Improving Golf

On the back of Wales’ successful 2010 Ryder Cup bid, Golf Development Wales was established to improve competitive standards of golf throughout the country and to encourage more people, especially young people and women, to take up the game. This is the first time that any country has tried to use the Ryder Cup as a catalyst to increase participation of golf. Wales has already produced some world class golfers like Ian Woosnam, Phil Price, Dai Rees and Brian Huggett, to name but a few. Golf Development Wales schemes are already in place to help the most promising young Welsh golfers to improve their game and by 2010 we’re sure that there’ll be some more Welsh names taking the golf world by storm.

Using an adapted version of golf called ‘Tri-Golf’, the sport is being introduced to thousands of primary school children throughout Wales. Teachers and parents are trained to deliver these ‘Tri-Golf’ sessions via the Sports Council for Wales' Dragon Sport scheme. To date, over 20,000 Welsh school children have participated in ‘Tri Golf’ activities.

Golf Development Wales is also working very closely with Welsh golf clubs to help train volunteers in organising safe and fun golf sessions aimed specifically at junior players. At present this training is funded by Golf Development Wales but some clubs have been successful in securing funding from the UK’s National Lottery Fund to help with the building of playing and practice facilities especially for their junior members.

National Lottery funding is also going to be used to create four Centres of Excellence across Wales to improve the standard of coaching currently received by elite Welsh golfers.

There are also a number of Golf Foundation Starter Centres throughout Wales. Forty of these centres offer affordable introductory golf sessions for children and help to make golf easily accessible and affordable.

Females of all ages are also being encouraged to try their hand at golf with many clubs offering a course of six free lessons with subsequent continuation lessons at a discounted rate. Organisations with large numbers of female employees are being targeted with details of this scheme.

In terms of improving standards of the game, both for juniors and adults, new funding has been allocated in the wake of the successful 2010 Ryder Cup bid. This has enabled amateur Welsh golfers to take part in more international tournaments than ever before – the Eisenhower, the Jones Cup in the USA, the European Young Masters and the French, Spanish and Portuguese Junior Championships, to name but a few.

With the 2010 Ryder Cup looming ever nearer, Wales has seized the opportunity with both hands and by investing in the development of golf at junior level and improving the facilities and opportunities open to elite Welsh golfers, the hopes of having Welsh players representing Europe in 2010 have never been higher.

For a copy of Golf Development Wales' Strategy please click here

Cliciwch yma i lawrlwytho’r ddogfen Gymraeg

Golf Development Wales
GUW Offices, Catsash Road, Newport, NP18 1JQ
Wales, UK
Tel +44 (0) 1633 436040
E-mail: office@golfunionwales.org