Grange Primary School pupils with Grange Golf Club volunteer coaches and Active Schools co-ordinator Stephen Gammack (blue shirt). Image by Rob Eyton-Jones.

New junior golf association to benefit Monifieth children

A new initiative aimed at combining and coordinating the junior coaching resources of three Monifieth golf clubs will have a major impact on the number of local children being introduced to the game.
This month Broughty, Grange and Monifieth - all clubs which share the Monifieth Links - joined forces under the banner of the Monifieth Junior Golf Association to improve opportunities for children to play the game.
“In previous years each club has run its own junior programme with all running at different times which has made it difficult to get on the course,” said Grange Captain and Junior Convenor, Ron MacDonald. “We felt we weren’t doing justice to all the juniors involved.”
Through the association a new junior coaching course will take place on Friday nights. Around 10 experienced golfers, including a number of Level 1 coaches, from across the three clubs have already committed to giving coaching, starting on April 2, to children aged between nine and 14 years old (the coaching costs just £2 per child each Friday).
The club’s pro, Gordon McLeod, will support the programme by offering group coaching to all juniors on Saturday mornings from April 17.
“Through the new association we will be able to pool our resources and teach more children,” said Ron.
“We have put together a coaching rota which will take the strain out of coaching every week. We will separate the juniors into two age groups; eight to 10 year olds and 11 to 13 year olds and teach them basic skills on the practice ground and putting greens. We will take them on the course for a mini Texas Scramble. The coaching will follow the clubgolf Junior Passport initiative.
“We are hoping initially for 40 to sign up then we will build from there. We have had a good response from the schools and 15 children have already said they want to pursue golf and will come to the coaching.”
Since September, five Grange Golf Club members have been generating interest amongst the Primary 5 age group in six local schools, through the national junior programme, clubgolf.
It was Angus Active Schools co-ordinator, Stephen Gammack, who initially contacted Grange Golf Club to see if a link could be created between the club and local schools. Stephen, who taught the volunteers how to use the clubgolf introductory equipment, which every school has purchased, is delighted with the new junior association.
“Through their fantastic commitment the volunteers are coaching around 200 children in schools which is a substantial number of potential new golfers,” he said
“The formation of the Monifieth Junior Golf Association marks a huge step forwards and will benefit children right across the area. A complete pathway from schools to club, involving and supported by the pro, is now in place.”