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GOLF ACTIVITY

 

 

 

WHAT IS GOLF?

 

Golf is primarily an outdoor sport, although there are variations of the game that can be played indoors through adapted equipment. Although golf is seen as predominantly an individual sport, there are competitions and games that encompass a team philosophy including foursomes, greensomes and texas scramble golf.
 
Whether you play as an individual, with a group of friends, within a club, the aim of golf is generic. Each golf club or course will have 9 or 18 holes whereby you have to hit a golf ball, with a variety of clubs around a course in the least number of shots. Golf can be seen as complex, however the game is relatively simple and fun to participate in.
 
Golf is the third most popular sport in England, behind swimming and football, and its global appeal is second to none. On both sides of the Atlantic, and around the world, golf is a game that can be played from school through all of your life, and the difference in abilities are catered for by a handicapping system that allows competition between all players (whether you are a beginner or a regular elite player).
 
Probably the most recognizable professional tours are the European and US, and the sport probably boasts the most talked about sportsperson in Tiger Woods.
 
 
THE STRUCTURE OF GOLF
 
ENGLAND GOLF PARTNERSHIP
The England Golf Partnership is the overriding organisation that provides guidance to the National Governing Bodies of golf. These are easily spilt into the following organisations:
1)  The English Golf Union Ltd (for amateur boys & mens golf)  www.englishgolfunion.org
2)  English Ladies Golf Association (for amateur girls & womens golf) www.englishladiesgolf.org
3)  Professional Golfers Association (for professional players & coaches) www.pga.info
4)  Golf Foundation (for community and schools golf)  www.golf-foundation.org
 
All of these organisations sit at a national level, and beneath all of them there are regional committees however the more pertinent organisations are those at county level that develop, administer, provide and maintain golf within their area. They are as follows:
1)     Surrey County Golf Union  www.surreygolf.org
2)     Surrey Ladies County Golf Association  www.slcga.org
3)     Surrey Professional Golfers Association (through PGA South East Region)
 
The function of each organisation within the county is to provide competitions and opportunities for people to experience the game, in order for them to progress from a beginner through to the elite. Although each organisation looks to get people into membership, provide coaching for their better players, they have also joined forces to push golf development in the county. This is under the umbrella of:
 
SURREY GOLF PARTNERSHIP
Although this partnership group currently hasnt got a website, we hope that this facility will keep you up to date about the progression of the group and what initiatives and developments you can get involved in, whether you want to play, volunteer, develop or coach. The overall aims of the group are:
" To introduce more people to the game golf regardless of age, gender or background
" To develop greater links between schools, colleges, local authorities and golf clubs
" To increase sustained participation in golf
" To increase club membership
" To improve standards of play, etiquette and rules
" To promote Surrey golf and its facilities to a wider audience
 
 
WHERE CAN I PLAY GOLF?
 
SCHOOLS
There are adapted variations of the game that can be used in the curriculum, and the equipment and the resources have recently been revamped to link directly to the Key Stages. Tri-Golf (Primary) and Golf Xtreme (Secondary) have been developed to enable schoolteachers, local authorities, sports centres, driving ranges and clubs the opportunity to engage children through the medium of golf. For more details please visit www.golf-foundation.org and follow the Tri-Golf and Golf Xtreme icons.
 
MINI & CRAZY GOLF COURSES
These courses are short putting holes that can be found at seaside resorts and theme parks where players have to putt their way around the course. Sometimes the player has to overcome fun obstacles in order to get the ball into the hole.
 
DRIVING RANGES/PAR 3 COURSES/PITCH & PUTT FACILITIES 
There are many non-affiliated facilities that provide people with a great introduction to the game of golf, such as Tri Golf Practice Centre. They usually run both adult and junior programmes that allows you to participate, and have a go at the game, in a relaxed and enjoyable environment. To find your closest driving range please visit www.englishgolfunion.org/golfcentral .
 
GOLF CLUBS
There are 112 affiliated clubs in Surrey that provide people with many opportunities to get into the game. The majority of clubs focus their efforts on the playing, membership, coaching and competitive side, however there are a number that cater for the social aspect of sport as well. These facilities historically have been seen as elitist, however more and more clubs are now catering for their communities and would welcome new members, whether you are young or old, female or male etc.
Please click on the following links for information on golf clubs in Surrey:
www.surreygolf.org  (Under Links this will provide you with all the affiliated clubs in Surrey, including name, address, lead contact, telephone number, email address and website).
 
All of the above facilities cater for recreational, casual and competitive golf. Although the Driving Ranges, etc, provide raw beginners with a fantastic starting point in the game, your local golf club will be running similar initiatives and programmes to provide coaching, membership and competitive opportunities.
 
 
COACHING & OFFICIATING COURSES
 
Click here for more information
 
 
GOLF DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES
 
There are many schemes that golf clubs and facilities can get involved with, that is of benefit to both golfers and non-golfers. They include the following:
 
NATIONAL SKILLS CHALLENGE
The "Get int Golf" national Skills Challenge has been developed for young golfers and is desgined to be challenginf at all levels, but above all it is intended to be FUN.  The Challenge covers 5 golfing disciplnes: putting, chipping, pitching, bunker play and full swing; each discipline has 2 Challenge activities, making 10 in total.  For more information please visit www.getintogolf.org/skills
 
FREE GOLF COACHING GRANT
This is an annual £200 grant from the EGU/ELGA, which can be used for any beginner coaching that the golf club undertakes. This money could go to anything such as running free taster days (usually trying to target ladies or girls), weekend coaching, summer camps etc. This grant can be aimed at all areas of the community, so therefore it can be used towards trying to attract more Ladies, Men, Girls or Boys to the golf club. For more information on the sessions running in your area please visit www.getintogolf.org      
 
JUNIOR CLUB COACHING GRANT
This is an annual £150 given to golf clubs to further subsidise their junior member coaching at the golf club. We ask the golf clubs to match this sum of money to form a total pot of £300, which is aimed at providing their junior section with more coaching funded by EGU/ELGA. For more information please visit www.englishgolfunion.org/juniorgolf.
 
TRI-GOLF
In November 2000, the Golf Foundation launched a mini version of golf specifically for use by young children in primary and junior schools. This involved developing youngster-friendly equipment that has proved to be popular with children, affordable for schools, and easy for teachers, volunteers and PGA Professionals to use. Each Tri-Golf pack includes chippers with over-sized club heads, putters, a variety of over-sized foam balls and other items needed to run the fun games and activities. For more information please visit www.golf-foundation.org.
 
GOLF EXTREME
Golf Xtreme is the golf game and programme for secondary schools that is related to the golf you see Tiger Woods play but is actually a completely new game for young teenagers. Golf Xtreme combines some of the best parts of the traditional sport hitting balls a long way at interesting targets with scoring systems you can create yourself, team games which include everyone and keep you fit, and, important safety considerations for both teachers and pupils. Its all designed with the 11 to 15 year old in mind the boy and girl whos outgrown Tri-Golf. For more information please visit www.golf-foundation.org.
 
JUNIOR GOLF PASSPORT
The Golf Foundation has produced the Junior Golf Passport,now recognised as the National Learning Programme. The Junior Golf Passportis a scheme that teaches you everything you need to know about playing the game, but the good news is, it's based on fun. Once you've found a PGA Professional who's operating the scheme, he or she will introduce you to all sorts of games, activities and drills that make learning about golf exciting and interesting. For more information please visit www.golf-foundation.org.
 
COMMUNITY LINKS
In order to increase junior participation in golf, since January 2007, the Golf Foundation has created a new development programme called Community Linksto replace the Starter Centre Initiative. Community Links helps clubs and facilities actively engage with the community through work with individual schools, school sport partnerships, young people's organisations and local authorities.  It also provides a young person with an introduction to a club or golf facility and the opportunity to progress through the national learning programme, the Junior Golf Passport. For more information please visit www.golf-foundation.org.
 
 
ADAPTING THE GAME FOR DISABLED GOLFERS
 
Golf can be adapted/developed for disabled people, and there are a number of organisations that offer advice and support for these individuals. One such organisation is for blind people, for more information please visit www.blindgolf.co.uk.
 
The England Golf Partnership is currently looking at ways to support disabled people better, please keep an eye out for developments, and there are a number of organisations out there now!!
 
 
 
 
Page Last Updated: Tuesday 7 August 2007
 
 
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