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This summer members of many English golf clubs might start to see a lot more young girls about the place than they have in the past.
That is because of the mounting success of a recruitment campaign called Girls Golf Rocks, introduced by England Golf and the Golf Foundation in 2015, and which this year is expected to introduce more young girls to the game than ever before.
Girls Golf Rocks began life as a pilot scheme involving four clubs in Essex but since has developed into a national programme involving almost 200 clubs across all 35 English counties. To date, around 5,000 young girls have been attracted to the game through the Girls Golf Rocks programme, and this number is expected to grow substantially as more clubs clamour to become involved.
“It has been quite a journey,” England Golf’s women’s and girls’ golf manager Lauren Spray said. “Last year we were due to deliver a national programme but had to cancel because of COVID. Now we are looking to make up for lost time with our biggest programme to date.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the number of clubs that have wanted to get involved,” she added. “It’s very gratifying. We can provide all the central admin, support and coordination but without the clubs, the PGA pros and volunteers who run the programmes, it simply wouldn’t work.”
The Girls Golf Rocks programme is aimed primarily at girls between the ages of 7 and 14 but is open to all girls aged 5 to 18. It was introduced to address the disparity between the number of boys and girls who play golf in England, but in time also may help to increase the percentage of women members at golf clubs, which currently lags well behind many Continental European countries at around 15 percent.
“We know that on average there are only two girls at each golf club and we need to address that.” Spray said. “When you read a lot of the sports-related research it talks about girls becoming body conscious around 7 to 8 years old, so we wanted to provide girls with an opportunity where they could meet in a socially friendly environment and learn to play alongside other girls of their age.
“Essentially we’re trying to create hubs where girls’ participation is the norm.”
“It’s a great way for girls to come along and try golf. We’re asking everyone to spread the word to family and friends and help introduce the game to as many girls as possible.”
Lauren Spray
The 2021 Girls Golf Rocks programme is scheduled to start in July. Clubs are asked to run an optional taster session followed by two separate six-week blocks of consecutive coaching between July and October with the final session being conducted on the course. The cost for participants is £35 for the six-week programme. Host venues also are expected to organise affordable follow-on coaching opportunities for girls only or as part of an integrated junior programme, and to provide affordable membership opportunities for those girls who want to take things further.
Only clubs that have achieved a minimum SafeGolf standard and are working towards becoming SafeGolf-accredited can enrol. Clubs also must have appointed a club welfare officer who has attended a UK Coaching Safeguard and Protecting Children workshop or completed an online refresher course within the past three years. Clubs also need to recruit two ambassadors younger than age 25 to support delivery of the programme.
The clubs are expected to promote their programmes by using marketing material provided to each club, which will include A4 and A5 posters and pull-up and/or roadside banners.
“It’s a great way for girls to come along and try golf,” Spray said. “We’re asking everyone to spread the word to family and friends and help introduce the game to as many girls as possible.
“I think for me it’s just about getting the message across that it doesn’t matter whether you’ve picked up a club before. It’s something to try and even if you decide not to continue, it’s always something you can come back to later in life. That’s the beauty of golf.”
England Golf’s future plans include attracting more of its affiliated clubs into the programme and expand it into other areas.
“I love to think we can continue to run it year-on-year with more and more golf clubs engaging with the programme,” Spray said. “We also want to reach out into schools which is why our link with the Golf Foundation is so important.
“It would be fantastic to think we can produce more performance players like Lily May Humphreys (currently England’s highest-ranked player at world No 29) who was part of the original cohort of girls who we used as role models in Essex.
“That would be great but it’s certainly not essential. It’s not about creating a competitive pathway but providing a platform where girls can try something new in a safe environment.
“We just want them to have some fun.”
Click here for more information about Girls Golf Rocks.
E-Mail Colin