SYNOPSIS

The life-blood of a golf club is its junior membership.

Linlithgow Golf Club adopted the clubgolf method in mid 2003, trained six volunteers and conducted its first Level 1 programme split between the autumn of 2003 and the spring of 2004.  Twenty children from four local Primary Schools were involved.  Twelve of these children were enthusiastic participants in the 2005 Level 2 programme and, at the time of writing, eleven are still keen and several have joined Linlithgow Golf Club.

Additionally, a further twenty children are participating in the 2005 Level 1 programme and a further four volunteers are trained to support them.

Linlithgow Golf Club is delighted with the success of this programme and with the support it receives from the clubgolf administration and will be happy to discuss this with other clubs considering adopting the programme.

Linlithgow Golf Club has been in existence for nearly 100 years and exists within a community of around 20000 people in Linlithgow and Linlithgow Bridge, in the heart of the Central Scotland belt.  It attracts members from these towns and also surrounding villages with a significant number of other members coming from further afield, important because there are dozens of competing golf clubs within a thirty-minute drive.  The Club is successful with a waiting list of two years in the adult Male Section and healthy Ladies and Junior Sections both having a few available open spaces.

The Club still follows the traditional model of separating the men from the women, giving the women reduced fees for reduced playing rights, although the basis for voting rights is the same in both Sections.  This situation is under constant review, but the majority of the ladies appear to want the status quo.

At the beginning of 2004, Linlithgow Junior Section (boys) had around 80 members, aged from 12 up to 18, attracted to the Club largely because parents were members or because of positive references from existing members.  The Junior (girls) Section had only one or two members.  The Club in general had no structure in place to find children who might be interested in taking up golf and encouraging them to do so.

In fairness, numbers of boys had been healthy for a good number of years and there had been no perceived need to go out and find the new Junior Members.  However, in the first few years of the new millennium, the numbers had begun to contract a bit and the first approaches from clubgolf in late 2003 gained the attention of the Council.  At the same time the Ladies had just started to support a broader, county-wide initiative under the auspices of the Golf Foundation to provide early experience of golf for young girls.

What was present on the boys’ side was a Junior Convenor and a small number of volunteers supporting him in developing the best boys and encouraging them to reduce their handicaps and to play in adult competitions.  The Professional also participated in this and other broader initiatives, but primarily the focus was on developing existing golfers to improve their skills.  On the girls’ side, the Golf Foundation initiative was gaining momentum, with a Ladies Council member working on the local committee.  Because of the separation of the male and female sections, Linlithgow Golf Club as a whole was reacting to the girls’ initiative rather than embracing it and using it to attract new girl members.

What was absent was a compelling feeling in the Club that there was a problem encouraging children to adopt golf as their sport rather than any of the increasing number of other choices.  Nor was there a pervasive view that the Club had a responsibility to be proactive in finding new young golfers.

The clubgolf initiative changed all that.

In the first quarter of 2004, clubgolf was discussed at meetings of the Council of Linlithgow Golf Club, the concept was applauded and it was agreed that, to move things forward, volunteers needed to be identified.  Two or three Council Members, all retired and in the late 50s to early 70s age range, undertook to look at the feasibility of the Club undertaking a clubgolf project.  A total of six members of the active male Seniors group in the Club were prepared to undertake the two-day training programme, as well as go through the procedure for ensuring the safety of the children (Disclosure Scotland plus training in handling and reacting to children within the Child Protection Act).

A single interface point was identified to liaise with the clubgolf Co-ordinator and the Active Schools Co-ordinator, the contact with the local Primary Schools.  In the event, four members of the team attended training in 2004 and were ready to start teaching at the end of the summer.  Two others attended the child safety training but could not attend the golf training until early 2005.  These two were permitted to read training manuals and were subsequently allowed to act as assistants as the programme commenced.  Two lady volunteers, also Seniors, were identified when it became clear that the children would comprise girls as well as boys.

The choice of Senior Members to staff the whole project turned out to be ideal when it became clear that the ideal time to run clubgolf classes was on a Friday afternoon.  This was possible because school timings children in West Lothian are organised such that schools finish at lunch-time on a Friday.

Finding the children for the Level 1 project

Prior to clubgolf, formal links simply did not exist between Linlithgow Golf Club and the Primary Schools in its catchment area.  One of the first acts of the clubgolf co-ordinator was to manage this missing link, one of several actions which the co-ordinator took which was above and beyond her call of duty.  Children in three of the schools in the Linlithgow area had already been introduced to Level 0 of the clubgolf programme in 2003 and this had been received enthusiastically by the children.  As a consequence, when the time came to identify children for Level 1, the clubgolf Co-ordinator was able to supply a list of 24 children, in two groups of 12.  The gender split was about 75% boys to 25% girls.  Initial contact was made with the children and arrangements were made to communicate the details of the programme to the parents.

Executing the first Level 1 programme

The Linlithgow Golf Club team were ready to commence the first Level 1 programme at the end of the school summer holiday break in 2004 and it was already clear that the complete programme could not be delivered before the onset of winter.  It was decided, therefore, to divide the programme into two halves with the second half in the Spring of 2005.  The chosen timing was in two sessions for 12 children each, starting at 13:30 and 14:30 on Friday afternoons.  The first half of the programme ran from late August until the end of October and the second half from immediately after Easter until mid-June.

A rota was set up among the instructors and at least two men and one lady were present at all sessions.  One qualified instructor led each session (or segment within a session) so it was always clear who was in charge at all times.  The others present took on coaching or support roles looking after individuals or small sub-groups of children.  Often there were four or five volunteers present, all greatly enthusiastic at this opportunity to “give something back to golf”.  Sometimes instructors were responsible for both sessions in an afternoon and sometimes only one.

The individual lessons are very clearly defined in the clubgolf Level 1 manual and each instructor was expected to be well prepared.  Assistants with access to the material also prepared fully and occasionally took a leading role for parts of sessions, but always with a trained instructor in overall charge.

Linlithgow Golf Club has a putting green and a practice area and both were used throughout the programme.  These had to be reserved for exclusive clubgolf use when they were required for lessons to ensure the safety of the clubgolf children.  Despite this, it was essential to teach the children the safety aspects of etiquette right from the start.

In the latter part of the programme, the first three holes on the course were reserved for clubgolf use and conflict with regular golfers had to be managed.

The programme concluded in June 2005 with a short prize-giving event with parents in attendance and children receiving certificates, some gifts and an invitation to join Linlithgow Golf Club.

The second Level 1 programme and the start of Level 2

In the second quarter of 2005, it became clear that Level 2 was going to be available and that no additional training would be required for Level 1 qualified instructors.  The implication of this was that Linlithgow Golf Club realised it would have to run not only a new session of the Level 1 programme but also the Level 2 programme in parallel.  Clearly more volunteers were required.  Four more volunteers were identified and despatched for training.  One retired from the lead instructor role but continues to work as a willing assistant.

A further 20 children were identified in the schools (an additional school had joined the programme in the meantime) for Level 1 and 11 of the original batch wanted to enter the Level 2 programme.  Two of the instructors took on co-ordinating roles, one for each programme.  Level 1 ran in two classes and started early in July with finish scheduled for late October.  Level 2 started at the end of July with finish scheduled in mid-October, but with extended lessons of one and a half hours rather than the recommend hour.  There is some overlap of instructors across the two levels and it is clear that close co-ordination of individuals and lessons is required.  The opportunity has been taken to adapt more effectively to individual instructor availability concerns.

Running Level 1 and Level 2 in parallel has certainly provided some logistical issues and these have been resolved by informal contact among the instructors.  As it happens, virtually the entire instructor team plays golf in the Seniors competitions on Wednesday mornings, so most issues are resolved in the Clubhouse on Wednesday lunch-times.  Planning meetings, as such, have not been necessary except at the start of each programme.

At the time of writing, these two programmes are nearing completion and plans are about to commence for a new programme in 2006.  At least, this programme will have an entire golf season in which to be performed and it is hoped this will provide the opportunity for slightly less frenetic activity.

PROBLEMS AND ISSUES

Safety

No sports facility is entirely safe.  Controlled exposure to the dangers combined with informed adult protection is the best way of heightening safety awareness among the youngsters.

Retaining the volunteers

Volunteers from within the retired community in particular are likely to have strong views on most things and there is little chance of an easy ride for the organisers.  They have plenty time to think about what has, in their view, gone wrong and to come up with alternative approaches.  Communication is essential to maintain control and to ensure the children are delivered a coherent programme.

Conflict with the girls initiative

The Golf Foundation programme for girls was up and running at a County level before clubgolf at Linlithgow.  The two programmes clearly have similarities and Linlithgow was delighted to hear they are coming together at a national level.  Communication between the Club and the organisers of the girls’ group is already under way, but it is clear there will be hurdles to be cleared before any attempt is made to bring them together.  For Linlithgow, these hurdles are likely to be in the area of training capacity and the Club is already looking at improving facilities for youngsters to address this.

Running Level 1 with Level 2 in parallel

The decision to run the two parts of the programme in parallel gave the team local logistical problems.  Deciding to enrol (and pay for the training of) additional instructors was a critical decision to the success of the enlarged programme.  Running the parts serially would have stretched the indulgence of the volunteers and it is unlikely they would have coped with the additional requirements on their time.

Conflict on the course with Junior Male Members

This local issue arose because the best time to teach the clubgolf programme coincides with the peak playing time for Junior Boy members.  The only way to handle this was by communicating effectively what was going on and, in the end, conflict was minimal.

Ensuring compliance with Protection of Children (Scotland) Act

All adults working with children need to have Disclosure (Scotland) clearance to do so.  This process can take time and cause some annoyance to volunteers.  Linlithgow was fortunate in that the process was managed by the clubgolf Regional Co-ordinator and most problems were ironed out before they became issues.

School holidays

Starting the new programme for 2005 at the start of the summer holidays turned out to be a bigger problem than the team realised.  There had been no doubt that a full complement of children would not be present during the holiday period, but, in fact, it turned out that the vast majority took holidays at the beginning of the period, leaving the early lessons very sparsely attended.  The month of July is probably best avoided as far as the programme is concerned.

Bad weather

Several days were lost as a result of bad weather, especially in 2005, and alternative arrangements had to be made at the last minute.  In future years, attention will be given to developing indoor ways of continuing the programme.

Facilities at the Golf Club

Linlithgow has adequate facilities for a programme such as clubgolf, but it is clear that they could be much better.  This is a matter for concern to the current Council and it is hoped improvements can be made.

Key Outcomes

Linlithgow Golf Club is perceived throughout the local golfing community as being an active participant in supporting and encouraging youngsters in taking up golf.  The fact it is free comes as a surprise to most parents and the combination of an obviously professional programme with volunteer delivery brings the club a good degree of respect.

All of the children who moved on to Level 2 now own their own clubs and several have joined the club.  Free use of the practice facilities until the end of 2005 was offered to the level 2 children so it is to be expected that more children will join in 2006.

The club has received very positive publicity in the local and golfing press, as a result of active clubgolf promotion organised by the clubgolf Co-ordinator.

Most importantly, there are at least forty youngsters out there who have had a lot of enjoyment with the promise of much more form the game of golf.

Critical Success Factors

• The project would never have got under way in Linlithgow Golf Club without the enthusiasm and personality of the Regional clubgolf Co-ordinator, whose support and encouragement was unfailing, and whose willingness to be involved at all levels sustained the volunteers throughout the project.
• The volunteers who joined the programme all did so because they wanted to return something to the game of golf and the resultant level of commitment to the programme was very high.  Children recognise when adults are doing things they believe in and respond accordingly.
• clubgolf branding is a focus for the whole programme, giving the instructors confidence they are delivering a worthwhile product and the children and their parents a feeling they are participating in a high-quality national programme.
• The Golf Club Council and membership have to be supportive of the Club’s participation in the programme as there is a small but necessary financial investment required as well as interruption to freedom of play at certain times.
• Golf Club facilities have to be in place to permit the programme to operate effectively.  Children and parents alike recognise that the Club is not just a recreational facility, but also a place where children are welcomed and valued.

ANTICIPATED FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

Linlithgow Golf Club will certainly continue the programme into 2006 and future years.  Our Professional is keen that he or his assistant should be licensed to deliver the Level 3 programme when this becomes available.

The Club will work out how to run the clubgolf and Golf Foundation programmes in parallel and, if appropriate, will enter into negotiations to amalgamate them.  How this will happen remains to be seen.

As stated above the Club is looking at how to improve facilities and will certainly ensure the instruction team maintains skills and vitality.

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