Developing
well structured junior coaching at Scotscraig
View Case Studies
September
2009
Challenges
In the three years he has been PGA Professional at
Fife’s Scotscraig Golf Club, Craig Mackie has
transformed the junior section and junior coaching.
And as a former junior at the Club, children’s
coaching is an area high on his agenda.
“Juniors are at the future of any golf club,” he
said. “When I was growing up here there
was very little for junior golfers. I remember
saying to myself, “If I ever become a clubgolf
Pro I’ll be offering as much as I can to the
kids.”
Solutions
Craig did not delay in fulfilling those commitments. The
moment he returned to the Club he began offering
a structured programme of clubgolf Stage 1, 2 and
3 coaching.
“I run the coaching in three stages,” explains
Craig, who has full backing from the Club’s
committee and junior convenor.
“We introduce children to golf in school by
inviting them to the club for eight weeks of coaching. We
have deliberately targeted schools close by in Newport,
Tayport and Wormit, the ones that have children who
could potentially become members and are within walking
or driving distance.
“Then in Stages 1 and 2 we offer a well structured
programme that will help them towards a handicap
and to play in a few competitions
“For me Stages 1 and 2 are the stepping stones
to choosing potential players for Stage 3, where
we can help them progress as far as they can go.
“The structured coaching has been well received
and we have had some good coaching numbers and handicap
reductions.”
Craig delivers the coaching himself and has 10 qualified
Level 1 coaches that help, particularly with the
big numbers of children coming to the club for the
introductory course.
Outcomes
In three years of coaching Craig has taught 26 children
on his Stage 3 course and has between 25 and 30 on
Stages 1 & 2. Thirty children came to the
club for the eight week schools introductory course.
In the same time the club’s junior membership
has leapt from 65 to 95.
Increasing junior membership numbers (at £95
per child) and growing coaching numbers means higher
revenue for the club, though increasing income is
not the sole aim.
“It is a good thing for the club to have a
large number of juniors,” he said. “And
it creates a good reputation for the club to show
what we can offer to children from the local villages.
A lot of our children are from non-golfing families
so it shows we are really changing the way people
see the game.
“If juniors become members, like the place,
and get to know people here, it’s likely they
will become adult members.”
Already, Craig is beginning to see performance levels
amongst his players improve. One has just left
for New Mexico to take up a golf scholarship. And
there are other benefits. Eight parents have taken
up full membership at Scotscraig as a direct result
of their children’s participation in the game.
Key learnings
“I could devise my own coaching structure but
I believe that clubgolf provides the best way to
move forwards. There is already a structured programme
in place which takes a couple of hours to read and
away you go. It’s great for the kids, great
for the pro and great for the club.
“The Stage 3 Orientation was very useful. It
offers a structure, so that when the kids move on
and maybe go to county level the format and content
is similar. It’s something I would definitely
recommend other Pros to do.”
The future
Craig is only too aware that, as his current juniors
begin to join the adult ranks he needs to keep building
the grass roots.
“Memberships go in peaks and troughs and the
point will come where a dozen juniors suddenly become
adults,” he said. “You’ve
got to keep working at it and building up the numbers. That’s
where the schools come into it as well, getting them
in and getting them young.
“The good thing is that after three years we
are at the point where it’s running very well
and we’ve developed a very solid coaching structure.”
