Over 23,000 new participants have been introduced to golf thanks to England Golf Partnership (EGP) Club Coaching Grants made during the last year.
A total of 346 GolfMark awarded golf facilities took advantage of Club Coaching Grants of £600 each, running up until March 2011. The grants, available exclusively to GolfMark clubs and made possible through Whole Sport Plan funding provided by Sport England to the EGP, offered flexible funding to provide coaching for both adults and juniors by PGA professionals: the twin aims being to increase participation and sustain involvement in the game.
Golf clubs offered different activities, including beginners’ taster sessions, club open days with coaching, playing and social events, parents and family sessions and structured introductory packages.
The Club Coaching Grant is an initiative organised by the English Golf Union (EGU) and English Women’s Golf Association (EWGA) with funding made available through the England Golf Partnership. Typical GolfMark clubs have good beginner/junior sections liaising with the PGA professional and often with the Golf Foundation.
Richard Flint, EGU/EWGA Development Manager, said: “GolfMark facilities work exceptionally hard to reach accreditation and this fund not only offers them some financial support for current activities but also enables them to focus resources on supporting their overall club membership.”
23,739 participants have benefited from the 2010/2011 programme, an average of 71 per venue. 46% of these participants were adults and 54% juniors, with a breakdown of 61% male and 39% female. Encouragingly, figures to date have shown that 30% of adults and 46% of juniors have attended follow-on sessions and this monitoring will continue over the coming months.
The 2011/2012 Club Coaching Grant for GolfMark facilities is again focusing on the recruitment of adult beginners, but also provides opportunities for golf clubs to run sessions for young people (14 to 25 years) to support their retention and also family and women’s sessions.
Further details on this grant can be viewed at www.englishgolfunion.org/coachinggrant
There are currently 473 clubs awarded GolfMark, with a further 575 working towards accreditation, with continued support from Regional and County Development Officers.
GolfMark www.golfmark.org