Farleigh Golf Club is reinforcing its commitment to women’s golf with a busy year of events and coaching sessions to tap into a new generation of female golfers of all ages and abilities.
With a central focus of attracting more women into the sport from a young age and breaking down any barriers to participation, Farleigh has been officially named a Girls Golf Rocks venue through England Golf.
Aimed at girls between the ages of five and 18, the objective of the initiative is to teach aspiring golfers the basics of the game in a fun and friendly way, with pathways for continued engagement and progression put in place for those who develop a keen interest in playing the sport.
The programme includes running six-week courses for girls throughout the school holiday periods which comprise of six one-hour sessions with Farleigh’s expert PGA professionals.
But it’s not just youngsters that Farleigh is hoping to attract to golf. The Surrey venue has also put on several successful beginner courses for ladies of all ages. These five-week courses were completely free to sign up and included tuition from Farleigh’s PGA professionals in the form of five one-hour lessons, with an aim of ensuring that the early stages of the players’ golfing journey are grounded with accurate technique and that they are confident with the fundamentals of the game.
As expected, these courses were extremely popular, so much so that the club had to put on additional sessions to cope with the demand.
Farleigh has also made great strides in giving more equal competitive playing opportunities by making all its weekend Medals and Stableford club competitions open to all seven-day members, as opposed to having separate competitions for men and ladies.
The previous make-up of Farleigh’s ladies membership meant there were limited chances for working ladies, who weren’t able to get out on the golf course as frequently through the week, to compete in organised events – something that Farleigh’s management were very keen to change.
James Ibbetson, Farleigh’s general manager, said: “We wanted to use this opportunity in Women & Girls Golf Week to showcase all the amazing work and progress we have made to grow female participation at Farleigh. It is a real focus of ours to push the women’s game forward, and we hope that with the continuation of our beginner courses, and the changes we have made to our weekend competitions, that there is far more room for female players to grow and reach their maximum potential whilst at the club.
“We are also proud to be a flagbearer for England Golf’s Girls Golf Rocks programme. England Golf continues to do so much for the sport in this country and is constantly putting many great schemes in place such as this one to try fill in the gaps. To be able to support them, and the sport as a whole, by offering our spectacular course, excellent coaching and practice facilities for the programme was an easy decision.”
For more information on women’s golf at Farleigh, email golf@farleighfox.co.uk or visit www.farleighfox.co.uk