Dumfries and County Golf Club Head Professional, James Erskine has been on a mission to introduce golf to schools and encourage junior boys and girls in the game that Scotland gave to the world. James first started with local Dumfries schools in the region trying to get golf onto the curriculum.
Teachers and pupils have really taken to these golf sessions and this has provided additional PE for the children. However, fitting in a golfing programme within the constraints of education budgets has been a difficult task but James was determined to find a way to overcome this obstacle.
Following a visit to Dumfries Devorgilla Rotary Club and with additional input from Gillian Brydson (Dumfries and Galloway Council Education Department) they have been helping to develop James’ vision to grow the game in our schools. The ultimate aim is for children from the whole region, regardless of background, to be offered the chance to learn the game of golf. Golf can offer youngsters the chance of being able to play a sport which has long lasting benefits.
Devorgilla Rotary along with Barbours & Sons Ltd have donated £1,000 and £500 respectively, to purchase junior sized golf clubs. The clubs are for the youngsters to initially get them interested in the game but as the children grow, the clubs are then available in different sizes so that all the youngsters can have the opportunity to progress.
James Erskine’s own golfing education started in Portpatrick where he was fortunate to have a Par 3 golf course attached to his club. This is an excellent learning environment for golf.
James said, “Most Golf Clubs have junior medal competitions but this opportunity can be limited to only a few children. If they do offer this competition clubs sometimes put the youngsters out onto a 350 yard hole resulting in their confidence very quickly eroding. However, if you have a 50 yard hole where the youngsters can hit a ball onto the green and then putt for an eagle, their whole perception of the sport changes”.
James hopes to start a Golf Academy for juniors. This would be open to all youngsters and would also be available for local schools to further expand the game, hopefully encouraging future champions from the region.
