Lymm Golf Club Junior organiser Dave Clarke gives a great pathway for juniors into golf
(with pic)
At the Cheshire Annual Dinner at Carden Park various awards were given out to people who have put in great efforts at their club and County.
Cheshire Golf is justifiably proud of their junior development which has brought great success to the county in recent years and it relies on member clubs in helping to get youngsters into golf and helping them with their progress in the game.
The winner of the Junior Organiser of the Year was David Clarke of Lymm Golf Club.
The following details of how David got involved in junior golf and has seen it make huge strides at his club gives plenty of great advice on for anyone in developing junior golf .
David said: “I’ve been playing golf since being a junior at the local municipal in Urmston.
“Then it was on to University where I was captain of the University team and secured funding to run a ‘get into golf’ programme for new players.
“I joined Lymm in 2009 when I moved to the area.
“It was there that I got involved in junior golf as I’ve got two young boys, George (12) and Tom (10).
“They’ve been playing golf from an early age so I was keen to help develop the junior opportunities at Lymm. “In October 2021 a group of us from the golf club got together to see what we could do for the juniors, it seemed that whilst we were good at offering lessons we weren’t seeing those players develop and getting out onto the course.
“I took on the role of junior organiser and recruited a young golf coach (Harry Shaw) to run our junior lessons.
“I hooked up with the Golf Foundation and using their blue print and talking with other JO’s and professionals we developed a plan that would see us evolve with a clear pathway for junior golfers….our phrase was ‘getting faces on the fairways’
“Since then we’ve had an amazing three years and have exceeded our expectations, it’s been a lot of work and taken a lot of time but seeing the juniors out playing and their infectious enthusiasm is brilliant, we’re all very proud of our junior section.
“When we first ran our junior competitions we had four players turn up, now we average over 30 for a competition.
”Three years ago we had 45 juniors of which eight had a World Handicap Index (WHI), now we have 95 juniors 54 of which have a WHI.
“I registered us for the Golf Foundation’s ‘Golf Sixes’ in the first year, we hadn’t done that before but went on to win it, not just in 2022 but also in 2023 and 2024 and this was brilliant for developing our very young players.
“Together with Styal, Mottram and Ringway we developed the Junior 9s, providing the next step to the the golfing pathway once players were too good for Golf Sixes.
“In 2024 we entered two teams and our ‘Senior Juniors’, the Foxes, won it with the Cubs finishing third.
“We had stopped playing in the Mid Cheshire Junior League (MCJL) but we scrambled together a team in the first year and now have players queuing up and fighting for a place to play in the team.
“In 2024 we won the Cheshire Junior team championship and went on to represent Cheshire at the national finals at Woodhall Spa.
“Our philosophy is all about getting those ‘faces on the fairways’ and developing players so that they can enjoy golf, along the way we’ll get some exceptional players but it really is about having an environment where juniors can enjoy playing golf with their friends.
“Our Junior PGA Coach Harry Shaw is a key part of our recruitment and development, running his group and individual lessons.
“I sit down with Harry and discuss how the youngsters are getting on, when they’re ready we now take them out to play some ‘Sixes Scramble’ on the course, just from the 100 or 150 yard markers but it’s a great way to start the children off on the right path.
“Lessons continue throughout the year, often in quite horrible weather…..so back in 2023 we started a fundraising campaign to get some covered practice facilities so that we could keep the children dry whilst they have their lessons.
“After various activities including a crowd funding project and ‘buy a brick’ we raised £34K and got our covered practice bays built just in time for the winter 2024.
“These are going to be great for the juniors and also the club as a whole, it means that we can keep the children dry and not have to cancel lessons….Harry gets to stay dry too!
“Over the last couple of years we have delivered golf into a local school and have run golf sessions for the cubs (golf /rounders was a huge hit).
“In 2025 we want to get more girls into golf, so we’ll be running some specific programmes for the girls and are in the planning stages now.
“This will be complemented by a more general programme for the younger players and we’ll look to hook up with the Girls Golf Rock and Get into Golf Rookies programmes from the England Golf.
“Earlier this year I qualified as a Community Golf Instructor, so I can provide a pair of helping hands to Harry when he needs them.
“We also run group lessons that are for the older players, so those at high school can learn in their peer group.
“Running a junior section is not a task for one person and it needs a team to make it work,
“Dave Griffiths and Andy Cunningham have been fundamental to the success of the juniors and Lou Simmonds has been great running our social media.
“It also needs the willingness and backing of the club to allow us to get on with things, of course being golfers ourselves means that we recognise what we can and can’t get away with, after all we are part of that club and want out juniors to become an integral part of the golf club.
“I’ve been contacted by various other Junior Organisers for ideas and help and I am more than happy to share what we have done and the lessons we have learnt. “Getting more juniors into golf can only be a good thing and having thriving junior sections will be good for the future of the game.
“Anyone wanting to find out more can contact me to can do son the email -juniors@lymmgolfclub.co.uk.
The Lymm Junior Team Cheshire Champs 2024
Copy & images: Geoff Garnett
