FootJoy Gives Young Golfers the Perfect Footing

FootJoy has long been committed to playing a pivotal role in the development of the game of golf at all levels and is delighted to announce its continued support of The National Skills Challenge.

One of a host of innovative England Golf initiatives designed to promote the growth of junior golf in an exciting and engaging manner, the 2013 iteration of the event sees FootJoy extend its sponsorship into a fourth successive year.

FootJoy will provide a number of prizes and gifts throughout the qualifiers and finals as youngsters develop their core fundamentals in a fun yet competitive arena, including putting, chipping, pitching, bunker play and the long game. All of them will undoubtedly be looking to follow in the footsteps of FJ ambassadors, Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Adam Scott and Matteo Manassero and represent their country and make the transition into the professional game in the future.

So far over 1,400 junior golfers from 102 clubs across the country have already taken part in the first round of events, which were held on Sunday 5th May. The second series of challenges can be played until Sunday 7th July and scores are already well underway with online recording available at England Golf’s website. For players lucky to get through the second round, it’s on to one of the four regional finals, to be held in August. Qualifiers from those will then go forward to the national final at the National Golf Centre at Woodhall Spa in September. This year’s challenge, where each of the participating clubs receive a variety of free resources to support the initiative, including manuals, certificates and scorecards, has seen a record number of registered entries from over 830 clubs and 7,075 junior golfers.

Russell Lawes, European Marketing Manager – FootJoy, commented, “The future of the game of golf lies with the next generation of golfers and we are continuously striving to help juniors through their golf development, especially with intuitive events such as The National Skills Challenge. It’s a fantastic programme which encourages fun throughout and inspires engagement in all aspects of the key fundamentals of the game. We look forward to watching everyone’s progress this year and continuing the relationship for the foreseeable future.”

England Golf has a wide-ranging package of support for junior golf. This includes the GolfMark award which recognises junior and beginner-friendly clubs, the Junior Organisers’ Handbook, which is a complete guide to running a junior section; and the Junior Development Grant, which can be used to offer structured coaching sessions with PGA professionals and for activities to attract boys and girls and encourage them to progress and stay in the sport.

“The National Skills Challenge supports golf clubs in offering a structured junior coaching programme, with a variety of free resources available. Naturally everyone at England Golf is delighted that FootJoy have continued their support of this fantastic project and provide some fantastic prizes for those juniors involved in the regional and national finals,” Richard Flint, England Golf Development Manager.

To find out more about The National Skills Challenge please visit www.getintogolf.org/skills

Clubs may register at any time of year and have the option to take part in the events or simply use the resources to support their junior coaching programmes.