Tredegar Park Golf Club has warmly welcomed the decision from Ryder Cup Wales to award funding of £82,128 to develop public golf facilities at the club.
The development work at Tredegar Park involves the creation of a 10-bay driving range/covered teaching facility and a 9 hole beginners’ course, incorporated into the present practice area, which will provide excellent opportunities for golfers of all standards to play and improve their game.
The financial boost has been made available through the Ryder Cup Wales Legacy Fund, a £2m investment into grassroots golf provided by the Welsh Assembly Government ollowing the successful Ryder Cup bid.
“We are delighted to be working with partners, including Sports Council for Wales, to produce a new generation of golfers,” explains Rob Holt, chief executive of Ryder Cup Wales. “Facilities such as those proposed at Tredegar Park will enable hundreds of children to be introduced to, or continue enjoying, the sport of golf and provides an ideal stepping stone in their development to become fully fledged golfers.”
In order to encourage more people, especially women and girls, to take up the sport, the club developed its own golf beginners’ programme and, with support from Golf Development Wales and the Sports Council for Wales, this has now been running successfully for over four years.
Club professional, Mark Philips, will shortly be offering new courses of lessons. With all the necessary equipment provided free of charge, anyone that is interested will be able to try their hand at golf. A Dragon Sport initiative, involving visits to local schools, is also due to start this year.
Club officials are aware of the need to widen the appeal of golf and believe the development of open access facilities similar to those planned at Tredegar Park are definitely the way forward. Club captain, Bill Thompson, said, “These are exciting times at Tredegar Park and we hope that the new facilities, combined with widespread Ryder Cup publicity for golf in Wales, will encourage people of all ages to come and try the game.”
Councillor Bob Bright, leader of Newport City Council, said, “For the city of Newport, The 2010 Ryder Cup is about much more than hosting the world’s most prestigious golf tournament – it is about making the most of the enormous opportunities that come with it.
“We welcome this investment in new golf facilities at Tredegar Park which will benefit all the communities of Newport. Projects such as these, which will help young people in particular to take up the sport, will ensure that the Ryder Cup will leave a lasting legacy for all.”
The club was founded in 1923 and leased land that had originally formed part of Lord Tredegar’s deer park. However in the late 1990’s the decision was taken to secure the future of the club by purchasing land and building a new course and clubhouse adjacent to Ynys-y-fro Reservoir, with scenic views over Newport and the surrounding countryside.
Work on the development, costing over £100,000 in total, will be starting shortly and it is hoped that the new facilities will be open for use in late Spring/early Summer.
Ryder Cup Wales www.rydercupwales2010.com
Tredegar Park Golf Club www.tredegarparkgolfclub.co.uk