Golphin unveils junior 'Pathway'

Pioneering junior brand launches innovative learning and teaching resource designed to get more kids playing golf

By Chris Johnston

GOLF clubs keen to increase the size of their junior membership are being urged to take a look at the latest activity from leading kids’ golf brand, Golphin.

Already a leader in the marketplace for producing high quality junior golf equipment, Golphin is now outlining plans designed to help clubs attract more children into golf.

The company has unveiled the Pathway Junior Development Programme, an online learning resource that is designed to inspire kids to play golf. It contains three main ingredients: a learning resource manual for golf coaches, which contains information on - and video demonstrations of - fun games and skills challenges for use with junior golfers; junior logbooks, designed to guide and help the coach-to-kid relationship, as well as the recording process through the various challenges and practice sessions; and a ‘Pathway Web Portal’, which provides an online platform for kids and their coaches or parents to communicate.

The portal also allows kids to access high quality videos, upload their achievement and track their progress on the ‘My Pathway Leaderboards’, where they can satisfy their competitive instincts against other kids in their age groups.

“The purpose of our Pathway to the Fairways program is to help golf clubs recruit and retain young kids in to golf,” said Golphin founder Calum McPherson. “We have reinvested cash made from our golf clubs sales in to a full on system that makes it easier to attract and retain kids in to the sport.

inspire

“Attracting young kids in to  golf is a challenge. Other sports are easier to access, easier to play and perceived as being  less expensive than golf. Our Pathway program is designed to combat these challenges by providing golf coaches, volunteers, kids and parents  with a complete process map which includes a library of videos with fun games, practice ideas, skills challenges and a leaderboard to inspire kids to want to play and improve. 

“It’s also designed to encourage parent engagement in the kids’ golfing experiences.”

The Pathway resource is priced at £500 and clubs can buy it directly from Golphin. One of the first clubs to do so was West Kilbride. Linzi Allan is part of the professional team there and explained that the club is hopeful that the programme will help to revitalise the junior section.

“We’ve got a lot of kids between the ages of six and ten but it has been a bit of struggle to get them to get involved in medals and so,” said Allan. “We’ve tried a lot of different things to improve participation but nothing has really worked.

“What the Golphin Pathway provides us with is a better structure to help drive their interest and make everything a bit more fun for them. It gives them something that they can actually get involved in themselves and where they, their parents and us as their coaches can accurately measure they’re making. We’re really excited about it. It’s yet another fantastic idea from Golphin, a company that does a brilliant job promoting junior golf.”

To find out more, visit golphin.co.uk

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