ClubGolf, Scotland’s junior golf programme, teamed up with the National Museum of Scotland and three of Scotland’s ladies golf team to give hundreds of local youngsters an exciting golf experience, sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland, which could inspire them to take up the game.
ClubGolf is already delivering its Ryder Cup pledge with 2012 a milestone year – the highest number (40,000) of Primary 5 pupils recorded having gone through the introductory stage of ClubGolf and now a total of over 260,000 in the lifespan of the programme.
As reaching new audiences is central to the ClubGolf plan, taking golf to the community through the non-traditional, city location of the National Museum is a perfect way to engage more children and their families, and provide a fun experience for those already involved.
For the first time ever the National Museum transformed itself into a bustling activity zone of golf clinics and coaching. A putting competition in the spectacular Grand Gallery provided the centre piece but coaching, chipping challenges, target practice and a feast of other golf activities were equally popular with the eager youngsters.
ClubGolf is thriving in the East of Scotland with many schools offering an introduction on the curriculum and over 50 local clubs and facilities running ClubGolf coaching. It was the volunteer coaches from these ClubGolf centres that delivered today’s activities, with top Scottish lady golfers, Kelsey Macdonald (Nairn), Pamela Pretswell (Hamilton) and Jane Turner (Edinburgh) working alongside them to help inspire the children.
“Today’s event, which offers lots of fun golf activities in a central and public place, is great for letting everybody know what golf is about,” said 23 year old Jane Turner, who has enjoyed her most successful year todate, rising to No.2 in the Scottish Ladies rankings.
“It is a great idea to hold the event in such an interesting venue as theNationalMuseumand it’s great to see so many of these children getting involved and their parents supporting them.
“Many local clubs are offering ClubGolf coaching so there are loads of opportunities for these children to go to and develop their golf skills.”
The ClubGolf programme is sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland, which is supporting the development of golf at community level in Scotland. Its sponsorship also features the RBS Junior Club of the Year Awards, which rewards clubs making an outstanding contribution to the game at the grass roots.
Bruce Cook, Head of Group Sponsorship & Hospitality for RBS said: “It was great to see so many children and parents here experiencing the sport of golf outside its traditional setting. We are determined, along with our ClubGolf partners at Scottish Golf, to introduce more kids to the benefits of a game which has such a rich heritage here inScotland. Events like this one are a brilliant way to give kids a taste of the sport and hopefully some of the children trying golf for the first time today will go on to enjoy playing the game for years to come.”
ClubGolf www.clubgolfscotland.com