Former Open Champion Paul Lawrie gave Buchanan Castle Golf Club a helping hand in its efforts to bring more juniors and families into the game.
The recently crowned Andalucian Open winner gave a coaching clinic to 40 local children who are part of the Drymen based club’s junior coaching programme.
“The more clinics you can do like this to let children see the things you work on to make you a successful player, hopefully the more chance there is of it rubbing off on them,” said Lawrie.
At the end of last season the club opened a new all-weather floodlit driving range – featuring eight regular bays and a double teaching bay, complete with video system – adding a top-class amenity to sit beside its 9-hole Academy course.
The project came about as the result of a £93,500 grant from sportscotland’s Sports Facilities Fund, which was matched pound for pound by Buchanan Castle.
“There aren’t many better facilities in Scotland than they have here at Buchanan Castle,” said Lawrie. “The team here are obviously working very hard and it’s paying off. They have fantastic facilities and it’s great to see how many juniors have come today.”
Buchanan Castle has been offering coaching through Scotland’s national junior golf programme, clubgolf, for the past three years and currently has 80 children involved.
It is the local club for the Balfron schools cluster – its seven primary schools all offer clubgolf’s introductory game in January and February and encourage the juniors to then develop their golf skills at Buchanan Castle.
Said the Club’s Head Pro, Keith Baxter, “Our vision is to encourage children and adults to take up golf and provide a facility which gives them an unbroken pathway from never having played before to joining a golf club.
“clubgolf in the schools is bringing in a lot more children that haven’t played the game. We’ve gone from having a very small junior membership to quite a healthy one now and a lot of it is to do with the clubgolf programme in the schools.
“Many of the children here today have come through the schools and having Paul here today has been a fantastic opportunity to encourage junior and family golf.
“He is a great supporter of junior golf in Scotland and we thoroughly appreciate him giving up his time today to give our children this clinic. I am sure the kids have taken a lot from this.”
clubgolf www.clubgolfscotland.com