ClubGolf Camps hope to sign 1200 juniors at 79 venues

Golfers aged from nine to 13 can get involved in an exciting summer of golf by signing up for ClubGolf Camps from 1-5 July.

Launched for the first time last year, ClubGolf Camps were staged by 53 clubs around the country, providing almost 800 youngsters with a chance to try golf.

This year’s event is set to be even bigger and better with 79 venues confirmed as host camps and the potential for around 1,200 junior golfers to sign up. Alternative dates have been scheduled for Grampian and South West regions, where the school term does not finish until later in the month.

Launched by Edinburgh and Scotland rugby star Greig Laidlaw, alongside two-time European Tour event winner Alastair Forsyth, ClubGolf Camps will run between 10am-2pm each day at a cost of £40 for the week. Laidlaw, who was a member of his local club, Jedburgh, as a child, said: “I think I was about 15 before I really started thinking about becoming a professional rugby player, so I was a lot older than the kids taking part in ClubGolf Camps.

“If any of the kids taking part in ClubGolf Camps can decide to make a go of their golf, they could end up in a similar situation. You need a lot of dedication and hard work.

“I definitely would have taken part in ClubGolf Camps as a kid. I loved getting outside and playing different sports, and golf was one of my favourites.”

Having represented Scotland at boys, youths and senior levels, Forsyth knows better than most the commitment required from a young age among those looking to turn professional.

“One of the biggest mistakes I made growing up was not going for coaching,” he reflected. “I got taught the basics from my dad from the age of eight and then just progressed on my own until I got involved with the SGU and national coach Bill Lockie.

“If I had had more time with someone like that as a kid, I think I would have improved a little earlier. That’s why I definitely would have been involved in ClubGolf Camps if we had had them at my home club of Ralston.”

As well as progressive coaching using games-based activities, kids will receive a bag packed with fun golf gear and a Tee Time Taskbook, which they will use to log their progress throughout the week.

ClubGolf Camps will kick-start the 2013 ClubGolf Festival, which will run throughout July to encourage more children to get into golf and includes a mass participation event at Castle Stuart Golf Links during the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open.

To register for a place in ClubGolf Camps this year, or to find out where your nearest camp will be taking place, visit www.clubgolfscotland.com/camp2013. Registration closes on 9 June.