The survey is anonymous, takes approx. 10 minutes, and will allow the voices of PGA Members to be heard alongside other coaches from around the world. PGA Members that complete the survey will also be provided with information on the findings of the research when available.

PhD student, Callum Ferguson, said, “As part of this four-year project, my supervisors and I are working on a study that looks to understand how coaches perceive and respond to their players’ mistakes in practice. This is an important area of research, as previous studies have shown that the frequency with which players experience errors in practice can have lasting positive and negative effects on their game. As such, we are interested to hear PGA Members’ opinions on this matter that we are gathering through this survey.”

Find Out More and Complete the Survey at https://cp.golf/3ZvZm0j

To ensure a bright future for the game, junior golf engagement should be at the forefront of PGA’s and PGA Professional’s minds. The CPG’s guiding principles of Togetherness, Collaboration and Development remain at the heart of the organisation – a view that is shared by CPG Partner, GolPhin who believe that the key to increased junior golf engagement is innovation and collaboration.

GolPhin, based in Scotland, the Home of Golf, explain their purpose as being able to inspire golf’s next generation via product innovation, education, wellbeing programmes and age-appropriate competition, in a way that is designed to help children and young people realise their full potential.

The business and development case for PGA Professionals supporting junior golf is undisputed but is also often overlooked or something that is pushed towards solely trainee Professionals rather than being an important part of any PGA Professional’s thought process.

So how can a PGA Professional, of any ability/level, ensure they are doing what they can to support junior golf and foster the next generation of players?

GolPhin suggest the following key areas to keep in mind:

• Recruitment – Making golf an exciting proposition to kids.
• Induction – Easy access and induction in to the sport, reducing areas of friction or barriers to entry. For example seamless sign-up to a PGA Pro’s system such as MyPathway2Golf with video guides to support use of the GolPhin app, making it as easy as possible to engage.
• Fun – Instilling a sense of fun and play fro the very beginning through the use of games, quizzes and challenges to inspire junior to practice anywhere, all through a lens of a growth mindset.
• Progression – Clear ability to show progress of learning and skill levels motivating juniors to attain the next level and reward active junior golfers.
• Retention – Encourages kids to continuously enjoy themselves, aim for the next level and become active members of a facility.
• Interaction – Continue engagement outside of purely the lesson/learning environment. GolPhin’s mobile app, for example, encourages safe, easy and secure communications with kids and their families and your facility’s PGA Professionals.

Many will know GolPhin for their design and manufacture of innovative kinds golf clubs – but they have also developed the MyPathWay2Golf digital platform that builds on the previously mentioned principles to help PGA Pros / coaches and golf facilities increase junior participation and retention at their venues…

The MyPathway2Golf Mobile App – Access to the app includes functions for both PGA Pro/facility and the junior golfer themselves:

• High quality instructional videos, both pre-installed and the ability for PGA Pros to upload their own.
• Skills challenges to monitor your students’ progress.
• Class scheduling and management with calendar sync to keep on top of your sessions.
• Manage students’ progress through leaderboards and individual oversight of students’ results.
• Customisable course creation and content to encourage practice and skill development.
• Direct messaging from coach to student, allowing instant updates and remote coaching guidance, all helping to encourage engagement between lessons, etc.
• Personalised profiles for students to ensure valuable engagement and interaction and monitoring of progress through GolPhin’s six levels of attainment

Users of the system also have access to a Learning Resource E-Book, including:

• Fun games and skills challenges, safety instruction and advice on practicing on the course and at home.
• Plan your junior coaching sessions through a structured format including a variety of games to keep kids engaged, both indoors and outdoors.

Ensuring the key areas mentioned earlier on are a part of a PGA Pro’s work is key and the MyPathway2Golf system can support this by:

1. Helping PGA Pros and golf club management track how many kids are participating and are actively involved at a facility.
2. Encouraging parents / guardians to interact with their kids’ experiences and progress, as kids upload their achievements on the MyPathway2Golf app.
3. Providing PGA Pros, volunteers and parents with new ideas on fun games to play, how to track kids’ progress and improve communications with their students.
4. Keeping kids focused and engaged with exciting skills challenges, on course practice, regularly updated quizzes and class leaderboards.
5. Supporting the development of a facility’s junior and adult membership, or a PGA Pro’s client list, by creating strong and long-term connections.

Ensuring you understand the importance and value of the next generation of golfers, and how you can work with them effectively to ensure valuable and fun experiences where they keep coming back for more, is vital in ensuring the long-term health of facilities and for the sport overall.

Fun and comprehensive packages of resources, as well as 45-minute webinar presentations, are available for PGA Professionals, managers, junior organisers, captains etc. by contacting GolPhin at info@golphin.co.uk.

VISIT GOLPHIN.COM

Following on from the success of its launch in 2017 in the UK by the Golf Foundation, GolfSixes League, backed by a host of organisations including The R&A, the Confederation of Professional Golf [CPG], the Ryder Cup European Development Trust [RCEDT], DP World Tour and Ladies European Tour, will involve an estimated 10,000 young people across eight countries and over 950 golf clubs participating by the end of 2024.

The league provides juniors the chance to play in a competitive golf environment with other local clubs and involves playing six holes in pairs using a highly inclusive Texas Scramble format, powered by bespoke Golf Genius Software.

When it comes to a league or organisation set up, Golf Genius provides a solution to reduce administration time, whilst increasing the connection and communication that organisers can have with participants. Through interactive digital messaging, Golf Genius offers GolfSixes League a personalised and engaging way of running events to keep juniors coming back – with parents highly engaged in the process.

“GolfSixes League has gone from strength to strength across the UK over the past five years, and we are proud to have been selected to work on this initiative as it rolls out internationally. We facilitate millions of golf rounds each year across a wide variety of formats, so it is great to showcase our leagues solution with an activity committed to offering a unique experience for those just starting their golfing journey,” commented Craig Higgs, Managing Director of Golf Genius International.

Customised user forms, online training guides tailored to the League, live scoring technology and interactive communication channels are just a few of the ways that Golf Genius are providing a solution to creating a memorable junior community.

Golf Genius Partner, the Confederation of Professional Golf [CPG], join a leading group of bodies that are working together in this way for the first time:

Christiane Stenger, CPG’s Director – GolfSixes, Community Coaching and Tournaments; “We are pleased to be working with Golf Genius, who have created a solution that facilitates both the on-course Leagues and off-course GolfSixes Mini League. As it has launched internationally this has allowed for a smooth and efficient implementation of the GolfSixes League.”

The Golf Genius solution will be used across GolfSixes League in countries including, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

 For more information about Golf Genius, please visit GolfGenius.com/tm and get in touch at intlsales@golfgenius.com. For more information on GolfSixes League visit cp.golf/golfsixesleague or contact cs@cpg.golf.

GolfSixes League will expand across Europe in 2022 in a continuing drive to encourage young people into playing, enjoying and remaining in the sport.

The expansion is a collaboration between The R&A, the Confederation of Professional Golf [CPG], the Ryder Cup European Development Trust (RCEDT), DP World Tour and Ladies European Tour – the leading bodies aligning in support of a development initiative for the first time.

GolfSixes League has seen great success across Great Britain and Ireland where it is administered by the Golf Foundation, England Golf, Golf Ireland, Scottish Golf and Wales Golf.

In 2021, across GB&I, 386 golf venues offered 74 GolfSixes Leagues in which 5252 players participated with 30% of those being girls. Following on from the GolfSixes League there was a 35% increase in junior membership at participating clubs.

GolfSixes League, and its off-course version GolfSixes Mini League, will now expand in 2022 to also run in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Switzerland.

An estimated 8,000 young people will experience the sport this year thanks to GolfSixes League, which will be played across the ten countries with around 750 golf clubs participating in events this summer.

Phil Anderton, Chief Development Officer at The R&A, said, “We are very supportive of initiatives that encourage young people into golf and be retained within the sport and GolfSixes League has already shown itself to be a popular and enjoyable short-form activity with both young people and their parents.

“It is important to build on the early momentum gained in Great Britain and Ireland and introduce the initiative to more countries throughout Europe so that more opportunities to enjoy playing golf in this format are offered to young people and they can experience the health and social benefits that we know it can provide to them.”

Ian Randell, Chief Executive of the CPG, said, “This Project between international organisations with local delivery via PGAs and National Federations is a great example of the collaboration that is possible within our sport.

“We have long been advocates of short-form team golf, in both an on-and off-course environment, as a fantastic vehicle to promote both the values and enjoyment of the sport and encourage participation in a quick, fun format, particularly amongst juniors and beginners. We are excited to be able to drive this project forward internationally and demonstrate the success that can be achieved when national and international organisations work together.”

Ben Cowen, DP World Tour Chief Tournament Business Officer, said, “One of the main aims of the GolfSixes League is to bring golf to new and younger audiences, and what better way to engage young people than to get them involved in playing this exciting new short format.

“Using the platform of the DP World Tour with the innovation, inclusivity, and global reach it already has within the game, the expansion of the GolfSixes League to more European countries further highlights the success of the concept and we hope to continue building on this momentum to encourage more junior golfers to enjoy our game.”

Mike Round, Director of Administration at the Ladies European Tour, added, “The development of the GolfSixes Leagues demonstrates how golf is introducing innovative and engaging formats that are reaching new audiences and attracting new participants. The positive impact of GolfSixes Leagues has already been proven and it is particularly encouraging to see how the initiative is being used to bring more girls and young women into the sport.

“As part of our commitment to the growth of GolfSixes Leagues across Europe, we’ll be encouraging our players to promote and support the initiative in their home countries.”

GolfSixes League is a development initiative which introduces young people to golf in a fun and inclusive environment, along with an added competitive element.

In a short time period, it enables young people to move from beginners on driving ranges or practice facilities to playing golf in teams of six, playing over six holes, using the two-person scramble format on courses adapted to their skill levels.

Evidence from GolfSixes League in Great Britain and Ireland has clearly demonstrated that practicing and playing in teams is a successful way to engage young people and their parents with the sport.

A GolfSixes League digital platform has been developed by Golf Genius to easily enable participating golf clubs to implement and manage their League as it is introduced to other countries this year.

For more information on GolfSixes League please visit cp.golf/golfsixesleague

Created by a panel of experts in junior golf and golf development, countries around the world will be able to apply for and run the programme tailored to their circumstances.

It is a book, a workshop resource, and an educational programme. It is an attempt to challenge the status quo within golf coaching and the game of golf, and to arrest declining membership and participation numbers across the globe.

Parents in Golf is a response to this worrying trend, through focusing on parents and their children – together forming a crucial interest group for golf.

The programme aims to explain and guide the relationship between the coach, the parent and the child through the game of golf. For the parent, the resources will help them better understand their children and the various ways that golf can aid both their personal development.

Parents in Golf wants to help the golf club and Club Professionals to become leaders in making golf a true “game for all” and enable them to actively promote golf to interested parties, rather than wait for customers to arrive at their doorsteps.

The programme will help in shaping an appropriate welcome, with the necessary skills to ensure that we are increasing our numbers of participants and developing the game. The aim is not just to develop the next star, but to develop the next golfer.

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Parents in Golf was created by a team of: Marie Jeffery (Austria), Justin Walsh (Germany), led by David Kearney (Ireland). It is launching very soon, at an online conference with the Heads of Training of all Member Country PGAs.

For more information on Parents in Golf please contact Martin Westphal (mw@cpg.golf) and Wojciech Waśniewski (ww@cpg.golf).