Lydd Golf Club in Kent is to hand out 100 free junior memberships in a bid to encourage local children to take up sport and keep fit and healthy.
The annual junior memberships, available to children up to the age of 16, are worth £75 each.
The club’s head professional, John Denham, says: “We are giving away these junior memberships to play golf at Lydd for two reasons. First we are trying to attract more youngsters to take up the sport. To some people golf may seem like an old man’s game but that is very wide of the mark.
“If kids are given the chance to play golf they will usually enjoy it and will even discover that it’s a ‘cool’ sport.
“Our other motive is to help youngsters to stay fit and active. A lot has been written about childhood obesity and if we can do our bit to get kids to put down their computer games and get out in the fresh air to hit a ball around a golf course then we’re happy with that.
“Golf is not only great exercise but it develops your concentration and self-discipline, helps you to make new friends and improves your life and social skills – after all if you are walking around a golf course with a group of people for a couple of hours you are bound to strike up some good relationships,” says John.
So what can youngsters taking advantage of the free memberships expect at Lydd? John is planning to lay on clinics to teach basic skills to new members, who can make use of the club’s floodlit driving range and par 3 pitch and putt course, building up to playing on the 18-hole championship course.
John says he can also help youngsters out with borrowed clubs, while pointing out that Lydd’s well-stocked shop has a selection of great value-for-money junior club sets and other equipment.
The 100 free junior memberships are available on a first-come, first-served basis and anyone interested should contact John Denham on 01797 320808 (select option 2) or email john@lyddgolfclub.co.uk.
John already runs a successful junior clinic on Saturday mornings from 10am to 11am. He invites all new potential junior members to come along to see what he’s already doing. Children are welcome to join in, which will only cost £5 and includes instruction, unlimited balls and equipment if required.
Lydd Golf Club, which is located alongside London Ashford Airport, is home to the PGA in Kent Closed Championship, an event tailored for Kent’s elite amateurs and PGA professionals and organised by The PGA in Kent and Kent Golf Union (KGU).
Lydd is an 18-hole 6,629-yard championship standard course, with water hazards on 11 holes, making it a classic ‘risk and reward’ course. A tactical blend of bunkering, strategically-placed lakes, wispy rough and wind makes this course a challenge. Alongside the championship course, Lydd offers an 18-bay covered and floodlit driving range, a 6-hole par 3 course, two chipping greens and a putting green.
For more details of Lydd Golf Club visit www.lyddgolfclub.co.uk