Deeside GC managing to buck the trend with a
John Allan, Nigg Bay Golf Club's new match secretary, Emailed Scottishgolfview.com a few days ago, asking for help and suggestions from any individual or body with regard to the drastic falling off of junior membership at the Balnagask club, Aberdeen.
It has only two junior members.
We asked GB and I Curtis Cup-winning team captain Elaine Farquharson-Black, who is Deeside Golf Club's junior convener, how the Bieldside club is managing to buck the trend with a vibrant junior membership of boys AND girls:
We try to make it fun for all the boys and girls
Deeside Golf Club junior convener
Club golf is meant to
encourage players who are not members of a club. Hazlehead runs
Clubgolf, but I am not sure about other clubs.
Murcar
Links is providing free junior membership as is Peterculter. A municipal club
can't do that as the Town Council charge for playing the course, so the
Council would need to reduce prices for juniors, but I can't see that
happening as there would be other sports arguing for free use of
facilities.
Peterhead have withdrawn from the Junior |Pennant Leaguethis year as they can't field a team, so it is a wider problem.
Karyn Dallas, club professional at Kirriemuir GC, runs two-hole events for juniors to try it out. That might be an idea worth exploring.
In
terms of Deeside, the club is very welcoming of juniors, both at member
level and by the staff. As junior convener, I sit on Council
representing the junior members so they are considered in all decision-making, recognising that the juniors will sustain the club going
forward.
We
run junior competitions on Saturday afternoons. Those with handicaps of
18 or below play on the Haughton course off the same tees as the men/women for
that day's competition and their scores are included in the CSS for the
day, again reinforcing that they are part of the wider membership.
On the Deeside GC Blairs course, the juniors can play nine or 18 holes, depending on their ability and stamina!
I am generally there on a Saturday to see the juniors off and when they come in for something to eat at the end of their round.
In
the holidays, there are also junior competitions on Mondays and
Thursdays and over the winter we run an eclectic and have a team playing
in the men's winter foursomes competition.
We
run coaching sessions for the juniors once a month, different classes
for different abilities. Deeside GC Director of Golf Frank Coutts and his assistant, Graeme Nethercott, are very
supportive of the juniors.
We
run a Facebook and Twitter account for the juniors, posting pictures of
what they have been up to, at Deeside and at other events.
We try to make it fun; encouraging juniors of all abilities to enjoy the facilities. Not sure that we have all the answers!
ELAINE FARQUHARSON-BLACK
Labels: boys and girls
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