Hula hoops and lengths of chain may not be the first things you think of when it comes to golf , but these items featured in a recent donation of useful equipment to help foster participation in the sport amongst young people to Stratford Golf Club.
The donation, described by Stratford Golf Club junior convenor Matthew McDonald as being "very generous and already in use," was made by Taranaki Golf with the aim of encouraging and supporting the growth of the sport with younger players.
"Golf is a game that I don't have to give up as I get older, it's a sport that you can play for life." Golf development manager at Taranaki Golf, Murray Martin, says while golf might traditionally be perceived as an older person's game, that isn't the case. "Many of our top players in the country are 16 or 17, they have got to the level they are at because they have been able to spend that time on the course during their school holidays and after school."
The younger you start, the further you can go in the sport.
Taranaki Golf has been working with schools across the region over the past few years, running golf clinics for which they have charged a nominal amount of $2 per child participating. "The problem is, for a big school, that works out to be a lot of money, and some of them just can't afford it. The money didn't cover our costs either, so we needed to consider a different approach." That led to Taranaki Golf successfully applying to Sport Taranaki for kiwisport funding to help with the costs, says Murray. "So now we are able to encourage youngsters to play by providing golf clubs with the equipment they need to then work with schools in their area."
