Starting Up
In July 2009 Dunmore Golf Club, located 3 miles outside Clonakilty town in West Cork, decided it was time to develop their junior girls section. At the time there were very few girls playing golf and the ladies committee felt that unless something was done to gain younger members the future of the ladies section could be bleak.
Having heard of Junior Golf Ireland the 2009 Vice-Captain, Ann Lynch, contacted the Munster JGI development officer Jennifer Hickey for advice and assistance. A meeting was held between club personnel and JGI at Dunmore GC.
As a result of the meeting it was decided that an 'Open Day' for girls would be the best way to attract new girls to Dunmore GC. The club agreed to contact local girls groups such as the ladies football team and invite them to sample the game of golf. A date was set in August and volunteers were recruited to help. With guidance from JGI development officer, 5 golf stations were set up throughout the course, including a putting, pitching, chipping, long game and fun game area. The JGI development officer supplied additional golf club and golf balls on the day.
Connecting with the community
The 'Open Day' proved a great success with over 50 girls in attendance. The girls received a great welcome to the club, with each girl getting 20 minutes at every station. The girls were offered a special membership rate if they joined the club on the day. As a result of the fun they had and the special joining rate over 30 girls became members.
Now that the girls were on board it was essential to set up a coaching programme. As the club had no resident professional, the JGI development officer contacted PGA Professional Adrian Whitehead and set up a meeting between the pro and the club to agree terms and conditions. With everything in place an 8 week coaching programme began. The girls deemed the coaching a great success and took great pleasure in receiving their JGI 'goodies' and certificates at the end of the sessions.
Future Plans
In 2010 the club will continue its work developing the junior girls section by working with JGI to target local primary schools with the Buntus golf programme. To assist with this the club volunteers will complete the JGI 'Junior Club' workshop so that they can organise fun sessions for the juniors.
We would like to congratulate the 2010 Lady Captain, Ann Lynch and Carol McCann, Junior Officer, for their hard work and dedication to the development of junior girls in their club. JGI look forward to working with Dunmore Golf Club throughout 2010 and in the future!
