A new partnership between the Confederation of Professional Golf and love.golf – the pioneering group coaching programme for women supported by Syngenta – is set to develop coach education and make a positive impact to female golf participation.
Now recognised as a Confederation of Professional Golf Golf Development Partner, love.golf will be one of the Association’s preferred female coaching initiatives to promote to its network of PGAs and PGA Professionals in Europe and around the world.
With the unprecedented retention rates of love.golf (which average 80% of women progressing to further projects), combined with access to shared learning through its community of coaches, the move aims to make a long-term impact to the growth of female participation.
Ian Randell [pictured below, left], Chief Executive of the Confederation of Professional Golf, said: “This year has seen a drive to put female golf into the spotlight, which we wholeheartedly support.
“Through our new development partnership with love.golf, we now have a vehicle for PGA Professionals throughout Europe to access shared learning, research and grow female participation on the ground in a meaningful and sustainable way.”
Alastair Spink [pictured below, centre], Founder and Head Coach of love.golf, commented: “We have made significant progress in our mission to increase female participation across the UK, where we continue to work with new and existing coaches.
“As love.golf has continued to grow, it has generated significant international interest. Becoming a Confederation of Professional Golf Golf Development Partner means we can embrace that opportunity and extend the impact of the love.golf initiative through collaborative projects across Europe.”
The innovative love.golf programme has gained wide recognition for successfully challenging traditional perceptions and rewriting the standard model of women’s coaching. With methods based upon industry-leading research by Syngenta and academic study by Alastair Spink – pictured above alongside Head EAME Lawn & Garden Controls for Syngenta, Simon Elsworth – the programme is characterised by its alternative approach that gets women out on the golf course at an early stage.
The relationship between love.golf and the Confederation of Professional Golf began early this year with the introduction of TV and radio presenter, Jenni Falconer, to the game. The goal – to document the feelings and emotions that women who are completely new to golf may be experiencing, and to share that through a variety of social and video content, as part of the #FalconerForeGolf campaign.
As development partners the two organisations intend to build on the success of that activity, using it as a blueprint for future projects in different territories and ultimately impacting change on a wider scale across the continent.
