NEW JUNIOR RECRUITMENT DRIVE TEES OFF AT MILNGAVIE

Milngavie GC volunteer coaches, Active Schools Co-ordinator Karen Hill, clubgolf Regional Manager Colin Bell, and local school children at yesterday’s golf taster. Below: Active Schools Co-ordinator Catriona Shields coaches a local school girl at the club. Another group picture is at the bottom of the article. Images by Rob Eyton-Jones.

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY CLUBGOLF

Milngavie Golf Club embarked on a new youth development drive this week in a long-term bid to attract junior members to the game. This week the club invited over 170 local Primary 5 children to the club for taster sessions.

Through the commitment of East Dunbartonshire’s Active Schools network every Primary 5 child in each local school has in the last three years been introduced to golf at school through the national junior programme, clubgolf’s introductory game.
“We are hoping that as a result of this week’s tasters these children will be interested and will want to pursue it further and take up the sport of golf,” said the club’s clubgolf coordinator, Jimmy Crawford, who last year organised for five club members to become qualified clubgolf Level 1 coaches.
“If we kindle their interest in golf and have these kids coming back for our coaching course then that will be a great result. If there are sufficient girls interested then we will try and run a session just for them.
“At this stage we are putting no limits on the numbers we can take for coaching.”
For the first time the club is enlisting the support of two professionals, whose expertise it is sharing with nearby Dumbarton Golf Club. The advantage is that they can teach the more advance juniors whilst the volunteer coaches can concentrate on the beginners.
And a benefit of inviting every P5 child from the area’s schools is that the club will appeal to a completely new audience of children from non golfing backgrounds.
“A lot of these children have never been to a golf club before so it will make a huge difference to actually get them there,” said Karen Hill, Active Schools Co-ordinator for the Douglas Academy cluster.
Through its Active Schools network, sportscotland is working with all 32 local authorities to develop and build on the opportunities for Scottish youngsters to get active.
“For Active Schools it's fantastic to be able to link to a local club who are keen to give as many children as possible the opportunity to develop their skills.
“It is really important to get the kids along, let them use real golf clubs and let them see what it is like to play at a club. The fact they are getting this experience hopefully means we will get a lot signed up for coaching.”
For further information about clubgolf coaching at Milngavie GC
Contact the club’s clubgolf coordinator, Jimmy Crawford on:
Tel: 0141 956 2914


Rob Eyton-Jones
clubgolf Media Manager
t: 07775 746981
e: rob@eyton-jones.co.uk
Official clubgolf website: www.clubgolfscotland.com