Carus Green GC earns national recognition for its efforts.
18th February 2012

Officials and committee members from Carus Green with their GolfMark award (left to right) PGA professional Dave Turner, Lady Vice-captain Pat Tomlinson, Lady Captain Christine Gray, Club Welfare Officer Jenny Munday, Junior Organiser Anne Daggett, Margaret Calvert, PGA professional Andrew Pickering and Marlene Billington

A golf club in Cumbria which has taken the sport to the heart of its local community has earned national recognition for its efforts.

Carus Green Golf Club in Kendal has been awarded GolfMark, a national seal of approval for junior and beginner friendly facilities which play an important role in the development of the game.

The club has taken a proactive approach to encouraging more people into golf, going into neighbouring schools to deliver Tri Golf sessions, involving women's groups in the area in their Get into Golf schemes and even taking golf out to the town's shoppers.

Explains Junior Organiser Anne Daggett: "We put up a large inflatable net at Westmorland shopping centre in Kendall which allows people to safely try out hitting a golf ball. We had a lot of passing interest - people were on the centre's galleries watching what was happening - and the club followed that up by signing people on for one of our beginners' sessions."

The club, in Burnside Road, has been an active supporter of the Cumbria County Golf Partnership, which seeks to introduce golf to all ages and abilities.

Beginners courses for ladies have provide particularly popular and resulted in a number of new members for the club, while the junior section caters for children starting out from the age of five up to county level elite players.

Adds Anne: "We have junior sessions on a Saturday morning and Tuesday evening, with a band of volunteers supporting the work of our PGA professionals Andrew Pickering, Dave Turner, and assistant professional Tyson Barclay. We have a Tri Golf area for those who are new to the game while the club members are very supportive as we take over the first four holes every week for our coaching sessions.

"We have four players at county level at the moment, but while we look to develop the skills of those playing at a higher level we also want to make the sport fun for those starting out."

GolfMark is a national scheme that incorporates ClubMark and recognises junior and beginner friendly golf facilities that focus on Coaching and Playing, Club Environment and Child Protection, and Duty of Care, all of which are extremely important to parents and children alike.

Anne says the award will offer parents reassurance that their children are in a safe environment.

"The club has always done a lot of work to encourage people into golf, but GolfMark will give extra credence to our efforts and show parents that their children will be well looked after."

Plans for 2012 will centre on the 16plus age bracket with teenage members being encouraged to bring a friend along and to get their parents or other relatives involved in the sport.

Says Jane Robinson, county development officer for the Cumbria County Golf Partnership: "GolfMark is a positive signal to anyone thinking of giving golf a go at Carus Green that they have the right duty of care policies in place.

"It means a parent dropping off their child knows they are in a positive environment with the emphasis on the right care and responsibilities.

"Carus Green have been very positive in their approach to introducing more people into golf and are seeing the benefits of all their hard work."

GolfMark is an initiative jointly provided by the EGU and EWGA via the England Golf Partnership's 'Whole Sport Plan' for golf and is an integral part of the England Golf Partnership's vision to 'Grow the Game'.

The England Golf Partnership is a collaboration of a number of stakeholders in the sport including England Golf - the organisation formed by the merger of The English Golf Union and The English Women's Golf Association - the PGA, the Golf Foundation and Sport England.

In Cumbria the partnership is supported by the Cumbria Ladies County Golf Association, the Cumbria Union of Golf Clubs, The Eden Valley Sports Partnership and the PGA North East/West.

For more details of the activities in Cumbria visit www.cumbriagolf.org/

For more information on the work of the Cumbria County Golf Partnership contact Jane Robinson, County Development Officer, Cumbria County Golf Partnership.

Website: www.cumbriagolf.org/

Mobile: 079851 81070

Email: cdocumbria@yahoo.co.uk