Winter is Coming… and that’s great news for PGA coaches and junior golfers

PGA professionals who use the Golf Foundation’s revamped 2019 Junior Golf Passport can now also expect business-boosting additions that will sustain and even grow their coaching throughout the winter.

The Golf Foundation is working closely with many PGA professionals up and down the country in a supportive campaign called ‘Winter is Coming’, which is enabling more focused junior coaching throughout the winter, a time when coaches can see a drop-out rate with junior players. As part of this support, the Foundation team has created a series of benefits for existing Junior Golf Passport users and also for those golf clubs signing up to the Passport for the first time.

PGA pros can access the Junior Golf Passport specific Winter is Coming webinar now at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJMHj6RpAIc

Viewers will see a number of attractive new Passport activity learning sheets and games available in the ‘Coaches’ Locker Room’. These include ‘Ryder Cup’, ‘Dragons’ Den’ (where juniors pitch playing ideas to the coach), ‘Scavenger Hunt’ (a clubhouse search for clues about their club), fun word searches (‘What’s in the Bag?’), ‘Dice Golf’ and ‘Join the dots, count the shots’, are just some examples which all increase children’s knowledge of the sport and their loyalty towards their coach and golf club. Much of this activity can be enjoyed indoors in bad weather, and can help keep the group of juniors together.

The activity sheets can be printed out and stored in the junior’s Passport wallet, which can then be stamped by the PGA pro and student together when each new skill has been learned. Another new addition on clubface and ball flight will please the many juniors who are drawn to the technological side of the game.

The Golf Foundation is also working with two partners to enhance the learning system further. All Passport users can access products in the Colour Path Golf coaching system at preferential prices. Colour Path Golf is a simplified, versatile teaching aid that can be used by all teaching professionals; with high engagement from all students, especially children, who love the bright colours. Any club which has an active Passport licence will be entitled to a 25% reduction on the Colour Path Golf range (see more at www.colourpathgolf.co.uk).

Each golf club registered for the Junior Golf Passport can also receive copies of the magazine for juniors called ‘Golf Cubs’ at a special partnership rate which can create a profitable sales addition for coaches. The magazine can be used as an ongoing, brightly illustrated coaching resource for the PGA coach that can also be taken home and shared with the junior’s family to create added interest away from the club.

In the case of Colour Path Golf and Golf Cubs, the Golf Foundation also receives a royalty on all sales, as both these partners of the charity have expressed their enthusiasm for putting something back into the junior game.

Martin Crowder, Head of Development for the Golf Foundation, said: “Working closely with PGA professional colleagues we recognise that it is desirable for everyone connected with junior golf to promote the sport as an all-year-round option, to keep boys and girls keen, working with their coaches right through the winter so that they are just as motivated in the spring. We also want PGA coaches to see that however big or small their facility we can help them to offer a fantastic junior programme in their area, every month of the year. These winter features are helping to create a buzz for juniors and their families.”

The Junior Golf Passport is the official learning programme in England and Wales, and continues to play a key role for the Golf Foundation as the charity works to change the lives of young people by introducing them to golf.

The Junior Golf Passport takes each child, step-by-step, through all the technical skills to play golf, from putting to the long-game, while guiding young players in basic course management, The Rules and etiquette, in a visually appealing way throughout (see www.juniorgolfpassport.org).

In many cases, the interest in the Passport from parents and families is also having a direct influence in overall golf club business as families support their children as they learn in the club environment.

The cost of the Junior Golf Passport is £120 for a 12-month licence.

* Visit www.juniorgolfpassport.org to find out more or email development@golf-foundation.org for more details.

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As an avid golfer since the age of eleven Dan lives and breathes all things golf.  With a current handicap of eleven he gets out and plays as often as his work life (and girlfriend) allows. Dan confesses to still being like a kid at Christmas when it comes to seeing the latest golf equipment. Having served as GolfPunk’s Deputy Editor, and resident golf geek for the past 13 years and working for golf's oldest brand, John Letters Dan brings to GOLF RETAILING an excellent understanding of the sector.