Cornwall has cause for double celebration today as England Golf announced the shortlist of nominees for the England Golf Awards 2021 sponsored by adidas Golf.

In the category for Sustainability Project of the Year sponsored by STRI,  Whitsand Bay Golf Club are nominated as a club which has taken an economically viable and environmentally sustainable approach to golf course management in order to restore the course’s natural beauty and attract new members. The Club has seen a marked upturn in fortunes based particularly on the good work of PGA Professional Andy Welch, Course Manager Kristian Summerfield and his team, along with club officials and the existing membership in general. Backed by the Antony Estate the club is in good hands. Other clubs nominated in this category are Burnley, Chester and Golf at Goodwood.

And Cornwall has been named on the shortlist for County of the Year in which it is identified as a small county showing outstanding levels of communication and engagement during pandemic year.

CGU President Andrew Clotworthy was delighted two elements of the Duchy’s golf was being recognised. “ I am really pleased Cornwall has received this recognition. For Whitsand Bay it is recognition for the hard work and commitment made at the club and across the board by its dedicated and committed team. To make the shortlist is a great achievement.

“Equally I am incredibly pleased for the county recognition. Whilst last year was a difficult one for everyone in this country we simply sought to provide as much competition as we could for our membership and most importantly in a safe environment. We achieved this with the help of all our affiliated clubs and they should be proud of the part they play in this nomination”.

Also nominated in the County of the Year category are fellow SW region county Gloucestershire as well as Lancashire and Lincolnshire.

Other categories of awards this year are for Club, Performance, Volunteer and Young Ambassador of the Year. Finally a Lifetime Service Award given to an individual who has contributed significantly to English amateur golf over many years of dedicated service.

This year’s virtual ceremony – hosted by broadcaster, journalist and avid golfer Naga Munchetty – will take place on Thursday 3 June from 6.30pm and be broadcast live on England Golf’s YouTube channel.

Nominations were invited from the public for six of the seven categories and an expert panel of judges made up of England Golf staff as well as industry and media colleagues then had the unenviable task of narrowing down the list of potential winners from an outstanding long list of nominations.

Commenting on the unveiling of the nominees, Jeremy Tomlinson, England Golf CEO, said: “It was a real pleasure to read the fantastic stories of all those individuals, clubs and counties put forward for recognition. To see such levels of passion, creativity and dedication being shown by so many from our golfing community is truly inspirational.These tales deserve to be told and the winners rightly acclaimed for their outstanding efforts.

“I look forward to an amazing awards night when we can pay tribute to the people and organisations who made a stunning and lasting contribution to our great game during an incredibly testing year.”

The virtual awards ceremony is open to all viewers and will be broadcast free from 6.30pm on Thursday 3 June.

For details on how to receive information and updates about the England Golf Awards as well as details of the judging panel please click here