Synopsis
Killin Golf Club is a 9 whole golf club situated in Killin,
Perthshire. We have had a strong junior section in the
club for the last 5 years after a lull of a few years. We now
regularly get 40+ juniors attending junior night throughout the
summer months. We have 6 qualified level-1 coaches, 3 of
which have attended Level-2 orientation, and 2 of these plus
one other level-1 coach currently attending Level-2 training. Also,
we have been a Golf Foundation Starter Centre since 2002, so
we do have funding for a professional from other golf clubs to
coach at the higher level. The commitment to junior golf
by the golf club is increasing every year.
Background
As part of the clubgolf initiative we have received funding
to develop a 9 whole junior course within the main course mainly
using winter tees and greens that have been treated like the
main greens during the summer. We also received funding
to provide a double driving net on what can only be described
as scrubland on the old practice area. Even with this facility,
we felt that the club lacked a safe area for coaching that was
off the main course, and that would provide the beginners with
a wee course of their own until they were proficient to venture
on to either of the main courses. Our Greens Convenor came
up with the idea of converting this scrubland into a practice
area with 3 greens and 5 teeing positions, plans were drawn up
and estimates of costs made. With the proposed plans drawn
up, the next step was to clear the area of scrub and saplings
and to try and level the ground off. Club members cleared
the scrub and local builders provided material to fill in the
uneven ground. Now we needed money to fund the digging
of drains, construction of greens, tees and bunkers and safety
fencing along a steep drop to a burn.
Description
To fund the development we decided to apply to Awards for All
for a grant as the construction was less than £5000 at £4589. I
had been advised that an application for less than the maximum
of £5000 would probably be more successful.
First of all we had to change the junior section bank account
so that it needed 2 signatories – for this we had to set
up an official junior section committee. We had to gather
together a lot of information, most of it was readily available:-
- Estimate of the costs involved
- Bank statements
- Previous year’s accounts
- Constitution or set of rules.
- Letter of support from the Golf Club
As we did not have our own constitution we provided the Club
constitution and a letter from the secretary to confirm that
we were a branch of the main club and that they were aware of
and supported the funding application being made and that they
would be ultimately responsible for any legal and accounting
responsibility as a result of the grant.
The actual application form is quite straightforward. We
stressed the links with local primary schools and therefore the
sustainability of the junior numbers, and we also stressed the
safety aspects of having an area off the main course to provide
coaching.
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As the groundwork for
the area had been done through the golf club this was stated as
the contribution that we were making towards the project. In
the description of what we were doing we made sure that we stressed
that girls and ladies would be encouraged to take up golf as a
result of this project as they could now practice without feeling
that they were holding up players on the main course.
We also stressed the fact that we were in a rural area, and therefore
do not have easy access to the practice areas that larger clubs might
have.
The application was signed by the junior convenor, an independent
referee and the Chairperson/ Vice-Chair/ Secretary or Treasurer of
the group.
We submitted the original application in March 2005, but we had used
an electronic form that Awards for All could no longer process. The
application was resubmitted and acknowledged at the beginning of
May, a week later we were informed that we had been successful and
awarded the full amount sought.
Problems
and Issues
The obvious problem was using the wrong form, but Awards for
All were very helpful.
Having to have a junior bank account, committee and constitution
could be seen as a problem, and might be for some clubs where
the junior section is run by the main club. In our experience
it is better to have the separate account as it also allows people
to donate money to the juniors without the donation getting swallowed
by the main club, it also means that we do not have to go cap
in hand to the main club when we want to purchase anything.
Overall, I did not really have any real problems or issues. The
application is straightforward and is quite clear about what information
needs to be provided.
Key Outcomes
At the time of writing, the new area is not fully functional
as our green-keeper has had to focus his work on the main course,
but it will be fully functional in the Spring of 2006 when the
junior coaching resumes after the winter break.
- Safe coaching area for all
- Provides an area that we could bring the school children
doing first clubgolf to in order to give them a game on a real
golf course.
- Any beginner can practice most aspects of their game away
from the main course
- Encourages ladies to play without feeling rushed on the main
course
- Makes a welcome entrance to the club – showing visitors
and members alike that we are committed to the development
of all golfers.
Anticipated Future Developments
The next development will be to add a perimeter fence to the
area as two of the sides are on the main road, plus the addition
of lighting to the area. These were both considered initially,
but it was thought that we should get the initial development
completed in the first instance.
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