Stephen Gallacher Foundation and Craigmillar Park GC have found way to get girls interested in playing golf

Says Julie Rigg, a Kirkwoodgolf reader

Reference Kirkwoodgolf article about the steady decline in the number of girls playing golf.
Stephen Gallacher's Foundation has played a huge role in encouraging girls to play golf. It is extremely efficiently run by Scott Knowles and the boys and girls have great fun.

It is a relaxed atmosphere, though they do teach the etiquette.  It is fantastic to see the huge number of little girls this is attracting.
The other area I have seen a really encouraging number of girls playing golf is at Craigmillar Park golf course in Edinburgh. The junior section is great for boys and girls and really well run. As a result more girls are joining. There are at least 20, some of whom are very young but they are a joy to watch on the course and they have some very good players.
Perhaps it would be good to publicise these examples on TV BBC Scotland and other media to show that ladies' golf should not be considered to be a sport for older people .

Just a thought.....

I have tried to encourage my daughter to play golf over the years and as she got older it became harder to keep encouraging her. Golf is not considered a cool sport for girls at school and this attitude needs to change somehow.

Thanks,

Julie Rigg

And England seems to have found the girls' golf answer too!
 
Girl golfers set to take over at The Nottinghamshire 

ENGLAND GOLF NEWS RELEASE
Girls’ golf will stage a takeover at The Nottinghamshire Golf and Country Club next week when over 250 young players gather for the English girls’ open championships.
It will be the first time that all three championships – for the U18, U16 and U14 age groups - are played simultaneously at the same club.
They take place from Tuesday to Thursday, 26-28 July, when the competitors will aim to follow in the footsteps of top tournament professionals Charley Hull, Holly Clyburn and Melissa Reid, who were all girl champions in various age groups in their amateur days.
Tournament Director Scott Allison said: “The championships will be a fantastic showcase for girls’ golf and we’d love to welcome lots of spectators to see some excellent play.”
Bill Mackenzie, The Nottinghamshire’s managing director, added: “To have over 250 of the best girl golfers in the UK and Europe coming to see what we have at The Nottinghamshire is fantastic.
“We are very proud that, after four years of significant investment by our owner Alan Hardy, England Golf has awarded us this prestigious event and made us a Championship Venue.”
The players in this year’s events range in age from 11–year-old Harriet Lockley, an eight-handicapper from Isle of Wedmore in Somerset, to 18-year-olds; while the lowest handicappers play off plus three.
The fields also includes players from across Europe who will take on the best of the young English talent.
All six players who represented England in the recent European team championship are playing. Louisa Brunt (Royal Birkdale) Sharna Dutrieux (Wrotham Heath), Bel Wardle (Prestbury) and Emily Price (Cleobury Mortimer) are in the U18s, while Amelia Williamson (Royal Cromer) and Lily May Humphreys (Channels) are in the U16s.
Humphreys has moved up an age group since winning the 2015 U14 title, while last year’s U16 champion, Cloe Frankish (Chart Hills), has moved up to the U18s. 
The U14 field includes Annabell Fuller (Roehampton) who recently won the girls’ title at the Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters. Her older sister, Sammy, won the U13 title – as it then was – in 2011 and is in this year’s U18 field. Last year she helped England win both the girls’ and women’s 2015 Home Internationals.
Local players in the U18s include Kristina Lazarevic and Esme Hamilton from Notts Ladies, Jacey Peacock of Rufford Park, Charlotte Parker of Ruddington Grange and Leonie Muir of Wollaton Park. Charlotte Hazelwood of Notts Ladies will play in the U14s.
The U18 and U16 championships are both played over 72 holes, while the U14s is over 54. There will be a cut in all championships after 36 holes. The older girls will play the English girls’ amateur championship on the Open Course, while the U14s and U6s will tackle the Masters Course.
 
For more information on the U18 championship click here
 
For more information on the U16s and U14s click here


Lyndsey Hewison
Press Officer
England Golf
pr@englandgolf.org
07825 752 193