Women’s coaching initiative love.golf has joined forces with Ping to launch the love.golf programme at Thonock Park in Lincolnshire, introducing over 35 new female players to the game and removing a key cost barrier for new golfers.
Ping, which has supported love.golf by supplying over 100 half-sets of clubs to love.golf venues across the UK, also provided equipment for the launch of the initiative at its newest venue.
The launch of love.golf at Thonock Park took place over two sessions, led by Head Coach Alastair Spink (Fynn Valley), love.golf’s most recent coach recruit, Nick Taylor (Thonock Park), and fellow love.golf coaches Hannah Crump (Robin Hood GC) and Amy Millward (Cleobury Mortimer).
Spink, who is the founder of love.golf, said: “love.golf has been an instant hit with the women who experienced it for the first time at Thonock Park. The feedback we’ve received has been fantastic and more than 80% of the participants have already signed up for follow-on projects. We understand from research carried out by Syngenta that equipment is a barrier to entry for women, both in terms of cost and knowing what’s right for them. Ping’s continued support has been invaluable in removing this barrier and supplying equipment that is tailored to help new golfers progress.”
The love.golf approach – which focuses on learning the game by experiencing it out on the course with a group of peers, rather than through technical lessons on a driving range – has demonstrated significantly higher retention rates, as well as the ability to engage a diverse range of women from different backgrounds.
Lisa Lovatt, General Manager at Ping Europe Ltd, and a participant on the day, commented: “It’s such a different approach to learning the game. All the women really embraced it, myself included, and we had a fantastic time meeting and mixing with each other. At Ping, we are excited to see the positive influence that our equipment is having in the hands of new female golfers, and how it is playing an encouraging role in their introduction to the game through the love.golf programme.”
Nick Taylor, Thonock Park’s Head Professional and Director of Golf, is the most recent addition to the growing love.golf coach community. He follows in the footsteps of Michael Brooks (Pumpherston GC) and Kat Chaszczewski (Hurtmore GC), who have both joined in the last month alone.
Having already seen success in Spain and Andorra this year, in the coming months, love.golf is set to extend its reach by crossing the Atlantic to pilot the programme with a group of coaches in Canada.
For more information, visit love.golf