Cornwall Golf Union
Cornwall Golf Union - Community Golf Instructor
The Cornwall Golf Union now has one of the country's first Community Golf Instructors. The CGU's Junior Development Officer Richard Bunch completed his practical course at Sandburn Hall Golf & Hotel in Flaxton Yorkshire last week. This was preceded by two online webinars.
The Community Golf Instructor programme has been adopted by the four home nations and is supported by the R&A in its development and financially. Matt Bloor the Volunteer and Workforce Manager from England Golf and his team have been working on the development of the scheme since it was first announced in January this year. The CGU was fortunate to be invited to form part of the pilot training programme. This was mainly due to the work we have been doing with England Golf in developing junior golf in Cornwall.
The practical course was delivered by a product of Cornwall Golf, PGA professional Alex MacGregor, (brother of Cornwall County Team member Rob MacGregor) who now works as one of the England Golf PGA coaches. He is also very much involved at the Addington Court GC, Croydon, Surrey. He is still also very competitive and competes in many Southern Region and National PGA events.
Richard commented "Alex is a fantastic coach and has worked very hard on putting this training package together. All the delegates at the session can be confident in what they deliver. It was really well structured. The course wasn't intimidating or something to be anxious about. You were assessed throughout the course both on the webinar and the practical, but the team put you at ease and its enjoyable."
The Community Golf Instructors scheme is designed to allow individuals to deliver initial coaching and games in schools and other community settings. The qualification is not designed to deliver technical coaching. It gives the opportunity to introduce the game to all age groups and then hopefully signpost individuals to clubs or other golf facilities for onward coaching and development. It is also a qualification that PGA professionals can make best use of at their respective clubs with individual coaches supporting any projects and initiatives they may have running.
Richard continues by saying "The Community Golf Instructor scheme is a game changer in the golfing world. We can now compete with the more mainstream sports at junior level and seek to introduce the game to all ages through our communities. There is an opportunity for the CGU to introduce the game to individuals who may never been given or would ever expect to be involved in the game of golf. It is mine and the vision of the CGU that we will make the game as inclusive as we possibly can."
Richard has already organised for two of the staff members from DT Sports who deliver PE and sports activities in 47 schools across the county to attend the final pilot course at Celtic Manor this month. This will give an immediate and positive impact for the development of the game at junior level.
It is the intention of the CGU to have a team of Community Golf Instructors working in schools and other community settings as quickly as possible. Anyone interested in getting involved can register an interest at the following https://www.englandgolf.org/community-golf-instructor.
Alternatively please contact Richard Bunch on JDO.CGU2022@gmail.com or on mobile 07958 - 262193.
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