Michael Brand, Junior Club Champion & Melvyn Morrow, great, great grandson of Old Tom Morris, make the first putts on the new green to open the clubgolf practice facility

New junior golf development at Tain

Tain Golf Club reached a new stage in its evolution as an outstanding clubgolf junior development centre by opening new junior practice facilities this weekend.

Mr Melvyn H Morrow, the great great grandson of Old Tom Morris and the Junior Club Champion, Michael Brand unveiled the new putting green, three-bay netted practice area, 20 metre artificial all-weather mat for chipping, two new bunkers and perimeter safety fence.  Jim Burnett, Chair of clubgolf Scotland Ltd was on hand to witness the first putts on the new green.

The new facilities, hewn from a rough, unused area adjoining the car park, are more than a welcome addition to the Club.  They are nothing short of a necessity. Tain was one of the first clubs in Scotland to see the potential of joining Scotland’s national junior golf strategy, clubgolf, four years ago and the flood of new juniors has not ceased.

The new junior practice area is the second development at the Club in recent times.  Just three years ago, a £6000 clubgolf grant enabled construction of clubgolf short holes on its practice ground, new greenside and fairway bunkers, extension of the existing practice area and nine new clubgolf junior tees on the club’s 18-hole golf course. 

Funding for the new project came from Awards for All Big Lottery Fund, which contributed £9220.  A local business added £1000, which was matched by £1000 from sportscotland’s Sportsmatch scheme.  Wick-based Hunters Promotions provided the new equipment.  Course Manager, Ian McLeod broke the ground in a wet October, which proved a testing month with flooding unseen before in his 30 years at Tain, and has since nurtured the area in time for a summer of junior coaching. 

“Before the new facilities were built in 2004, it wasn’t easy coaching children here,” said Tain’s Mike Sangster, one of a select band of coaches in Britain, and one of two coaches in Highland, to achieve the PGA clubgolf Level 2 coaching qualification. 

“You’d have to take up to 12 kids on the course to play a couple of holes. But now we can teach all the basics of the short and long game without going onto the course.  The new facilities have transformed a patch of scrub land into a nice area.”

Award winning Mr Sangster is one of clubgolf’s most active volunteer coaches, teaching Stage 1 of the clubgolf programme to over 90 children each week. Twenty-five of these children have already progressed to his clubgolf Stage 2 programme, some of them are reported to have made ‘savage cuts’ to their handicaps.  Feeding the interest through clubgolf’s introductory game at school are teaching staff, supported and trained by the Active Schools network, which aims to make children more active, more often, 

“We are delighted to see the Club’s facilities develop further, giving children the opportunity to participate in a game that’s widely played in the Highlands.” said Active Schools Manager, Alan Clark.  “There’s a strong link in place between the firstclubgolf programme in the schools and the Club which has been very enthusiastic in taking forward the opportunity to enrol more juniors.” 

Not content with spending six nights every week coaching, Mr Sangster devises other ways to attract even more into the sport.  Fun Days to attract beginner men, women and children run through the year.  Due to the interest of the mothers who drive their children to the nightly coaching, a new adult intermediate membership category has been created, resulting in an increase in the Club’s female membership.

To cope with the influx of new golfers – young, old, male and female – Mr Sangster has enlisted two of his older juniors and two adult members, all of whom are now bone fide clubgolf’s PGA level 1 coaches.

“Because we now have four other coaches, we are able to take on more kids,” said Munro Ferries, who manages the Club’s shop.

“The new facilities have been a natural progression and have totally transformed the way we can teach.  Having the new facilities means that we can all work with children in different areas - we can have up to 25 kids in that one area working on the short game, whilst other coaches can work on different things in other areas.”

“This new development is the way forward for Tain Golf Club, as the juniors currently being taught are the future golfers at our club and the Highlands,” said Club Captain, Iain Innes.

Said clubgolf’s Highland Regional Manager, Willie MacKay:  “The impressive numbers of juniors involved in the clubgolf Stage 1 and 2 coaching programmes more than merit this second junior facility development at Tain Golf Club.

“The coaching programme has also been supported by three more PGA level 1 coaches that qualified earlier this year.  As well as a stable coaching programme the juniors enjoy an extensive junior fixture list including variety with family days and fun days which add significantly to the atmosphere and enjoyment. 

“Some girls have made the step into area and national coaching and with several boys showing promise the Tain junior conveyor belt will continue to attract new juniors from the extensive school firstclubgolf programme.”