Grange Park Golf Club in St. Helens has been awarded GolfMark from governing body England Golf.
Established in 1891 the club celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2016 and is a member of the Lancashire Union of Golf Clubs. The club can be found in Prescot Road, St Helens.
GolfMark is an official seal of approval from England Golf for clubs which successfully work to develop the game in four ways:
- By attracting new members and increasing participation by existing members
- Using practical business planning to develop the club
- Offering coaching and playing opportunities for all golfers
- Ensuring safeguarding policies and procedures are in place
The club boasts an excellent 18-hole parkland course and many on-going improvements include completely refurbished locker and changing facilities.
Innovative membership schemes and initiatives such as ‘Get into Golf’ have included coaching sessions for beginners and have helped grow membership numbers.
New Academy Course tees were installed in 2016 and regular junior coaching sessions are held to help support the growing Junior Section.
Director of Golf Stephen Dunne, who led the club’s push to GolfMark, said: “Grange Park is a great club with a very friendly, welcoming atmosphere for ladies, gents and juniors alike, and a host of opportunities to learn and to enjoy golf regardless of ability.
“An excellent food and beverage offering combined with a vibrant social calendar ensure that the benefits of membership are enjoyed both on and off the course.
“There are around a 140 golf clubs affiliated to the Lancashire Union and only 12, including Grange Park, have received GolfMark to date, so it’s something that we can be proud of. This award helps us to spread the message of what we have to offer and acknowledges the valuable role of staff and volunteers from the membership who continue to drive the club forward.”
The award was presented to Grange Park by Adam McAlister, England Golf’s Club Support Officer (Lancashire).
He said: “I’m delighted that Grange Park has achieved GolfMark and that its efforts to grow the game can be nationally recognised.”
The GolfMark award was developed by England Golf and integrates Sport England’s Clubmark award – a national standard for quality sports clubs recognised across the country.
GolfMark brings a number of benefits to clubs including raising awareness, access to funding, business and marketing support and training opportunities for staff and volunteers.
To find out more visit www.golfmark.org
For competitive golfers, England Golf provides championships for all ages and abilities, both in individual and team events, hosted at some of the most prestigious courses across the country, some with qualifying events at any club.
Get into golf is a national campaign to inspire new golfers run by the England Golf Partnership through its network of Golf Development Groups, which work to grow the game.
Get into golf getintogolf.org
Grange Park Golf Club www.grangeparkgolfclub.co.uk
England Golf www.englandgolf.org
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