“If you can hold a club and you’re keen to play, you’re welcome to join us.”
That’s the message from Cottingham Parks Golf Club in East Yorkshire, where its Junior Development Pathway (JDP) has seen numbers increase from around a dozen young hopefuls, at the outset, to 80. Ken Hilton, junior organiser at the club, in Woodhill Way, Cottingham, said: “It’s wonderful seeing all the kids – and we want more.
“We’d like more girls playing – we’ve got five or six now and would love to see that number double this year or next. First and foremost it’s about enjoying yourself.”
Prior to 2010, Cottingham Parks had a dwindling junior section. Following fundraising to improve its short game area, the club was able to look at and develop the JDP, with the support of England Golf.
The JDP not only encourages and champions juniors to develop and progress, but it is also supported by a dedicated committee of parents, who have a vested interest in the success of the pathway. Their membership pathway and offers help make golf accessible to all, alongside introducing a club hire scheme to remove barriers to accessing equipment.
(Image: cottinghamparks.co.uk)
“The one thing we know about golf is it’s a poor second to football – but it’s the number-one sport in the summer,” said Ken. “Our season doesn’t really get under way until April and then it lasts all the way through to November.
“It’s my job, and the committee’s job, to make sure the juniors enjoy every single one of those six months or so.” Children are learning all about the game at Cottingham Parks from about the age of about six or seven, but Ken said there is no lower age limit.
“If they can hold a club and are interested in golf, then absolutely they can get involved. The kids are wonderful to be around and I think we attract so many juniors [Cottingham Parks boasts the biggest Junior Golf Academy in the East Riding] because of everything we do.”
The facilities at Cottingham Parks include a floodlit driving range, artificial and grass short game areas, a large putting green, two 18-hole golf courses and more, with youngsters’ progression monitored through regular on-course events and prime-time tee slots reserved for them. Juniors are guided from complete beginners, into membership, and in many cases on into the professional ranks.
“The club is family-owned and I think that family ethos comes through – we have club members raising funds for the juniors. We have fathers, daughters, grandfathers, sons and grandsons all playing with us; it’s a real family affair.”
A lot of the fundraising, including support from local businesses, has gone into providing 30 sets of golf clubs that, for £25 a year, the junior players can hire through the club loan scheme. Ken said a particular highlight of the year was “our version of the Ryder Cup”, when a team of adults play the best of the JDP.
“We play it on the last Wednesday and Thursday of August every year and it gets bigger and bigger every year. There’s a junior Ryder Cup for the little ones.”
You can find out more about Cottingham Parks Golf Club at the website. For more information on England Golf’s Junior Golf Strategy in collaboration with the Golf Foundation, visit englandgolf.org/junior-golf
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