Junior coaching keeps developing at Dalbeattie

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October 2009

Another successful junior coaching season is nearing its conclusion at Dalbeattie Golf Club but plans are already in place to keep the juniors developing at a steady pace next season.

A new practice area will soon be available for chipping, pitching and bunker play which will permit junior coaching to take place off-course for much of the time. This new area has been created with voluntary help and a grant from the local Sports Council.

In January and February, as part of a planned strategy to encourage more girls to play, the Club’s Lead Coach, Jean Forrest, along with a fellow lady volunteer coach, will be running a Tri-golf After School Club for P6 Girls.

Prior to this, Jean and the local Active School Co-ordinator will let Dalbeattie Primary School P6 girls try out the Tri-Golf Activities for one of their PE sessions.

Then in March, P5 pupils from the group of five local schools who have been involved in Tri-Golf as part of their PE curriculum, will take part in a Golf Festival organised and planned by the Active Schools Co-ordinator and Jean.

These initiatives will all help Dalbeattie build on its already strong junior section.

Four years ago the Club came on board with the national junior golf programme, clubgolf, a partnership between the Scottish Golf Union, the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association, the Professional Golfers' Association, the Golf Foundation and sportscotland which emerged from Scotland’s successful bid to host the Ryder Cup.

This year, 25 children took part in coaching and the club offered a number of new initiatives to keep them enthused.

Through the season Order of Merit with points were scored for: attendance, targets ticked in Passports, practising on the practice areas, playing the course or holes on the course, practising at the driving range and playing on other courses.

For the first time the juniors played holes of 100, 120 or 150yds every fortnight, something which was only possible after parent helpers agreed to accompany groups of children on the course.

The Club’s juniors also enjoyed an all day golf festival in July organised by Portpatrick based Pro, James Erskine, who also provided coaching at Dalbeattie once a month through the season.