The England Junior Golf Partnership (EJGP) has announced the launch of a second development plan for junior golf in England. It will run for four years until April 2007, following on from the initial development plan, which started in 1999. To date the main successes are:
76,500 children introduced to golf at Starter Centres over four years
911 Tri Golf packs distributed to Primary Schools
Over 1,500 PGA Professionals have been involved in different aspects of the plan
30,000 junior golfers have been coached through the Junior Club Coaching Programme
A Junior Organiser’s Handbook has been finalised and two sent to every golf club
The introduction of a Junior Handicapping Scheme
More girls are being introduced to golf and feeding into club membership
The overall aim of the partnership is to,” promote and create opportunities for youngsters to experience the game of golf and to develop sustainable structures by providing support services at a national, regional & local level to help generate committed young golfers and facilitate their progress through to golf club membership.”
The EJGP was created in 1999 and is a junior golf development partnership between the English Golf Union, English Ladies’ Golf Association, Professional Golfers’ Association, Golf Foundation and Sport England. The second development plan demonstrates the commitment of all the bodies to continue to work together and through executing the aims and objectives contained within the plan to open up more golfing opportunities for children. It will build on the successful areas of the first plan and following the review of the first plan, address areas, which were identified as weaknesses and gaps in the junior golf development continuum.
The plan will concentrate on the following key areas:
Promoting golf in schools.
Encouraging and coaching new golfers.
Encouraging clubs to develop an environment within which junior golf can thrive.
Encouraging young players to join golf clubs.
To develop a coach education programme that will enable qualified volunteers to play a part in introducing children to golf.
The partners hope that anyone involved in the promotion and development of junior golf will fully support the plan and recognise the need to give children the opportunity to play golf at all levels of ability by strengthening junior structures and pathways. Further details from Richard Brown or the relevant body below:
Richard Brown
English Golf Union
Junior Development Manager
Tel: 01653-697578
Email: rbrown@englishgolfunion.org