Clays target top award
North Wales golf club Clays have been nominated for a top national award at the end of a world record-breaking year.
They have been put forward for the Golf Foundation Presidents Awards, the Critchley Award, after excelling in grass roots development of golf with a series of innovative programmes to introduce hundreds of children to the sport.
That included setting a new world record for the number of people to take part in a golf lesson, almost doubling the previous number.
They have been working alongside Wrexham County Borough Council Golf Development Group and have been nominated by Golf Development Wales North Wales officer Dilwyn Griffiths.
“Clays Golf Centre and Wrexham County Council are a fine example of how a golf club and local authority can work in partnership through a coordinated multi agency approach to promote the sport of golf,” explained Griffiths.
“They could ensure that participants of all ages and backgrounds are given the opportunity to develop themselves through golf, not only as golfers but as people.”
The combined group was established following the confirmation that Wrexham was to become the first non City to be awarded The Golf Foundation Golf Roots Project, and it was to be the first Golf Roots project of its kind in North Wales.
A total of 20 secondary school were introduced to sport through the Golf Roots project, a large percentage have been retained within the sport and are now accessing further coaching at the club.
Clays Golf Centre have agreed to give free membership of their St David’s 9 hole Par 3 Course to all participants involved in the Secondary School Golf Roots Project in 2009.
Since Clays Golf Centre had been successful in getting substantial investment via The Sports Council for Wales to develop the facilities to become The Golf Union Of Wales’s North East Wales Regional Centre of Excellence, they felt it would be a great opportunity to come up with something special.
They decided that as well as organizing a large Golf Roots Festival, that they would also attempt to break the world record for the highest number of participants in a golf lesson. The existing record was 491 participants.
They got the backing of major golf manufacturers Bridgestone, Mizuno and Srixon and were able to double that money through the Sports Council for Wales Sportsmatch scheme.
The Sportsmatch funding was to be utilized to ensure that all participants in the Golf Roots were given a truly memorable experience of the Festival/World Record day and establish structured exit route opportunities at little or no cost to the participants utilising the Junior Golf Passport with an incremental structure of coaching through to club membership and beyond.
A total of 297 primary school participants took part in the Golf Roots Festival at Clays, the project also involved Students from Yale College Golf Scholarship who had been trained to deliver Tri-Golf, 13 of which were on hand to volunteer on the day.
Following on from the Golf Roots Festival, a further additional 505 children attended in the afternoon to attempt to break the World Record, with a crowd of around a thousand.
The World Record attempt was successful with 802 participants taking part in the mass lesson.
Prior to leaving Clays Golf Centre, all present, teachers included were given goody-bags containing hats and other objects, but also containing a voucher inviting them back for a series of free golf taster sessions.
To date, three taster days have been organised as a follow-on to this project, the days have attracted over 350 participants. Unbelievably 247 participants have been retained and are now within the Coaching structure, Clays also have over 100 junior members and have set a phenomenal target of having over 500 children involved in regular coaching activity by 2010 (they are currently at the 300 mark)
The Group have also embraced local Special Educational Needs establishments and have formed links with nearby Ysgol Heulfan with 36 participants having the opportunity to receive Tri-Golf sessions.
Clays have also recently been awarded the Golf Development Wales Club Accreditation Higher Award for their efforts and the way in which the Junior Section is managed and organised.