer. The five runners-up will each receive £300 to help develop their junior golf programmes.
+++Tickets are still available for the ninth Scottish Golf Dinner at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow. To book your seat at the showcase event, contact Audrey or Janette at the Scottish Golf Union on 01334 466 477 or visit the website www.scottishgolf.org to download a booking form. Individual tickets cost £47.50 with a table of ten costing £450.

Kate Weldon
Communications Manager
Scottish Golf Union

+To read the full Press Release, log on to www.scottishgolf.org

Aspiring junior golfers invited to Gleneagles

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ROB EYTON-JONES
clubgolf, the national junior golf programme which has introduced over two-thirds of Scotland’s primary school children to the game this year, is expecting as many as 400 youngsters to converge on its coaching stand at Gleneagles this week.
Launched at Gleneagles in 2003 as a lasting legacy to Scotland’s successful bid to host the Ryder Cup, clubgolf is a partnership of the Scottish Golf Union, the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association, the Professional Golfers' Association, the Golf Foundation and sportscotland,
Junior coaching this week is part of Gleneagles’ and the European Tour’s commitment to promoting junior golf in Scotland through clubgolf.
This summer’s European Tour events, the Senior Open at Troon and the Scottish Challenge at Cardrona, have all featured clubgolf coaching.
For the fifth year in succession Gleneagles has given hundreds of the clubgolf children the opportunity to experience Gleneagles this summer after offering participating clubs the chance to play on its Wee Course between June and October.
This week at Gleneagles, clubgolf’s coaching stand in the tented village will be the centre of attention for budding young golfers. PGA Professionals and qualified clubgolf volunteer coaches will be on hand to teach the short and long game to 250 children who have been invited from schools and clubs across Scotland. A further 150 coaching places are available to the public, to be booked at the clubgolf stand.
Patrick Elsmie, Gleneagles’ Operations Director, said, “Gleneagles has always been committed to golf and we are thrilled to be a part of the clubgolf initiative. We hope to be able to help them in achieving their goal of allowing every child in Scotland to experience the game by the age of nine.
“As the venue for the Ryder Cup in 2014 it is important that Gleneagles continues to work closely with organizations like clubgolf to ensure that the game of golf in Scotland and our young people reap the benefits of playing host to such a prestigious tournament”.


Rob Eyton-Jones
t: 07775 746981
e: rob@eyton-jones.co.uk

Five times Open champion Tom Watson coaches Maybole's Stephen Maxwell in the tented Village at the Seniors Open at Royal Troon Golf Club (Rob Eyton image).

Tom Watson gives Troon clinic for 116 youngsters

American golfing legend Tom Watson thrilled 116 local youngsters by giving them a golf coaching clinic at Royal Troon Golf Club today.
The 58-year old, winner of five Open Championships, hosted the session for young players aged nine to 14 ahead of The Senior Open Championship, which takes place this week (July 24 – 27).
As well as meeting one of golf’s greatest champions, and picking up invaluable tips on how to improve their games, the young golfers were given a tour of the famous Royal Troon links, as well as the tented village and Media Centre.
Sixty of the children invited are participating in Scottish golf’s junior golf programme, clubgolf, which recently announced spectacular figures for the numbers of children it has introduced to the game this year.
This year clubgolf has introduced 33,466 Primary 5 children to the sport in school and South Ayrshire is well ahead of the game. Ninety six percent of the area’s Primary 5s – 1,246 children – have been introduced to the programme this year through firstclubgolf.
One local youngster who was inspired by the Tom Watson experience was Maybole 13 year old Stephen Maxwell, who is part of the clubgolf programme at Maybole Golf Club.
“Today was great,” he said. “I learnt how to handle the grip and hit the ball straighter. I hit the ball a lot further than I can normally.
“I only started playing golf this year but I’m really enjoying it. I’ve started playing every day, now I just want to get better.”
Meanwhile the clubgolf coaching area at this week’s Championship is set to provide 250 short lessons for juniors.
clubgolf will run two bays specifically for children aged between nine and 14. A further two will be available for members of the public to book.
Said clubgolf Project Manager, Torquil McInroy, “The Senior Open Championship has made Scotland its home for a few years now, and I’m naturally delighted that clubgolf continues to work closely with this major event to promote junior golf in Scotland.
“Today was a great opportunity for children on local clubgolf programmes to meet and learn from a true golfing legend and I’m sure the experience will encourage all of them to keep playing, inspiring some to higher levels of achievement in their own golf.
“clubgolf has seen spectacular growth over the past year, and I’m grateful to the European Tour for their support in helping to make that happen.”

Rob Eyton-Jones
clubgolf Media Manager
Official clubgolf wesbite:

http://www.clubgolfscotland.com/

Hundreds expected for clubgolf
junior coaching at Senior Open

clubgolf, Scottish golf’s junior golf programme which recently announced spectacular figures for the numbers of children it introduced to the game this year, will provide up to 250 short lessons for juniors at this week’s Senior British Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club (July 24-27).
So far this year clubgolf has introduced 33,466 Primary 5 children to the game in school. Thirty one out of 32 local authorities now offer its introductory game, firstclubgolf.
Schools in South Ayrshire are ahead of the game. Ninety six percent of the area’s Primary 5s – 1,246 children – have been introduced to the programme this year through firstclubgolf.
Judging from these statistics, junior coaching at the Championships – taking place in the players’ practice area - will be hugely popular. clubgolf will run two bays specifically for children aged between nine and 14. A further two will be available for members of the public to book.
The icing on the cake for juniors at the Championships this week will be a clinic hosted by the legendary Tom Watson on Wednesday (between 11.30am-12.30pm), which will be attended by 116 local children, 60 of whom are participating in clubgolf programmes.
Said clubgolf Project Manager, Torquil McInroy, “The Senior Open Championship has made Scotland its home for a few years now, and I’m naturally delighted that clubgolf continues to work closely with this major event to promote junior golf in Scotland.
“clubgolf has seen some spectacular growth over the past year, and I’m grateful to the European Tour for their support in helping to make that happen.
“Last year at Muirfield our coaching clinics proved very popular, and I’m sure they will be in high demand once again at Troon.
“The Seniors provides a chance for any young golfer to see some first class golf up close. The opportunity for these kids to rub shoulders with the top players is something that will live in their memories for many years to come, and I’m sure will be the reason for many of them to keep their own golfing progress on track.”

Scott Henderson (left) and the Kemnay Golf Club trio of Stuart Mitchell, Simon Tickle and Bob Sproat taking part in the clubgolf pro-am at Cardrona today (image by Rob Eyton-Jones).

Scott Henderson pilots Kemnay trio to repeat

victory in clubgolf pro-am at Cardrona

By ROB EYTON-JONES
clubgolf media manager
The magnificent Macdonald Cardrona Hotel Golf & Country Club provided the perfect stage for yesterday’s 2008 Scottish Challenge clubgolf pro-am.
Twenty teams, most made up of clubgolf coaches took part in the third staging of this popular and growing event which gives the national junior golf programme’s volunteer coaches a unique opportunity to pair up with a Challenge Tour pro to play in a prestigious competition.
Now in its third year, the Scottish Challenge is proving to be one of the most successful events on the Challenge Tour, which has helped players like Richie Ramsay, Andrew McArthur and Peter Whiteford flourish.
Supported by EventScotland, the event gives more Scots professional golfers the chance to test their skills against the cream of Europe as they bid to progress to the main Tour.
Kemnay Golf Club, winners at the same venue a year ago, returned from Aberdeenshire to win a second clubgolf Pro-Am title, after a round of 58. They beat locals, Duns, by one point.
“After last year we said we would keep the team together and see if we could win it again,” said Kemnay’s clubgolf coach, Stuart Mitchell, who played with clubmates Simon Tickle and Bob Sproat, and Aberdeen Kings Links pro, Scott Henderson (all pictured above by Rob Eyton-Jones).
“It was fantastic for the tour pros to give up their time and play with the coaches and a superb day for us to be playing with a guy like Scott.
“All the clubgolf coaches give up their time every week to teach kids so is this is a nice reward. I’d definitely recommend it to other coaches.”
The Kemnay trio are part of a growing army of the volunteer coaches who are playing their part in making the national junior programme, clubgolf, a huge success. Two thirds of all P5 children in Scotland should receive an introduction to golf at school this summer. Some 1200 coaches working in 220 Scottish clubs will give many of these children an opportunity to develop their golfing skills at a local club.
Lloyd Saltman, who along with his brother, Elliot, and fellow Scots pros, Barry Hume, Andrew McArthur and Jamie McLeary, accompanied a team in yesterday’s clubgolf pro-am, is a keen supporter.
“It’s fantastic seeing so many young kids getting the opportunity to play,” he said. “When I started at eight or nine years old there was nothing like clubgolf; you had to do it all off your own back.
“The more children we can give the opportunity to play the greater chance we have of producing more top class Scottish golfers.”
clubgolf’s presence at the Scottish Challenge continues this weekend with coaching for youngsters. On the penultimate day of the tournament, Saturday, clubgolf coaches and tournament professionals will be on hand at the main practice ground at Cardrona from 10am to 3pm to give coaching to children aged from nine to 14.

New junior drive at Inverness Golf Club

(Pictures attached – Inverness GC members and PGA Level 1 coaches, David Connell and Iain Ross, teaching clubgolf on the Club’s new junior tees, by Rob Eyton-Jones)

In a two-pronged effort to encourage its juniors to play more golf and generate handicaps, Inverness Golf Club has taken giant steps forward this season by installing junior tees on all 18 holes and training two of its members to deliver clubgolf coaching.

On first impressions Inverness Golf Club is brimming with junior interest. Inverness has 130 on its junior membership and 100 more on its waiting list. Yet from this total only 40 have handicaps and there are just 18 girls amongst them. These are statics the Club and its volunteer coaches are determined to change.

“I was going to competitions with my son, who is a junior member, and seeing and hearing what other clubs were doing with their junior coaching and I realised we were missing out,” said David Connell, newly appointed Junior Convenor and PGA Level 1 coach. “Many of the Clubs had PGA Level 1 coaches providing tuition for beginners and a golf course with junior tees.”

“Once I was appointed junior convenor I asked if we could start junior coaching and improve the facilities and I got the full backing from the Club.”

The Club’s new junior drive comes at a time when opportunities for children to play the game in Scotland have never been better. Through the innovative national junior golf programme, clubgolf, Scottish golf clubs are being challenged to adopt a junior coaching culture.

Emerging from Scotland’s successful bid to host the Ryder Cup, clubgolf is a partnership between the Scottish Golf Union, the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association, the Professional Golfers' Association, the Golf Foundation and sportscotland, which aims to introduce every nine-year-old child in Scotland to golf.

Mr Connell and fellow Club member, Iain Ross, became qualified coaches this year through clubgolf’s PGA Level 1 coaching course. Now they are preparing to deliver clubgolf Stage 1, a 40 hour course covering the fundamentals of putting, chipping, full swing, rules and etiquette, to the Club’s non handicapped children.

“This is the first time we’ve done junior coaching separate from what the Club Pros have done at the start of the season,” said Mr Connell. “We’re planning to continue this current coaching on a Friday night from July until September, depending on the light.”

In a further move to encourage children and their families to play, the Club has created forward junior tees on all 18 holes.

“We felt the course was too tough for the junior beginners so the new tees will give them a platform for them to get started and build up their confidence,” said Club Secretary, Ewan Forbes.

“The juniors now have a range of holes between 65 and 220 yards and we’ve developed a separate score card for the junior holes with the par the same as the full course.

“It means that parents can now play a round with their children and it’s far more enjoyable than what they had before. The children without handicaps and their parents have said it’s a great idea.”

In adopting the clubgolf programme, Inverness joins the 220 plus clubs in Scotland and the growing band of 1200 qualified volunteer coaches working with children in clubgolf coaching programmes.

“We have a bit of work to do to get the other juniors handicaps,” said Mr Connell. “We are trying to encourage more boys and girls to enter more competitions and get their handicaps, so they can go out and represent the Club.
“Already we have more juniors playing and last month we had one of our biggest junior entry into the monthly medal.

“This is the first season and it’s not a quick fix but if we keep this going then we will get the children progressing and over the next few years I am sure we will see the benefits.”

Said Willie MacKay, clubgolf’s Highland Regional Manager: “Having Inverness Golf Club now delivering clubgolf coaching is brilliant as there is a high demand for junior membership in the City. The introduction of the new forward junior tees has gone very smoothly and now Inverness Golf Club have a player development pathway that allows children to start as a beginner and develop their potential all the way to being an elite player.”

Rob Eyton-Jones
clubgolf Media Manager

LIFE ON THE BEACH AT LOCH NESS

Loch Ness Golf Course which is part of the Fairways complex on the south side of Inverness has just added to its comprehensive list of facilities with the opening of its purpose built pitching and bunker area.
With financial help from clubgolf Scotland there is now a dedicated practice area for members and visitors alike to hone their short game before heading out for a game on the Loch Ness course.
Neil Hampton Golf & Marketing Director for Loch Ness Golf Course said “This addition to our facilities is just a natural progression for us as we want to create the best golf facility in the Highlands, if not Scotland.
"In 2005 we opened our 9 hole course in addition to the existing 18 hole course and now we have a pitching and bunker area to go along with our covered and floodlit driving range. Already we can see how popular this has been and has encouraged us to look at more ways of enhancing the golfing experience at Loch Ness.”
Willie MacKay, Area Development Manager for clubgolf Scotland said “I have always been impressed with the attitude of the people at Loch Ness and their drive to provide the best facilities possible. The work they do for juniors is incredible and now the addition of the pitching and bunker area gives them even more opportunity to continue to develop golf in this area. We were delighted to be able to help out and it will be money well spent and a great investment for our initiative.”