Following a period of consultation with PGA professionals, parents, and children throughout 2018, the Golf Foundation is delighted to announce the Junior Golf Passport has been improved and is relaunched.
The Golf Foundation reaches 500,000 boys and girls each year and introduces young people from all backgrounds to the benefits of golf, creating a player pathway from school sport to the golf club environment and regular coaching with PGA professionals.
The Junior Golf Passport has played a key role in this strategy and has been a highly popular learning resource for PGA coaches and their clubs for more than a decade. The all-new Junior Golf Passport is now launched for 2019.
The new physical 28-page booklet is rich in content with major modernisations to excite the next generation of players, aged six-12, and their families. Meanwhile, the online version of the Passport (www.juniorgolfpassport.org) has been revamped radically – becoming a resource now purely to support the PGA coach: a Coaches’ Locker Room and Shop are packed with coaching resources to facilitate the busy club professional and inspire his/her students as they learn the game. These include everything from achievement stickers to the introduction of a Skills for Life Medal so coaches/clubs can reward commitment and sportsmanship.
All previous contents have been enhanced to take each child, step-by-step, through all the technical skills to play golf, from putting to the long-game, while guiding young players in basic course management, the Rules and etiquette, in a visually appealing way throughout.
An exciting new area includes progressive skills testing across all playing disciplines, where coach and student can work together as the young golfers improve week-on-week through the Passport’s pages. Coach and child can ‘stamp’ the Passport as each new technique is learned. This innovation helps enhance coaching opportunity for the PGA pro while building confidence for the student, maintaining and increasing interest.
The Passport comes with a smart new wallet to maintain top condition, while the coach can print out award certificates and specific coaching tips that can be inserted into the Passport’s pages.
Following feedback from coaches and families, the 2019 Passport offers key new sections for the young player who is growing up in a world of technology: including a guide to the terminology around how a golf club works (driver and iron), different types of ball flight (from hook to slice), how to record yardage for shotmaking and more.
A further new area focuses on developing ‘Skills for Life’, including an understanding of sportsmanship; while the ‘Milestones’ section is where boys and girls can record ‘first golf lesson’, first par, first birdie, first handicap, favourite hole, favourite golfer and more, as their appreciation of the sport grows.
Martin Crowder, Head of Development for the Golf Foundation, said: “We are really excited about the changes to the Junior Golf Passport that ensure we can continually support children through their golfing journey and support coaches and clubs with an appealing, tangible and rewarding programme to deliver. This is a brilliant resource for all junior-friendly golf clubs that tracks and rewards progression, while promoting greater engagement between golf clubs and families.”
A significant additional benefit for PGA pros comes as junior golf coaching specialist Colour Path Golf is now a Junior Golf Passport Delivery Partner. Any club which has an active Passport licence will be entitled to a 25% discount on the Colour Path Golf range. This is a simplified, versatile teaching aid that can be used by all teaching professionals; with high engagement from all students, especially children, who love the bright colours. As part of the team at Colour Path Golf’s commitment to grow the game, every product that is purchased by PGA pros who are registered on the Passport will create a small donation for the Golf Foundation (see www.colourpathgolf.co.uk)
The cost of the Junior Golf Passport is £120 for a 12-month licence. The Golf Foundation is appreciative of all those who have continued with their Passport programme whilst these developments have been taking place, and any club which renewed from October 1, 2018, will also receive the new Junior Golf Passport Resource Pack.
Visit www.juniorgolfpassport.org to find out more or email development@golf-foundation.org for more details.
Golf Foundation www.golf-foundation.org