P5 children from Duns Primary experience clubgolf with Active Schools Co-ordinators
and PGA Level 1 Volunteer Coaches

clubgolf begins in the Borders

The clubgolf drive to introduce every nine year old in Scotland to golf reached a significant milestone in the Borders this week when 10 local schools began teaching the introductory game to 250 children through Active Schools.

clubgolf is a partnership between the Scottish Golf Union, Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association, Professional Golfers’ Association, the Golf Foundation and sportscotland.  Emerging from Scotland’s successful bid to host the Ryder Cup, clubgolf is a direct result of the Scottish Executive’s pledge to create an opportunity for every child in Scotland to experience the game.

clubgolf’s introductory game, firstclubgolf, uses multi-coloured clubs, rubberised balls, velcro targets and carefully planned progressive lesson cards to provide a safe and exciting introduction to the game for nine year olds. It was one of the sports enjoyed by over 140 pupils at the recent Multi ­ Sport festival organised by the Borders Disability Sports Officer at
Tweedbank.

Children wishing to develop their golfing skills can access clubgolf's Stage 1 coaching programmes delivered by 15 qualified PGA Level 1 Volunteer coaches at Duns, Eyemouth, Hawick and Kelso Golf Clubs.

Using real golf equipment, Stage 1 is a structured coaching programme covering the fundamentals of golf and introducing rules and etiquette. After Stage 1 there are a further four stages on the Long Term Player Pathway, allowing children to develop their skills to the level they aspire to.

“The children at Duns Primary have thoroughly enjoyed the clubgolf sessions they’ve had so far and many are keen to continue with after school sessions at Duns Golf Club,” said Paddy Dearlove, Active School Coordinator (Berwickshire).

“The school and all the staff have been very supportive of the initiative and are delighted that they can offer a new activity which will contribute towards the target of two hours of quality PE and physical activity per week for their children.”

Hawick Golf Club is one of four local clubs hosting Stage 1 of the clubgolf programme this summer.  Its junior convenor, David Wilson has already been supporting the Active Schools Co-ordinator, Karen Cornwall deliver firstclubgolf in Drumlanrig Primary School and is excited about delivering the next stage at the Club, starting this Sunday.

“We’ve already got a really good junior section of about 85 children but as far as we’re concerned the more the merrier and we are driving the junior section forwards,” said Mr Wilson. “Juniors are the future of the club so we think it’s important to encourage them as young as possible.

“When I became Junior Convenor last year I could see we needed a coaching structure in place.  Then I discovered clubgolf, I did my training six weeks ago and it has snowballed from there.

 “We’ve got two Level 1 PGA coaches and an army of helpers and we already have half a dozen kids signed up for the course, three of them are girls which is even better.

“The children who have been doing clubgolf in school are so enthusiastic that some of them have made their way up to the Club already to hit balls on the practice facility.”

Said clubgolf Project Manager, Torquil McInroy:  “It’s great to see clubgolf establishing a foothold in the Borders, and I know Active Schools Manager, Eleanor Pearson and her team have worked hard to bring our introductory game to schools in the area. We’re already starting to see clubgolf programmes being established across the region with three or four new clubs starting up this year.

“Looking ahead I know we can expect to see many more children experiencing golf in school next year, and the number of volunteer coaches continuing to grow.  That can only be good for golf in the Borders.”