R&A to provide £2 million of funding for junior golf

The R&A has agreed to renew its partnership with junior golf charity the Golf Foundation and will provide it with £2 million of funding over the next four years.

The Golf Foundation has this year reached over 225,000 youngsters in schools, community groups and clubs across Great Britain and Ireland. Delivering adapted equipment, the Golf Foundation also teaches important mental toughness tools that can be used on and off the course and with the help of its new president, Sky Golf presenter and former European Tour Player, Nick Dougherty, has exciting ambitions to introduce golf into every school in Great Britain and Ireland.

In partnership with the home nations, the Golf Foundation will support over 600 golf clubs with their junior offerings, aiming to create 60,000 regular golfers over the next four years. PGA professionals and Community Golf Instructors (CGI) – the pioneering R&A-backed CGI role being put together by the home nations with support from the PGA will see the creation of a training programme to produce a dedicated new workforce to help develop the game in communities across the British Isles – both help deliver junior friendly adapted sessions along with traditional golf coaching.

Image by Emile Holba

The successful GolfSixes League, which received additional funding from The R&A, will once again focus on offering a competitive platform for youngsters getting into the sport. Over 12,000 children took part in the GolfSixes League in the last two years, a success that has seen the format expand into Europe and Africa.

Elsewhere, the joint junior strategy the Golf Foundation run alongside England Golf will see an increased focus on girls in golf through initiatives such as Get Glowing Golf and the Girls Leadership Programme – these form part of the Golf Foundation’s ongoing commitment to supporting The R&A’s Women in Golf Charter, and will continue to deliver more golf coaching opportunities for girls as well as mentoring by existing volunteers who work in junior golf.

Phil Anderton, chief development officer for The R&A said, “We are delighted to continue to support the Golf Foundation and its important initiatives for the next four years. Together The R&A and the Golf Foundation share a vision for the sport’s future which includes fostering an inclusive culture, creating more opportunities for people to become involved with the sport at every level and seeing it thrive 50 years from now.

“We have seen golf participation amongst adults increase over the past few years. But there is more the sport can do to help this trend continue. It’s work that golf bodies like the Golf Foundation are doing to increase junior participation that will ensure we create life-long golfers well into the future.”

Stephen Lewis, chairman of the Golf Foundation, said, “We are thrilled that The R&A has extended its support for the Golf Foundation for a further four years based on our demonstrable impact as a charity and a clear plan for the future, We share the same objectives of making the sport more accessible, appealing and inclusive. Our work introducing golf in schools, reaching young people in underserved communities and creating a new generation of regular golfers in clubs is key to the future of the sport and we look forward to working with The R&A to achieve our shared ambitions.”

Golf Foundation celebrating England Golf’s women and girls in golf week at Elsham Golf Club.
Picture: Chris Vaughan Photography Ltd for Golf Foundation

Finally, the Golf Foundation once again assisted with the running of the R&A SwingZone at The Open this summer, which offers thousands of youngsters the opportunity to come and try golf for free in the Spectator Village during The Open each year.

Over 6,000 individuals enjoyed attending The R&A SwingZone during The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool, where they had a go at the variety of fun games on offer, and were joined by famous faces including Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, R&A diversity ambassador Zane Scotland and two-time major champion Minjee Lee.