The five-star Stoke Park Country Club, Spa & Hotel, in Buckinghamshire, is embracing National Golf Month with four free coaching clinics for beginners and those looking to get back into the game.
National Golf Month (NGM) runs throughout May, and is designed to encourage more participation in the sport and to help those already playing to improve.
The friendly and relaxed environment of Stoke Park – one of just two five-AA Red Star golf clubs in England – offers the perfect opportunity to enjoy free golf tuition from fully qualified PGA professionals during NGM.
Stoke Park’s clinics take place on Sunday, May 8 (2-3pm); Friday, May 13 (12.30-1.30pm); Sunday, May 22 (2-3pm); and Friday, May 27 (12.30-1.30pm). They incorporate three levels: Tri-Golf, for the complete beginner; ‘Return and Play’ golf, for those who have played previously; and ‘Improve’, for those currently learning.
The club’s head of instruction, Stuart Rank, said: “We are delighted to be able to participate in National Golf Month and are keen to help introduce many more people to the sport. We believe the initiative is deserving of wide support within the industry and we offer a fun, non-intimidating environment in which to take one’s first steps.”
Stoke Park’s commitment to learning and increasing participation in golf does not stop at the end of May, however. The club is also encouraging women to get into golf by participating in the worldwide Women’s Golf Day on June 7 – one of only three UK venues to be taking part.
Rank added: “We have a thriving ladies section here at Stoke Park, with more than 120 members, and we remain as keen now, as our founder did more than 100 years ago, to get women and girls playing the sport. It’s a great place for women to start as it’s very female-friendly and the off-course facilities will also appeal.
“Our programme on the day will be very relaxed – there’s no dress code – and will give a gentle and enjoyable introduction to the sport. Ladies who come here are often very surprised about how relaxed and friendly Stoke Park is.”
Stoke Park Country Club, Spa & Hotel is one of just two five-AA Red Star golf clubs in England and the historic land on which it stands is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. It was awarded the accolade of ‘Ultimate Members Club’ at the annual 59club Service Excellence Awards last year.
The historic course played host to the PGA Matchplay in 1910 and, even more famously, the golf match between Sean Connery’s James Bond and Auric Goldfinger, in the 1964 film, Goldfinger. It also has a thriving golf club with around 800 active members.
During the winter of 2015/16, every bunker on the Colt course – the first nine holes of the historic 27-hole layout designed by the eponymous Harry Colt – underwent major renovation to both shape and size, as part of a seven-figure investment in a facelift of the whole course.
Stoke Park Country Club, Spa & Hotel www.stokepark.com