Euxton Park Golf Centre and Chorley Golf Club in Lancashire decided to work together to develop a “Recruit, Retain and Represent” pathway for young golfers. The new Junior Golf Passport resource was employed as the framework for the coaching to great success with Chorley GC gaining 11 junior members.

Euxton Park Golf Centre is a stand-alone driving range with a small 9-hole course that has a seen its vibrant junior coaching programme grow over the last decade. Each week, 80 young golfers take part in coaching sessions to learn and develop their game. Nearby Chorley Golf Club is an established golf facility with a structured junior section but with limited practice facilities available for juniors, has seen its numbers declining. Andy Leigh North West Regional Development Officer for the Golf Foundation is a member at Chorley Golf Club and also leads weekly junior coaching sessions at Euxton Park Golf Centre, supervised by PGA Professionals Steve Hamer, Gary Clark (Euxton Park GC) and Mark Bradley (Chorley GC). Andy was keen to see if partnership working would allow both parties to benefit and help grow the game. Andy suggested that if Chorley Golf Club introduced a sponsorship scheme, the young people who are ‘club ready’ at Euxton Park could progress into junior membership. This was offered to 8 young golfers and the feedback was fantastic from both children and their parents. Even though the youngsters attended regular coaching, the parents admitted they didn’t know what the next step from a stand-alone driving range would be.

As both facilities now use the Junior Golf Passport, the regular weekly coaching will continue at Euxton Park whilst seasonal Monday night coaching clinics at Chorley Golf Club will help their new junior’s progress in key areas i.e. bunker clinic, putting and chipping clinics. The juniors are also engaged in a healthy competition programme on Sunday afternoons at Chorley Golf Club.

Now the partnership structure is in place, a schools programme will be implemented to recruit more young people onto the programme. Complete beginners can learn how to play at Euxton Park and more established golfers can advance their skills at Chorley Golf Club.

Main achievements:
• Partnership working between a stand-alone driving range and private members club.
• The Junior Golf Passport provided the framework to the junior coaching at Chorley GC.
• Chorley GC gained 10 new junior members all of whom came from Euxton Park GC.

Quote:
“The combination of regular lessons at Euxton Park and holding a membership at Chorley GC
has been an ideal way of developing young golfers. Chorley Golf Club’s expanding junior
section is evidence of the success of the venture.”
Andy Leigh, NW Regional Development Officer