EGU DEVELOP COACHING PATHWAY FOR YOUNGSTERS
“The English Golf Union and the Counties must work
together so that newcomers to golf understand what they need
to do to progress from beginner to a world class golfer”
declared Conference Chairman, Anthony Abraham in opening the
bi-annual EGU National Coaching conference. As we develop
more world class golfers they will become role models for
the beginners in the future, he said, and paid particular
tribute to Justin Rose for the friendship and advice he had
given to England’s top Amateur players on their warm
weather training visit to South Africa earlier this month.
English golf is bringing many thousands of youngsters into
golf and on to golf club membership each year to bring down
the average age of members and boost junior membership’
and when they have gone through the EGU Coaching programme
we will actively help the best players each year to fulfil
their ambitions to join the European Tour, promised World
Class Programme Director, Nigel Furniss.
England will face tough competition from European nations,
declared the Director of French Golf Philippe Grandou, pointing
out that France has a budget of 16,000,000 Euros per annum
to push their players to the top of the game, over three times
as much as England.
That was one of the realities put before delegates from 30
counties and other leaders of golf in England who attended
the English Golf Union’s two-day Coaching in Harmony
Conference at Woodhall Spa.
“I can’t emphasise enough the need for getting
youngsters into golf at an early age,”
Anthony Abraham, Chairman of the EGU’s National Coaching
Committee, told the conference.
Currently the average age of golf club membership is 60,
while juniors provide just eight per cent of that membership.
“If we can achieve 12 per cent juniors we will be doing
very well. Of the many clubs in England that completed our
recent survey, 80 per cent have vacancies for new members,
particularly juniors.”
However, it was pointed out that some clubs still put up
barriers to juniors, while youngsters also found clubs intimidating.
One delegate cited a club when asked when juniors were allowed
to play was told: ‘Only during the week and only after
5pm.’
Some delegates felt that clubs should not impose strict dress
rules on youngsters until they had been integrated into the
club environment.
He added that much work was being done in schools to introduce
youngsters to golf particularly though the Golf Foundation’s
Tri Golf and the EGU’s Get Into Golf promotion. These
are aimed at the seven to 12 age group, while there were also
club and county initiatives.
But he lamented the general standard of practice facilities
in England, describing them as deplorable. “We have
the best coaches in the world but we need to work to get them
better facilities so that they also improve.”
Di Horsley from Sport England told the conference that her
organisation was aiming to make England an active and successful
sporting nation. This could be achieved in two ways, by persuading
everyone to spend 30 minutes each day in some sort of physical
activity, and to produce the best sportsmen and women so that
England becomes the best in the world by 2020.
The Minister for Sport, the Rt Hon Richard Caborn MP also
touched on the subject of youth, saying that 70% of young
people didn’t continue in active sport once they leave
school. He said that this lack of activity as well as obesity
was costing the National Health Service £1 billion per
year. He also wondered if golf clubs could become more family
orientated by providing facilities for other sports.
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