County club gears up to reap benefits clubgolf will bring to a new generation

Apr 9 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

THE foundation stones for the future of golf at West Lothian Golf Club were laid this week as the county club signed a partnership with the national junior golf programme clubgolf.

The future of every golf club lies within the younger ranks and West Lothian have moved quickly to ensure their junior scene remains competitive and gives kids the scope for development.

Clubgolf is the Scottish Government’s commitment to introduce every nine-year-old child in the country to golf.

Launched by Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie, clubgolf emerged from Scotland’s successful bid to host the Ryder Cup and is a partnership between the Scottish Golf Union, the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association, the Professional Golfers' Association, the Golf Foundation and sportscotland.

West Lothian Golf Club professional Alan Reid reckons the new link up will give the juniors a much needed shot in the arm.

He said: “Our junior membership has never been as healthy as it should be. I saw an opportunity because there were no golf clubs doing clubgolf in the Bo’ness area.

“We’ve got 60 juniors but only 25 play, and want to get them all on board as well as bringing in new junior members. We want to get a better junior member within the club by training them and teaching them the right way to play.”

Mr Reid will be supported by four club members who have become qualified PGA Level 1 volunteer coaches. With Mr Reid being qualified to coach Stage 3 of the programme the club is now fully prepared to coach juniors from complete beginner to advanced levels.

“I am putting everything in place at the moment and during Easter I’m hoping to get the volunteer coaches involved an hour’s coaching of the members to get them up and running,” continued Reid.

The club has also identified an area of ground which it plans to develop into a three-hole course and practice area for the juniors.

“Now is a great opportunity for youngsters to take up golf,” added Reid.

“In conjunction with the local schools we will get a constant trail of youngsters coming to the club.

“I played for Scotland and it’s something I’m passionate about.

“I want to make sure my juniors get the best start and can progress from club level through to county and hopefully national level so we can start producing some top quality golfers.”

The club’s junior plans coincide with clubgolf’s roll out of the introductory game in schools across Scotland – this year 38,000 P5 children will experience the game.