Bedfordshire County Golf Partnership

In 2002, Sport England introduced Clubmark as a way of recognising junior-friendly sports clubs and facilities. Golf's accreditation is GolfMark, and any club affiliated to EGU/EWGA may apply.
BCGP encourages clubs to apply for the GolfMark because it is important for clubs to have all the necessary child protection in place. Development grants are only available to clubs with the GolfMark, and BCGP development initiatives will always use GolfMark accredited clubs where possible. For further information about GolfMark and how to apply, please visit the GolfMark website.

Formerly known as Club & Coach, the County Academy Programme aims to provide coaching to players above beginner level but below County Squad level. Recruitment into the CAP Programme is from schools via the PESSYPs as well as through clubs.
In order to be able to deliver this coaching, the coaches themselves must be coached and a major part of the CAP is the upskilling of volunteers.
Fiona Brown, PGA Regional Development Officer presented an overview of the programme to County executives in early February.
Click  here for her presentation and more information about the programme.
Would you like to get involved? Click here to join the working group.

In November 2000, the Golf Foundation launched a ‘mini' version of golf specifically for use by young children in primary and junior schools. This involved developing youngster-friendly equipment that has proved to be popular with children, affordable for schools, and easy for teachers to use. There are always events around the county. Click here for details.

You can hire the BCGP TriGolf Equipment to run your own event. Click here for details.

Golf Xtreme is a more grown up version of Tri Golf aimed at 11 - 15 year old pupils. Golf Xtreme uses many of the skills of golf - hitting the ball a long way and aiming at specific targets, but uses "short flight balls" in order to be used in any location. It has its own scoring system and team game format designed specifically to maintain the interest of teenagers. Click here for further information.

You can hire the BCGP Golf Xtreme Equipment to run your own event. Click here for details.

The Junior Organisers' Handbook has been designed to challenge some existing practices and help guide golf clubs on how best to encourage junior golf now and in the future. There are many volunteers who take on the role of junior organiser within their club, and the handbook will assist them in their role and help them to provide the guidance that juniors require to fulfil their potential and continue within the game to whatever level they aspire.
All affiliated golf clubs have been sent a complimentary copy of the EGU/EWGA Junior Organisers' Handbook but further copies can be purchased for £14 by clicking here

The PGA recently introduced new coaching qualifications with the aim to ensure that all golf coaches are appropriately trained. The new ASQ Level 1 and ASQ Level 2 Certificates in Coaching Golf form the basis of the PGA's new coach education and training structure. The complete pathway includes four different levels of formally recognised qualifications, with each level enabling the coach to do more. ASQ Level 1 is available to anybody and provides you with the knowledge to assist more qualified coaches. To apply, email the PGA Coaching team here or for more details download the PGA booklet here.

There are a number of grants and sources of funding available to clubs. The England Golf Partnership has produced the book 'Sources of Funding & Resources for Golf' which is a comprehensive starting point for anyone seeking funding. Click here to download.
Details of EGU/EWGA Club Coaching Grants will be available on March. However, grants are oly available to clubs with the GolfMark accreditation.
For further information on all funding click here.

This EGU and EWGA resource is a comprehensive, flexible guide which contains generic ideas and best practice examples which can be adapted to suit the needs of your individual golf club. Golf clubs can choose which areas are relevant and utilise them to best suit their own needs. There are 9 sections including Marketing and Audit and Research. Each Toolkit Section of contains further case studies and examples to support the Toolkit information, and can be downloaded here. Alternatively, clubs can purchase a hard copy folder from the EGU shop for £15 by clicking here.

Golf Roots is the umbrella programme for all Golf Foundation initiatives: Tri Golf, Golf Extreme and the Junior Golf Passport.
It is a single national programme for the grass roots of golf that develops skills for life, both playing and personal, amongst young people. Click here for further information.
Golf Foundation Regional Development Officer, Katie Cooper, recently presented an overview of Golf Roots to the BCGP executive. Click here for here presentation.

The National Skills Challenge is broken into 2 separate Challenges: The Rookie Challenge for juniors under 12 years of age and The Tour Challenge for juniors 12 - 17. Registered clubs run three skills challenge events, input the scores and the top scores are invited to a national final. Click here for more information or to register your club.