Juniors
to benefit as Fort William Golf Club opens new practice
facility
Fort William Golf Club, which has bravely battled the area’s
notoriously wet climate to develop a successful coaching
programme for the community’s children, opened a unique
new junior practice facility today (Tuesday 30th September
2008).
A new four bay covered practice
facility is the result of the Club’s successful application
for a £10,000 Awards for All lottery grant. The bay is
one of the first of its kind in Scotland and will help the
Club continue to introduce the town’s children to the
game through the national junior golf programme, clubgolf.
A partnership between the
Scottish Golf Union, the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association,
the Professional Golfers' Association, the Golf Foundation
and sportscotland, clubgolf emerged from Scotland’s successful
bid to host the Ryder Cup. clubgolf is a result of the Scottish
Government’s commitment to introduce every nine-year-old
child in Scotland to the game.
“The new facility will
make a heck of a difference to coaching the juniors,” said
John Ross, the Club’s Junior Convenor and qualified clubgolf
coach, who is working with club members to complete a new practice
green.
“Until now we had a bit of grass but the wind would come
hurling up the loch and it was very unpleasant. Kids get fed
up in the rain but with the covered driving bay you can have
all the kids around you and it’s perfectly dry. They
can hit the balls and we, the coaches, go with the juniors
and fetch them.”
Golfing talent is in good
supply at Fort William Golf Club. Alasdair Ross recently played
for the North District. Garry Dunlop was a member of the SGU
Area Coaching squad and Ashley Ingram recently gained a golf
scholarship in the USA.
Despite two of the wettest
summers, delaying the building process by three months, Mr
Ross has been helping local juniors by coaching as many as
50 children on his clubgolf programme. He regularly uses the
course’s back nine holes as a Par 3 course and puts the
12th green to good use for bunker practice.
“Myself and the Club
Steward James Duncan have done the clubgolf coaching for three
years,” said Mr Ross. “On my books I’ve
got 42 juniors but a lot more play golf. We’ve got them
in three stages: kids starting off doing the clubgolf Stage
1 coaching programme , kids on the par 3 course who are Stage
1 year 2 juniors, and our over 12s, our ‘senior juniors’ who
get stage 2 & 3 clubgolf coaching. Amongst them we have
a 4, 5 and 8 handicap.”
Feeding the interest in local
schools is the programme’s introductory game, firstclubgolf.
Played with multi-coloured clubs, rubberised balls, Velcro
targets and carefully planned progressive lesson cards, firstclubgolf
provides a safe and exciting introduction to the game.
“A lot of our children
wouldn’t have had the chance to play golf before the
firstclubgolf programme started,” said Active Schools
Co-ordinator, Bridget Thomas who has been giving firstclubgolf
taster sessions in the nine local schools along with PE specialists.
“It’s something
different for the kids and they really enjoy it. The covered
facility is an extra resource and it means they can keep the
coaching going whatever the weather.”
Said clubgolf’s Highland
Manager, Willie MacKay, “Since clubgolf coaching started
at Fort William Golf Club John and James have built up a junior
membership of over 50 youngsters with more than 40 in regular
coaching. In this season alone they have attracted 31 new juniors
into the clubgolf programme.
“With the covered bays,
practice green and new bunker they will have ideal practice
facilities for the youngsters and these will also benefit the
adult members as well.
“John Ross and James
Duncan faced some major challenges on the way to completing
this new facility. They needed a three month extension to the
project because of the wet spring and summer. They had to hire
a dumper truck to ferry the rubble base and the cement for
the foundations from the Club car park up to the site for the
covered bays area.
“They have overcome
all these challenges admirably and I am delighted to see the
new facility opened today.”
Further information from John
Ross, Fort William GC Junior Convenor on: john.sine@btinternet.com
