Anyone who wants to give golf a go is being offered extra help this month under a scheme being run through Welsh clubs by Golf Development Wales.
New2Golf Back2Golf Month 2015 is a national promotional campaign throughout April funded by the R & A. It is the fourth year the scheme has run in Wales, starting after hosting the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.
The scheme has encouraged almost 2,000 new members for Welsh golf clubs, including more than 1,000 women and girls. Some of the successes include more than 50 new members for a single club.
It focuses on recruiting new people to the sport, promoting golf as an inclusive sport and providing opportunities to anyone wanting to try the sport and potentially take up the sport for life. Look out for banners at participating clubs throughout Wales
Every participant that takes part in a scheme will also become a Golf Development Wales ‘New2Golf’ member. The membership scheme will give added benefits to ease the transition to full membership and to get more people hooked on golf for life. It also has many added benefits to the club.
In 2015 there is a special emphasis on courses for people with a disability, building on the new schemes and coaching developed through GDW over the last two years, with more than 20 clubs in Wales running disability courses this time round.
“April is traditionally seen as the start of the golf season and people’s thoughts turn to taking up a sport that they can continue throughout their lives,” explained GDW golf development officer Zoe Thacker.
“These schemes all round Wales make it as easy as possible for people to do that, with access to high quality coaching to help people learn the basics.
“We have been developing golf for people with disability over the last couple of years with increasing numbers of Welsh golf professionals going through specific training, so it is great to see so many running courses over the next few weeks to show how inclusive golf can be.
“Of course there are plenty of schemes for general beginners all round Wales, along with courses for juniors, women and girls, from Caerphilly to Cardigan, Prestatyn to Pennard.
“We know this scheme works for both people who are interested in taking up golf as a sport for life and clubs who are looking to attract new people to the game and the benefits of being a club member.”
Thanks to Wales hosting the Ryder Cup 200,000 people have had the chance to give golf a try, over 5,000 newly trained volunteers are having an effect at clubs week in, week out, while 38 new facilities all around Wales continue to thrive in developing the game.
For full details go to http://www.golfdevelopmentwales.org/find-a-participating-club/
Golf Development Wales www.golfdevelopmentwales.org
Golf Union of Wales www.golfunionwales.org
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