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.”