St Margaret's School for Girls, Aberdeen head of PE, Georgeana Parker, teaching the introductory golf game of firstclubgolf to pupils (image by Rob Eyton-Jones; click to enlarge).

St Margaret’s on the ball with clubgolf

NEWS RELEASE
Golf loving girls from one of Scotland’s leading independent schools are bringing the game to the fore – thanks to a new partnership with clubgolf.
St Margaret’s School in Aberdeen has become one of the country’s first independent schools to work with clubgolf, an initiative which aims to give all primary five pupils the opportunity to play golf.
The clubgolf programme has already introduced almost 80% of primary 5 years in Aberdeen to the game – St Margaret’s is the first independent school in the city to run a clubgolf programme. Clubgolf, a direct result of Scotland’s successful bid to host the 2014 Ryder Cup, offers a structured programme which can take children from entry levels to the highest stages of achievement. As well as helping children reach their potential, it also allows a large number of youngsters to experience the sport.
Keen to raise the profile of golf among girls at the school, Georgeana Parker, head of PE at St Margaret’s, contacted clubgolf.
“We had a visit from Audra Booth who is the organisation’s regional manager for Grampian and she gave the girls a lesson which was fantastically well received,” she said.
“We have a number of girls who already play regularly but this was a perfect opportunity to introduce a new sport to an entire year group of pupils and they have loved learning how to play.
“Not only is golf a great way to exercise but it can be played by people of all ages which means that the girls can hit the golf course or driving range with friends and family in their spare time. Sport is such an important part of life at St Margaret’s and this underlines the school’s commitment to providing a wide and varied range of activities.”
Audra Booth says she is delighted that St Margaret’s has signed up for the national initiative – and encourages other schools to follow suit.
“St Margaret’s is one of the first independent schools in Scotland to run the clubgolf programme and this underlines the popularity of the introductory game,” she said.
“Eighty eight percent of the region’s schools are giving their children an early introduction to the game and 50 Grampian clubs are on board offering clubgolf programmes where they can develop their skills. This is really opening up the sport to youngsters and encouraging their early development as golfers.”

Rob Eyton-Jones
clubgolf Media Manager
e: rob@eyton-jones.co.uk
website: http://www.clubgolfscotland.com/