Golf Ireland has launched a new Junior Policy, that will help clubs ensure Junior members are at the forefront of every club’s future.
The policy has been created to support and encourage more Juniors to get involved in the game and stay in the game, and to outline best practice for clubs in relation to the recruitment and retention of Junior boys and girls.
It is envisioned that the Junior Committee have a representative at each club’s Management Committee meetings to provide an update on Junior Development.
Barriers to entry in club competitions will also be removed as part of the new policy. Boys and Girls with handicaps 19.9 or 39.9 respectively will now have the opportunity to compete in and win Men’s and Women’s competitions.
The Policy aims to remove barriers that hinder the opportunities juniors have to participate in club competitions, with Clubs having until April 20 to fully implement it.
“A cornerstone of Golf Ireland’s strategy is to grow the game of golf throughout our community,” said Martin Hynes, Chair of Golf Ireland’s Junior Development Committee.
“Central to this, and to the future of golf in Ireland, is to foster and grow junior participation.”
“We are recommending best practices to integrate Junior Committees into Club’s overall governance structures and to removing any barriers to the development of junior golfers.”
“The key to this policy is to provide more opportunities for boys and girls to play the game within their clubs, and more importantly, to enjoy it,” added National High-Performance Director Neil Manchip.
“We have terrific and talented youngsters around the country that are role models and stars in their clubs.”
“Having the tools in place to make sure our Juniors are listened to and looked after will mean the number of boys and girls playing and progressing in the game will continue to improve, no matter the level they wish to reach.”
A long and extensive consultation process took place in 2021 with clubs nationwide in the creation of the Junior Policy.
Junior Convenor Workshops will take place in each region in Spring, which will cover the new Golf Ireland Junior Policy as well as a range of support initiatives specific to Golf Ireland that are available to golf clubs through Golf Ireland.
Sport for Business Perspective
A number of major sports including the GAA and Irish Rugby have created specific forums to allow the voice of younger members to be heard and to allow them to influence the development of the games they play. Bringing that to a club level is an ambitious reach and one that will be interesting to see be rolled out.
