Vale Royal Abbey Golf Club, near Northwich, is launching a new Junior Golf Academy

A CHESHIRE golf club is holding a special open day to encourage more young players into the sport.

Ben Derbyshire, the new Head Professional at Vale Royal Abbey Golf Club, near Northwich, is launching a new Junior Golf Academy with a free Open Day on Saturday, March 4.

The Open Day, which takes place from 10am–2pm, is a chance for budding junior golfers to meet Ben and his team, have some fun, enjoy free golf tuition, free refreshments and learn about what the club has to offer young golfers.

During the day, at 1.30pm, Ben will be holding a Junior Golf Education Seminar for parents to learn about the Academy and how the children will be coached.

The Open Day will be followed by eight-week blocks of seven lessons and a competition week.  This programme will start in mid-March, with sessions being organised for three different age groups – 4-7 years, 8-12 years and 13 years plus.

Ben Derbyshire said: “Both myself and my assistant golf professional, Brian Cassidy, are extremely excited to be starting this new Junior Academy at Vale Royal Abbey.

“In our previous role at West Middlesex Golf Club in West London, we built a Junior Academy with more than 60 juniors attending on a weekly basis.  In addition to the standard programme, we ran weekly on-course playing lessons, fitness camps and psychology sessions for the children.

“The junior section became a thriving part of the club, bringing youth and energy as part of the club’s life – and our goal is to do exactly the same at Vale Royal Abbey.  The Open Day is a great opportunity to learn first-hand what the Junior Academy is all about.”

Alison Lysons, Cheshire County Development Officer for England Golf, says: “Ben arrived at Vale Royal Abbey Golf Club towards the end of last year with a passion for teaching people the game of golf and he has a great deal of experience coaching all ages and abilities.  It’s great to see the plans he has put into place to encourage more young people to take up the game in 2017 and I’m sure the Junior Academy will be a great success.”

For further information about the Junior Academy at Vale Royal Abbey Golf Club, contact Ben Derbyshire, Head PGA Professional, on 01606 301291 (option 4) or email golfpro@vra.co.uk

Get into golf is a national campaign, run by England Golf through its county network, to inspire new golfers.  Opportunities include beginner and follow-on courses with PGA Professionals.

They are a fun and sociable way to start golf – and a great way to make new friends.

To find your nearest centre visit getintogolf.org and look at the activity map or call 0800 118 2766. Follow Get into golf on Twitter twitter.com/getintogolf or on Facebook at facebook.com/Getintogolf

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Sweetwoods Park Golf Club wishes to thank their visitor golfers for such great reviews on the popular Golfshake site, which has led to the club being listed as number 40 out of the top 100 UK courses. (Based on Golfshake reviews). A huge number of golfers have taken the time to leave a review on Golfshake for Sweetwoods Park with many positive comments.

Director of Golf at Sweetwoods Park, Matt Tyler says, “It was fantastic to firstly see such great reviews of Sweetwoods Park and then to feature within the UK top 100, especially at such a respectable number 40. This is testament to the huge investment we continue to make into the course year on year. A big thank you to all those who took the time to leave a review, it really is appreciated by everyone at Sweetwoods Park.”

Those of you familiar with Golfshake.com will recognize their ‘10 of the best’ features. Sweetwoods Park are proud to also be included within the Sussex based ‘10 of the best’ alongside Littlehampton Golf Club, Crowborough Beacon Golf Club and Seaford Golf Club.

Set on the A264 between Tunbridge Wells and East Grinstead, Sweetwoods Park boasts a stunning Par 72, 18 hole parkland course. Offering an outstanding golfing experience with a contemporary clubhouse and well-stocked Pro Shop a visit is a must.

Why not try the course out for yourself? Visitors are always welcome and you can book your tee time online and benefit from £5 discount year round, using the exclusive promo code ‘ONLINE’.

To get in touch with Sweetwoods Park please call the team on 01342 850 729, visit www.sweetwoodspark.com or email golf@sweetwoodspark.com.

Golfshake.com is an online community of golfers and group organisers. A place for golfers to discuss matters of the golfing world, read course reviews and post on forums. Visit www.golfshake.com to find out more.

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Golfers booking a break to Italy will be spoilt for choice from 2017, with the island of Sardinia having joined the growing number of regions supporting Italy Golf & More – the first pan-Italian international promotional golf project.

The addition of Sardinia means that the forward-thinking initiative now includes 12 private sector partner regions, with the number of golf courses it features rising to 119.

Among the island’s high-profile golf venues giving their support to Italy Golf & More are Golf Is Arenas, Pevero Golf Club, Circolo Golf Is Molas, Tanka Golf & Country Club and Golf Club Puntaldia.

Set in 700 hectares of lush pine forest by the sea, Golf Is Arenas’ extensive facilities include an 18-hole, par-72 course and three-hole par-three executive course, while Golf Is Molas features 27 holes and has hosted numerous top tournaments including the Volvo Masters and four Italian Opens.

Golf Is Molas

Pevero, nestling in the heart of the Emerald Coast, is considered one of the best and most spectacular 18-hole layouts in Europe, while the par-70 course at Tanka and Puntaldia’s nine-hole layout both offer breathtaking views of the Sardinian coast and nearby Mediterranean.

Pevero Golf Club

Bruno Bertero, project co-ordinator for Italy Golf & More, said: “Sardinia has played a leading role in the promotion of Italian golf over the last three decades.

“With a combination of outstanding courses in idyllic settings, together with numerous cultural and historic delights, the island has everything needed for a relaxing golf break and we’re delighted to be able to include them in the Italy Golf & More brand.”

Featuring no fewer than 141 18-hole courses, Italy is the perfect place to combine a golfing break with the chance to experience many of its other historic, cultural and gastronomic delights.

Buoyed by the launch of Italy Golf & More, the number of rounds booked by international golfers across the country soared last year, and the prospects for Italian golf look even brighter in 2017 with Italy Golf & More set to launch a new website in the near future.

Italy Golf & More is a collaboration between private sector partner regions, the Italian Golf Federation and the Ministry of Tourism (MIBACT), who have come together to embark on a seven-figure investment to increase awareness, and future golf tourism traffic, from key European markets to Italy.

The partner regions consist of Friuli Venezia Giulia – the leading partner region of the project – Lombardy, Piedmont, Lazio, Veneto, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Puglia, Sicily, Sardinia, Marche and Umbria – who together boast 119 of Italy’s golf courses – with six further regions falling under the investment of the Italian Golf Federation.

For further information on Italy Golf & More, please email info@italygolfandmore.com or download a brochure at www.italygolfandmore.com.

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Europe’s largest online golfing community, HowDidiDo, has relaunched its website with a fresh look, smoother navigation and an exciting, new social-media influenced timeline.

In addition, the site is now more mobile friendly offering an even greater depth of golfing data that is also available through a smartphone app for both iOS and Android. The recently launched app has been downloaded on more than 70,000 occasions – already placing it as the number-one free sports app in the Apple Store chart for a number of weeks in late 2016.

With around half-a-million club golfers, from HowDidiDo’s 1,800-plus registered clubs across the UK and Ireland, using the website regularly, it has also been upgraded at the back end, to provide faster response times and enhanced security features.

Barry Dyett, the spokesperson for HowDidiDo, explained: “With technology moving quickly and the number of users increasing daily, we realised some time ago that we needed to produce a slicker website and we are delighted we’ve now been able to launch it officially, having had it in ‘beta’ mode for some time.

“One of the most striking visual differences is the new social media-influenced timeline, which allows for easy sharing on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The timeline features results, news, content from connected friends and specially selected partner content. The process of ‘connecting’ with a friend has been simplified as we have rewritten the code in its entirety to take advantage of the new technologies available to us.

“Hundreds of thousands of club golfers already use HowDidiDo to view their scores, handicaps and club news and, with access to even more data, we believe the numbers using the new website will increase steadily throughout 2017. As with all our products, many of the changes and enhancements have come about after chatting with users on our very active forum and at our many competitions and events.”

The new version of the website also allows golfers to book into competitions at more than one club

HowDidiDo holds data from in excess of 21 million rounds of golf, along with the handicaps, results and scores of more than 1,300,000 UK golf club members, with more than 547,000 golfers currently using the website.

More than 1,800 golf clubs currently use the HowDidiDo system – courtesy of their use of Club Systems International software. HowDidiDo allows members to analyse their game and compare performance with other players, at their own club or across the entire HowDidiDo network.

HowDidiDo is rapidly becoming the largest online, social golfing hub in the world, with new, engaging and exciting content for golfers everywhere to enjoy. It is also used for official CONGU handicapping and competition results.

As well as developing one of the most active sports websites in the world, HowDidiDo also powers the highly acclaimed Morocco Matchplay, a UK singles and pairs competition culminating in a grand final in the North African country in February. And the annual Titleist Order of Merit, the largest golf event of its kind in the country, now sees more than 20,000 golfers take part each year making it one of the UK’s most subscribed sporting competitions, behind only events like the London Marathon and Great North Run. In 2016, the grand final took place at four-time Ryder Cup venue the Belfry.

www.howdidido.com

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The Red Rose county has posted impressive figures – with club membership rising by 1,636 in 2016.

The 4.2% increase was the best county performance in the country.

Now the Lancashire Union of Golf Clubs wants to continue the growth of the sport in the county by supporting a wide range of initiatives designed to encourage more young people to give golf a go.

Action from the first tee at Houghwood Golf Club at the end of season competition for players on the under 14 coaching programme

The LUGC launched a county development plan two years ago and after hitting all their initial targets, the emphasis will now shift to junior golf for 2017.

The county has already developed a junior pathway, which caters for around 250 youngsters from beginner level up to the elite players who are chosen to represent Lancashire in county matches and national competitions.

It has also launched a special programme for under 14s, with coaching provided by PGA professionals and supported by volunteers. This costs just £25 for three days of coaching during the summer based in six regional centres – North Lancashire, East Lancashire, South Lancashire, Bolton and Bury, Southport and Manchester.

Three young players weigh up their options on the practice putting green at Houghwood Golf Club at the end of season competition for players on the under 14 coaching programme

Players take part in a series of skills challenges designed to improve their putting, bunker play and short game, for example, with an end of season competition – at Houghwood Golf Club, near St Helens – giving them chance to put their know-how into practice. It is open to existing club members and entries are still open for this year’s programme with further details from the LUGC website at www.lancashiregolf.org/talent_development_programmes. Closing date is March 1.

The Lancashire Union of Golf Clubs wants to further expand its support of the work going on at club level to bring new, younger players into golf.

Ideas include working with the clubs and their PGA professionals to develop a model for golf camps in the school holidays.

Says county secretary Phil Harvey: “It is something you see in other sports, such as football or rugby, and we are looking to put together a pilot scheme with half a dozen clubs to develop a model that could be used across the county.

“A two or three-day camp, for example, is a good way to introduce beginners to the sport, show them the skills needed to play and how easy it is to make new friends.

“This works well for those who already have an interest in playing the sport, or who want to add to their playing experience. We hope to enthuse, motivate and inspire clubs to get involved in this kind of project.

“We believe there is a variety of ways to attract juniors to the sport, whether that be through the family and friends of existing club members, working with local schools or community groups, by holding family open days or taster sessions or by using social media to promote a club’s activities. The first aim is to get people hitting a golf ball and then to show them how it can become a sport for life.”

The county union will offer support to clubs looking to set up or revitalise their junior section, with Phil adding: “There are great examples of best practice at clubs across Lancashire and we want to share that experience with others. For example, often clubs rely on a single junior organiser who may drop out when their own child has outgrown junior golf, but the successful clubs have a group of people, including the PGA professional, which provides a more robust organisation.”

Phil Harvey, county secretary of the Lancashire Union of Golf Clubs

The Lancashire Union of Golf Clubs, which collects an annual affiliation fee from the 40,000 plus golfers in the region of just £4, delivers a number of benefits for all club members including advice on handicaps, course rating, grant funding, talent development, organising championships and county members events as well as running representative teams.

It offers a free county card to club members, which provides discounted golf at more than 1,400 courses across the UK.

It also works to increase participation in the sport and is an integral part of the Lancashire Golf Development Group – which seeks to attract more players, more members and create stronger clubs – alongside the Lancashire Ladies County Golf Association and the Professional Golfers Association in the region, with the support of two England Golf county development officers.

Phil Harvey,

County Secretary, Lancashire Union of Golf Clubs

Tel: 01772 731 330

Email: secretary@lancashiregolf.org

Website: www.lancashiregolf.org

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THE iconic Leeds Cup, professional golf’s oldest trophy, returns to its spiritual home Cobble Hall after an eight-year absence on May 15-17.

And that’s great news for the club that nearly went into administration in 2012.

“We did a complete review of our operations and we have since increased membership by 30 per cent and 85 per cent in visitors,” said secretary Paul Mawman.

“It’s been a significant turn-round which we could not have done without the loyal support of the members.

“We’re delighted that the cup is coming home and we’ve been endorsed by the PGA. We are also the only club that can use the Leeds crest. Staging the competition here also helps our marketing initiatives.”

PGA North secretary Jonathan Paine revealed: “The club were very keen to stage the Leeds Cup again based on the huge success they enjoyed the last time they hosted it.

            “It’s great news for Yorkshire golf. The 36-hole tournament will be preceded by a pro-am and if everything goes to plan we expect it will continue at Cobble Hall on a regular basis.”

            There’s been plenty of drama over the years, notably in 2008 when Waterton Park’s Scott Barber won a play-off on the final hole, an uphill par three, at the 10th attempt! The last winner was Wath’s Chris Clarke the ensuing season. 

The parkland course, situated on the north side of the city and founded in 1896, staged the tournament for the first time 1902 when the great Harry Vardon won.

Penrose Green, president and subsequent Lord Mayor of the City, presented him with the magnificent trophy, which is showcased at the PGA Belfry headquarters because of its value.

Apart from Vardon, many other famous names have been inscribed on the cup including former Open champions, Ryder Cup players and well known club professionals from both sides of the Pennines.

In the early years the competition was played alternately in Yorkshire and Lancashire.

            Harry Vardon’s winning score over two rounds was 149 followed by Alex Herd and J.H. Taylor who were four off the pace. Prize money in the early days was derisive and yet the tournament attracted most of the big names of that era.  It is recorded that in the 1911 tournament, the Leeds Club had generously given £18 to provide £2 each for the first 14 players who would qualify for a foursomes competition at Walton Heath.

            The PGA had provided £20 in prize money for which £4 was voted as assistant’s prizes, divided into four prizes of £2, £1, 10s, and 10s.  Penrose Green also donated a prize of 5 guineas to any player breaking the course record of 72.

            It was won by Horace Fulford of Moortown, with an afternoon round of 71. The previous record of 72 was set by Leeds Golf Club professional, Mr Caird, on November 3, 1901.

  LEEDS CUP FACTS

• Leeds Cup winners and also Open Champions between1902-1930: Harry Vardon, Sandy Herd, George Duncan.
• In 1911 there were 96 entries compared to 26 in the inaugural year, and the competition was played in heavy showers with a chilly wind compared to hail and snow showers in 1902.
• The 1929 winner, Abe Mitchell, was the private professional to Samuel Ryder who was a member at the Veralum (St. Albans) club and the figure on the Ryder Cup is modelled on him.
• Leeds Cup winners and Ryder Cup players George Duncan, Archie Compston and Abe Mitchell were part of the historic 1929 team who played at Moortown Golf Club. Bill Davies, Ted Jarman, Jack Busson, Jon Fallon, Eric Green, Syd Scott, Alec Caygill, Gordon J. Brand and Howard Clark were all Leeds Cup winners and played in the Ryder Cup in later years.
• The 1939 winner was Bill Davies of Wallasey who, at the outbreak of WW2, buried the Leeds Cup along with other silverware from his club in an ice box and sacks in the sand dunes along the Lancashire coast until the end of hostilities in 1945. He became a very popular Secretary of the PGA North Region until well into the 1950s.
• Bert Myers, Cobble Hall professional for 50 years from 1930-1980, the first two years as an assistant, played many times but never won the trophy. His lifetime eclectic score at the club is 32. He achieved holes-in-one at the following holes: 5,6,7,9,13,15,17 and 18.  Among his many other achievements are Northern Open Champion 1952 and Yorkshire PGA President 1956.

The PGA in England & Wales (North), No 2 Cottage, Bolton Golf Club, Lostock Park, Chorley New Road, Bolton, Lancashire, BL6 4AJ.                        Tel:  01204 496137 Fax: 01204 847959

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