Wales Golf is extending a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who has helped the National Lottery make a significant impact on the sport at all levels.
The Wales Golf team has expressed its gratitude for the funding by joining thousands of people posting crossed-finger selfies today [November 14] to say a massive collective thank you to National Lottery players for their colossal contribution to good causes across the UK.
November 14 marks the day the first tickets for the National Lottery went on sale, making today its 29th birthday.
“The National Lottery grants through Sport Wales have a major impact on Welsh golf both in helping the best players and also helping to develop players at all levels for the future,” said Wales Golf Chief Executive Hannah McAllister. “Clubs such as Mold and Haverfordwest have been able to greatly improve the covered facilities they can offer their members and their development New2Golf schemes.
“Over the years the National Lottery contributions to clubs round Wales have been transformational at so many of them via Sport Wales and Be Active Wales funding. At the other end of the scale the Lottery contributes to the ways in which we can develop the best amateur golfers in Wales and help them prepare to represent Wales on the international stage.
‘One good example of that is the US training camp where we can maintain strong links with the Welsh players based in colleges over there. All those benefits are the reasons why we wanted to show their support for the National Lottery by joining the cross-fingered campaign to remind people of the good work carried out as a result.”
Funding from Sport Wales via the National Lottery will facilitate the best elite Welsh amateurs to meet and work together in the most appropriate places from Wales to the USA and to enhance new facilities in clubs throughout Wales. The training camp means the likes of Archie Davies and Harriet Lockley, to name but two of the Welsh players studying in the US, can get together over the winter to work as a Wales support squad ahead competing on the international stages next summer.
The National Lottery Funding was given directly to Golf Clubs in Wales via the Be Active Wales Fund. The new driving range at Mold Golf Club was partly funded by the National Lottery grants, while Haverfordwest Golf Club is beginning to benefit from a training bay newly opened at the club.
The Training Bay was paid for by a grant from Sports Wales in support of the work being done with the Haverfordwest juniors section. The grant also paid for 10 sets of junior clubs, balls, chipping nets and practice equipment. The training bays have also helped boost the relationship with Prendergast School and more than 140 children have been to the club to use the practice facilities.
This year the club introduced a Juniors New2Golf Scheme, supported by Wales Golf, and 18 of the 24 juniors who took part have now taken up junior membership, swelling the overall numbers to 36.
It is a good example of the sort of project which has received Sport Wales National Lottery funding, an incredible network of more than 636,000 organisations who change lives every day – and whose work is supported by National Lottery players.