Carmarthenshire junior golfers were joined on Friday, 2nd November by Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Heritage, Rhodri Glyn Thomas, to mark the official opening of the recently upgraded pitch and putt golf facility at Pembrey, near Llanelli.
The grassroots golf project that has been designed to inspire a new generation of young golfers has been re-developed by Carmarthenshire County Council with help from the Ryder Cup Wales Legacy Fund.

Carmarthenshire Council were awarded £17,313 to help them upgrade the 9 hole pitch and putt course at Pembrey Country Park. The improvements included greatly improved tees, new signage, the redesign of the 6th green and new irrigation for every green as well as resurfacing the pathways.
Minister for Heritage, Rhodri Glyn Thomas, said, “The Ryder Cup will be a massive boost for Wales’s profile overseas and will inspire a new generation of Welsh golfers. Projects such as this help ensure that part of its long-term legacy will be improved facilities for those new golfers.”
The Legacy fund is a £2m investment into grassroots golf that is provided by the Welsh Assembly Government and is intended to help local authorities, schools and golf clubs throughout Wales to develop and improve facilities, open to players of all ages and essential for encouraging new players to the game.

"One of the objectives of the winning bid to host The 2010 Ryder Cup was to create a lasting legacy of improved golfing facilities throughout Wales," said John Jermine, Chairman of Ryder Cup Wales, who joined the Minister at the unveiling ceremony. The Ryder Cup Wales Legacy Fund is helping to build new pay and play facilities to encourage a new generation of players to take up golf and a great way of taking gentle exercise, and Pembrey is a marvelous example of what we are trying to achieve. The Pembrey development is one of twenty five such projects across Wales and is a direct result of winning the bid to host the Ryder Cup, at The Celtic Manor Resort, Newport in 2010.”

During the morning a group of junior golfers, aged from 7 to 14 years and members of nearby Ashburnham Golf Club, played in a 36 shot flag competition that was organised by Golf Development Wales, part of the Golf Union of Wales, whose aim is to improve competitive standards of golf throughout Wales and to encourage more people, especially youngsters and women, to take up the game.

Ryder Cup Wales hosted their annual gala dinner and awards at The Vale Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort on Thursday, 25th October where The Towergate Welsh Golf Awards 2007, presented by the Golf Union of Wales, were announced.

There were 4 categories and details of the award winners are noted below:

Becky Brewerton scooped The Towergate Professional Player of the Year.
This year has seen the 25-year-old from Abergele land her first Ladies European Tour title in style at the Chart Hills Ladies English Open, in association with Golf Punk back in July. In addition, Becky became the first Welsh woman ever to be selected to play for the European team in the Solheim Cup which was played at Halmstad Golf Club in Sweden last month.

Llewellyn Matthews was presented with The Towergate Amateur Player of the Year.
23-year-old Llewellyn from Southerndown propelled himself into the Walker Cup reckoning after chalking up a stunning victory in the St Andrews Links Trophy with a record low aggregate in June, qualified for the Open at Carnoustie, retained his Order of Merit title and successfully defended his Welsh Amateur Championship in August at Royal St David's.

Conwy Golf Club won The Towergate Welsh Golf Club of the Year.
The last few years has really seen Conwy Golf Club step up a level. In 2006 Conwy was the first club in Wales to stage the Final Qualifying Rounds of the Open Championship, when the Championship returned to Royal Liverpool. More recently, the club had the fresh challenge of staging the Ryder Cup Wales Seniors Open where it saw the return of a professional golf tournament back to Conwy since 1970.

Neil Matthews won The Towergate GDW / PGA Professional of the Year
Neil is now the PGA Professional at Pontypool Golf Club and coaches all over the county of Gwent. He is also the Monmouthshire Ladies coach. He works diligently for Golf Development Wales (GDW) and the PGA, running workshops for beginner coaches and is heavily involved in the Golf Foundation and Golf Development Wales Golf Roots Programme which involves taking golf into large urban areas.

Tourism Minister, Rhodri Glyn Thomas, said: “The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to the continual improvement of quality in the industry, and these awards are a clear signal of the efforts to drive up standards of golf in the lead up to the Ryder Cup in 2010. In Wales you can play golf as it should be played, you can play your own game, at your own unhurried pace and savour the fantastic scenery. I would like to congratulate the three individuals and golf club on winning the awards and in realising that quality is key to success."

John Jermine, Chairman of Ryder Cup Wales, commented, “Winning the bid to host the Ryder Cup in 2010 is helping to establish Wales as an international golfing destination and we are already enjoying an increase of over 30% in our golfing visitors. Our golfing reputation is greatly enhanced by our growing band of world class golfers and I am delighted to see four such marvellous winners of the awards and thank Towergate, who have long been strong supporters of Welsh golf, for their generous and continuing sponsorship.”

Barry Gibbs, Managing Director of Towergate Underwriting, said, “These are exciting times for Welsh golf especially with the Ryder Cup coming to Wales in less than three years away. We are pleased to be able to support Welsh golf and continue this mutually beneficial relationship via the Towergate Welsh Golf Awards.”

The man formerly behind Nick Faldo’s return to form has been appointed by the Golf Union of Wales to sharpen the skills of Wales’ most talented female amateur players.

Jeremy Bennett – a European Tour player of 11 years and former Rookie of the Year winner – is recognised for his success in putting Faldo’s career back on track in 2002. He has also worked successfully with Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros and Paul Casey. The highly accomplished coach will be ready to start work in January with Wales’ top female amateurs including Breanne Loucks and Sahra Hassan.

Bennett, 47, from Camberley has already proved his credentials in the female game, having worked with Melissa Reid, Henrietta Brockway, Carly Booth and Kieran Matharu. He also brings experience to the Wales job from his position as head golf professional of the Faldo Series - a group of players, which included Oliver Fisher, hand-picked by Nick Faldo to receive support and advice.

Joining the golf guru in Wales’ coaching team is Neil Matthews who will be leaving his post as resident professional for Pontypool Golf Club. He will also take on the role as National Coach and will predominantly look after the men’s and boys’ squads but will also work with Wales’ female teams. Already, he coaches four of the 2007 Welsh men’s elite squad as well as a number of junior internationals.

Richard Dixon, Chief Executive of Golf Union of Wales, explains:
“The Golf Union of Wales is extremely delighted with the appointments and is looking forward to both Neil and Jeremy taking our teams, squads and players forward with great enthusiasm and success. The two appointments will of course build on the excellent work of David Llewellyn and Christine Langford during their time as National Coaches.”

In January 2007, golf in Wales became a united force when the men’s and women’s golfing unions of Wales merged as one, single effective unit. Wales is the first nation within Great Britain and Ireland to do so.

Dixon added, “Having merged men’s and women’s golf, we were looking for a fresh direction in order to drive forward the game with vigour. Together with our two new appointments, we are confident that we will continue delivering success at the very highest levels.”

The Sports Council for Wales and sportscoachUK have produced a 3-hour workshop entitled, Safeguarding & Protecting Children.
Protect yourself, the young people you are coaching and your club by understanding and following good practice. Learn about child abuse and how to handle situations if you have concerns.
A list of new dates is now available for the end of 2007 and start of 2008.
Click here for details.