Over the coming weeks, eight young people who “putted like Open Champions” at Royal Liverpool Golf Club will be receiving top-of-the-range Titleist Scotty Cameron putters, thanks to a unique challenge organised by the Golf Foundation and the Titleist team.
The ‘R&A Swingzone’ at the venue welcomed young people for the whole of Open week, courtesy of The R&A, and the Golf Foundation Putting Challenge sponsored by Titleist proved to be one of the star attractions.
The Golf Foundation is a charity that makes the game and its benefits more accessible to young people from all backgrounds. Its team welcomed around 3,600 youngsters to try the challenge, some as young as four years-old, testing their putting skill under pressure.
The challenge involved taking three 20-ft putts. Putts holed won Titleist golf balls and Titleist caps as a reward for perfect putting, while each successful child could enter a daily draw to win an excellent Titleist Scotty Cameron putter. Hundreds of Titleist golf balls and caps were won during the week.
Away from The Open, Titleist, the #1 ball in golf, supports the Golf Foundation by providing golf balls that are used in other Foundation events and promotional activities involving schools and communities. The Foundation’s HSBC Golf Roots initiative reaches hundreds of thousands of youngsters a year from the classroom to the lesson tee at golf clubs.
Sarah Tennyson, Marketing Manager of the Golf Foundation, said: “This challenge was hugely popular, it was great to see so many youngsters who could really putt brilliantly, including young children having their first try at golf. Many of them putted like Open Champions, their enthusiasm was infectious and thanks to Titleist there will have been many families leaving the R&A Swingzone having been inspired about golf.
“We would like to offer a big thank you to Titleist for providing these great Scotty Cameron putters, Titleist golf balls and caps to create great prizes for the week.”
Matthew Johnson, Titleist Brand Director, said: “The Golf Foundation does some fantastic work in engaging children in golf, and we’re delighted to be able to support its initiatives. The Open is a fantastic platform to inspire kids and their families, encouraging them to either start playing golf or to play more golf. Our association with the Golf Foundation is a great example of our continued support of golf at all levels of the game, from grass roots through to the best players in the world.”
Elsewhere in the R&A Swingzone, the Golf Foundation team held sessions in ‘Tri-Golf’ (for youngsters) and ‘StreetGolf’ (for teenagers), whilst also offering advice to families about how to pursue further golf opportunities in their local area.
For visitors, the putting challenge could also be taken as part of a wider set of golf challenges created by HSBC in the HSBC Golf Zone. More than 50,000 people visited this area, an interactive spectator experience which gives fans the chance to try different golf skills.
HSBC Ambassadors and sporting legends Tim Henman, Jonathan Davies and Gavin Hastings were intrigued by the Golf Foundation Putting Challenge and battled against each other in front of an appreciative audience.
HSBC Golf Roots and the Golf Foundation www.golf-foundation.org