London Golf Club has underlined its commitment to making golf accessible to players of all backgrounds as it gears up to welcome the world’s best golfers with a disability for the inaugural London Golf Club G4D Shield later this year.
Taking place from August 6-8, up to 60 golfers will compete over 36 holes on the prestigious Kent venue’s International Course – the first EDGA event held at London Golf Club since the USA’s Chris Biggins won the EDGA Cazoo Classic ahead of the DP World Tour’s Cazoo Classic in 2021.
As part of the build up to the event, the club and EDGA – an organisation active in promoting and delivering opportunities to sample, participate and compete in golf – will seek to promote inclusivity and accessibility for golfers with a disability in the wider Kent region.
Coaching has been provided by the EDGA team to London Golf Club’s PGA professional Paul Stuart to ensure that the club is fully educated and skilled around providing lessons to golfers with disabilities, with free golf lessons now made available to local children and adults with a disability.
The free golf lessons are the latest in several initiatives that London Golf Club has put in place to benefit the surrounding area. The club is hugely active in the community, and recently announced children’s hospice Demelza as an official charity for 2024, while it also regularly donates to the West Kingsdown Community Cupboard food bank.
Ben Stimson, director of golf at London Golf Club, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming EDGA back to London Golf Club for the London Golf Club G4D Shield event, held during an action-packed summer. We are grateful to the EDGA team for all the support and training they will be offering our staff as part of the event, ensuring not only that the event is a success, but also enabling us to run a series of free lessons for those in and around the Ash area with a disability who have an interest in giving golf a go.”
With fewer than six months to go before the event, an EDGA preliminary team visited the club to ensure all players, regardless of their limitations, can get the best from their golf.
Tony Bennett, president of EDGA, said: “The team at London Golf Club has shown great enthusiasm to host this new event on the EDGA Tour, and we are just as excited to be able to visit one of England’s finest golf facilities. I had the privilege of playing the International Course a few years ago, and it is an excellent test. I know that the players will be thrilled to test their games on the course.”
London Golf Club is keen to hear from anyone who would like to volunteer at the event and, for more information, please contact Matt Ryan on Matt@londongolf.co.uk.