John Watt, Finance Director of the Muir Group which owns Deer Park, and Stephen Gallacher, the 2004 Dunhill Links Championship winner from Bathgate, were joined by representatives from the local cluster primary schools today (Thursday 22nd March) at Deer Park to perform an official handover.

clubgolf is a key component of Scotland’s national strategy for junior golf, developed by the partnership of the Scottish Golf Union, the Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association, the Professional Golfers’ Association, the Golf Foundation and sportscotland. Funded by the Scottish Executive, clubgolf will roll out nationwide in 2009, by which time every nine-year-old in Scotland will have an opportunity to experience the introductory game, firstclubgolf.

firstclubgolf is the strategy’s introductory game. Taught in schools by teaching staff over a six-week period, it uses multi-coloured clubs, rubberised balls, velcro targets and carefully planned progressive lesson cards to provide a safe and exciting introduction to the game for nine year olds.

With the support of Deer Park, West Lothian Council has become the first local authority in Scotland to achieve full roll out of firstclubgolf. Through the support and commitment of West Lothian’s Active Schools Team, every nine-year-old in West Lothian will have an opportunity to experience an introduction to golf in school by 2009.

Along with another 10 golf clubs and facilities across West Lothian, who are already delivering clubgolf coaching programmes after school, Deer Park will also ensure that any child who wishes to take their golfing interests further will be able to do so by accessing clubgolf’s Stage 1 coaching programmes delivered by qualified PGA Level 1 Volunteer coaches.

“Stage 1 is a structured coaching programme covering the fundamentals of golf and introducing rules and etiquette. After Stage 1 there are a further four stages on the Long Term Player Pathway, allowing children to develop their skills to the level they aspire to.”

Commenting on the handover of the first bags of equipment to be used in local schools, Mr John Watt, Finance Director, the Muir Group, owners of Deer Park Golf & Country Club, said:

“We are absolutely delighted to be involved in this worthy clubgolf initiative which is an excellent idea to get many more youngsters playing and enjoying the great game of golf. I am sure that the equipment handed over today to the 16 local Primary Schools will be very well used.

“There are many children out there who could prove to be hugely talented and are the future of the sport but they have to have the opportunities to play and develop. By starting off golfing skills in school and then developing these at local centres and clubs such as Deer Park youngsters can progress at the correct pace and make use of expert tuition and facilities. Deer Park is known for being highly playable by golfers at all levels and I would like to think that many of the young people benefiting from firstclubgolf will play here with us in the future,” he added.

Stephen Gallacher said: “It’s brilliant to see Deer Park supporting the clubgolf initiative and giving more children in West Lothian the chance to play golf by providing this new equipment. The firstclubgolf clubs, balls and targets make learning golf a lot of fun for youngsters and it’s great to see how quickly they pick up the game using them.

“There’s no doubt the earlier you get involved the better. I started getting coaching when I was 14 so these children, at nine or 10, are already four years ahead of where I was.”

Deer Park is on course to become a recognised clubgolf centre with staff and volunteers who have already been trained by the PGA to teach children the basics – how to swing a club, how to hit the ball and so on – but who will now be taken to a much higher level with a dedicated programme of skills, learning, practice and play for nine to fifteen year old boys and girls.

“We are most definitely ready for the challenges which this fantastic initiative brings and look forward to perhaps hosting some clubgolf competitions in the future,” said John Watt.

West Lothian Council has been instrumental in ensuring that the region is one of the very first in Scotland to benefit from the clubgolf programme.

Deer Park Golf and Country Club, situated at Golf Course Road, Livingston, is West Lothian’s premier golf and leisure venue with one of Scotland’s most challenging Golf Courses at its heart, a 6688 yard par 72 course, now home to The Kronenbourg Deer Park Masters.