Picture above are Torquil McInroy of clubgolf, Sammy and Julie Vass (both Tain GC), their mother Magi Vass, organiser of the Northern Counties GGA, Donna MacKinnon and Karen Mackay (both Durness GC). Image by Willie Mackay.

Magi Vass driving force in Northern Counties

girls' membership boom in 2008

By ROB EYTON-JONES

clubgolf media manager
A major recruitment drive has taken place within the Northern Counties Girls Golf Association (NCGGA) this year.
As a direct result, in just one season its membership has leaped from 18 to 41, offering more of the region’s young girls the opportunity to take part in more competitions, access coaching and generally mix with and be inspired by the area’s best young female golfers.
They might be few in number but the NCGGA girls make up for it with quality. Five of last year’s 18 members were on Scottish Ladies Golf Association training squads. And during a trip to the Curtis Cup in St Andrews this summer they re-affirmed their abilities.
Each of Scotland’s 15 SLGA county associations had been invited to bring a group of girls to the event and test their skills on the clubgolf stand. The North girls, most from Nairn Golf Club, which has around 50 girl members in an excellent set up run by Jen Abbott, included Scottish junior international, Sammy Vass, and Hannah McCook, a reserve for Scotland’s Under-18 team last season.
Between them they returned the best score in the skills contest, and won a cheque for £250 to go towards their County coaching programme.
“It’s been my mission to get more girls involved in the Association and it’s been quite a successful year,” said Magi Vass, Junior Organiser of the NCGGA.
“We offer coaching and some fun competitions where the pre-handicap girls can play with the good ones. If we have the funds then we try and give the better ones some financial assistance towards national competitions.
“It depends on how our fund-raising goes so this cheque for £250 will be gratefully received and we hope to use the bulk of it for coaching.
“It’s my intention to get coaching for all the girls next year and as long as we’ve got something on offer we’ll get more girls involved in golf.”
Presenting the cheque this month was Torquil McInroy, Project Manager for clubgolf, the partnership between the Scottish Golf Union, the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association, the Professional Golfers' Association, the Golf Foundation and sportscotland, which among other things aims to double the number of girls playing golf in Scotland.
Clubs in Highland are now using a formula piloted in Grampian two years ago. So successful were Aberdeenshire clubs in retaining girls that last year clubgolf’s Girls in Golf programme was launched nationwide by tour players, Kathryn Imrie and Clare Queen. By encouraging more girls to take up the game, organisations like the NCGGA will benefit.
Membership of the Northern Counties Girls Golf Association costs just £3 a year and is open to any under-18 year old girl member of a golf club in the Northern Counties region, which covers an area from Durness to Fort William, and Thurso to Banff.
“We are looking for any female golfer of any ability under the age of 18 that are enthusiastic golfers and members of clubs,” added Mrs Vass.
Said Torquil McInroy, clubgolf Project Manager: “It’s great to see the effort Magi and her fellow organisers have put in to get more girls playing golf.
“With the numbers in Northern Counties Girls starting to build up, it’s obvious the girls are getting more and more opportunities to get together both in a golfing and a social context. As a result they’re having fun, whatever their standard of play, and hopefully that means they will encourage their friends to give golf a try too.
“I’m sure the £250 prize money will contribute towards the ongoing success of NCGGA, and we’ll continue to see more girls in golf across the Northern Counties area.

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