Scotland Looks Down Under For Junior Golf

One of New Zealand's pre-eminent golf coaches has applauded Scotland's junior golf programme, which is showing great potential, and which he believes could result in more than twelve thousand children taking up the game next year.

Murray Macklin is regarded by many in the golfing world as a leading authority on junior golf and has been instrumental in encouraging more youngsters to take up the game in New Zealand.

A PGA golf professional for over thirty years, Macklin was invited as guest speaker at the first Resource Group meeting of the Scottish Junior Golf Partnership at the Scottish National Golf Centre at Drumoig, on Monday (June 11).

During the conference, attended by golfing bodies and educationalists, Macklin said there were many parallels between the two countries and a number of lessons could be learned.

"There are similarities particularly around the culture of junior golf, membership and access to facilities," explained Macklin. "Junior golf in New Zealand has expanded rapidly because we have turned the culture of junior golf on its head. Our philosophy has been to work with the 7 - 13 year old age group to introduce them to the game in schools and to encourage golf clubs to provide decent junior programmes which start when children are young. In this way these children will then permeate into the club system in later years."

Murray Macklin devised the New Zealand Golf Association's hugely successful Kiwigolf and junior programmes - initiatives which have resulted in the number of junior members tripling from 5,000 to 15,000. Through the Kiwigolf initiative alone, 65,000 children a year are introduced to golf in schools.

Macklin says the success of the New Zealand system has come through partnership between golf clubs, golf professionals and schools. Parents have also been encouraged to play their part as volunteer coaches but while it has taken thirteen years for New Zealand to turn junior golf around, Macklin believes Scotland could have the same success in a much shorter timescale.

"Its important to stress we are not trying to tell Scotland what to do here, all we are doing is passing on our experience," he said. "However, if Scotland decides to take all of our programmes on board, or indeed just some of them they will not have to go through the learning curve that we had to. We will make available the resources and information that we have gained over the years to help and by having all the most important bodies around the table - which Scotland already has - it could take Scotland two to three years to achieve what has taken us thirteen years. Increasing the number of junior golfers by 50% in the next twelve months is not out of the bounds of possibility but it involves establishing a structure first."

Scotland currently boasts 25,000 junior golfers but it is hoped that the development of a junior plan for Scotland will radically increase these numbers.

The Scottish Junior Golf Partnership - which includes the Scottish Golf Union, the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association, sportscotland, the Professional Golfers Association and the Golf Foundation, has been set up to develop and implement this plan and to aim to ensure that the structures are in place to build on Scotland's Ryder Cup pledge to introduce every nine-year-old child to the game of golf by the year 2009.

Earlier this month, the Scottish Junior Golf Partnership appointed the country's first Junior Golf Manager and Junior Golf Development Officer to co-ordinate the development of the game for youngsters. Macklin believes both appointments are an important step forward and that many clubs will throw open their doors to youngsters in the future.

"There will be clubs who will resist the kind of ideas we are talking about but there will be many clubs who won't and who'll welcome the idea," he added. "You are never going to please everyone but I am sure that here in Scotland there will be enough support to move junior golf on and to take things forward."