Two Scottish clubs form partnership over junior golf

Two golf clubs in Lanarkshire have agreed to work together in order to grow the game at both venues.

Dougie Borland, club captain at the municipal Langlands Golf Club, fears his club could cease to exist if youngsters don’t come through.

Therefore he has enlisted the assistance of Paul McKay, PGA pro at the proprietary Broadlees Golf Club, to bring in aspiring golfers for a series of mini tournaments to hone their skills.

Broadlees has a junior academy and a nine-hole course, while Langlands is an 18-hole venue.

The partnership has led to a group of 15 youngsters being given access to the council-run course to get hands-on experience.

A junior being taught at Langlands Golf Club by Broadlees pro Paul McKay. Image from Facebook

Borland told Lanarkshire Live Sport: “If we don’t get junior members through, in 10 years time we might not have a golf club, never mind a golf course.

“It’s an ageing sport and enough kids aren’t getting involved.

“If we can get these kids through, get them a bit of coaching, get them on a golf course, then hopefully it will work out.

“This gives kids an introduction to actually going out and playing on a golf course, instead of turning up and hitting balls off a rubber mat at a golf range.

“They play a three-hole mini tournament and each of the players will go from 25 yards and keep their score.

“They can move back to 50 yards and 100 yards and so on as they go along, so it’s a good system for them to learn and improve.”

The initiative – which involves youngsters who are not attached to any clubs – has proved to be such a success, Borland hopes to host another two events before the end of the year and plans are afoot for it to return in 2021.

He added: “The feedback we’ve had is great. All the parents are absolutely delighted and very positive.

“The plan now is to get another two in before the end of the season before the weather gets bad.

“We are hoping to keep these 15 kids going and build it up next year.

“It’s great that we are getting support from the council on it and the help of Paul and our course convenor Robert Ross has been fantastic.”