Youth golf’s massive rise

Local youth participation in golf has skyrocketed due, in part, to some dedicated people behind the scenes.

In the past 12 months, the number of young golfers has climbed 49 per cent, with junior memberships in the region growing from 260 to 392.

Tasman Golf development officer Eve Clarke says the growth hasn’t just happened overnight, having previously relied on participation numbers from pop-up events to gauge their success.

“It takes kids a while for it to be their first sport and really enjoy it to the point they join a club. . . and for them to see it’s not this big scary thing going on the golf course.

“We’ve seen over the last year to six months that even if none turn up as members or it’s taken a long time, they’ve changed their perspective on golf and told their friends that it’s really fun and it’s really cool.”

With the Future Girls programme growing almost threefold in the last 12 months, Eve says they also run after-school programmes and have-a-go days which the likes of the Tasman Mako have attended.

They’ve also expanded their youth competitions in the region, with “no rules” for the six and nine-hole golfers who are still learning the ropes of the game.

With have-a-go days having no technical coaching and instead focusing on games, making the sport fun is a big part of their mission.

Eve says the growth has been a joint effort, with all the clubs in the region offering affordable junior membership rates and a number of locals helping to drive the change.

With Matt Grimes and Nick Loach running youth programmes at their local clubs, Tasman Golf’s Club Support Manager Simon Winter is also worthy of a mention for his work to grow participation.