At a Glance Junior Golf Ireland: Paul Gallagherlooks at the work being done to recruit and coach young golfers and finds an excellent case study in North Connacht
THE ENGRAVER'S workmanship is still fresh on the famous Claret Jug and the question of when the next "Champion Golfer" might emerge from Ireland appears somewhat premature. But what are the prospects of producing another Pádraig Harrington?
Truth is we may never witness another quite like him. And if we don't Ireland will still have plenty to dine out on, for what the Dubliner achieved at Birkdale in recording back-to-back British Open wins ensures the name of this particular 36-year-old will be etched into the history books.
Ireland has long been a proud golfing nation and continues to punch above its weight. For that, credit must go to the many individuals behind the scenes who give so much of their time and effort to ensure the stars of tomorrow get the best opportunities to realise their full potential.
One organisation well supplied with such individuals is Junior Golf Ireland (JGI), formed in 2004, a collaboration between the Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI), the Irish Ladies Golf Union (ILGU) and the Irish PGA. This funded body targets the grassroots of the game in the hope of introducing golf to kids who might not otherwise get to play the game.
JGI is not about identifying the next household name of the fairways; rather the remit is to broaden the playing base with a view to feeding young golfers into clubs, where they in turn benefit from structured coaching and guidance from the governing bodies.
Rosses Point Golf Club in Sligo is a hotbed in Connacht for young talent. Since the mid-1990s the members have put structures in place to provide the very best for their juniors.
The effort has paid huge dividends, for the club not only has a buoyant junior section but also enjoys considerable success at All-Ireland senior interclub level.
"By the end of the 1990s it became obvious we needed to start working hard at generating more players of a high standard and that's when our junior golf programme came into play," explains Gerry McManus, former captain and president at Rosses Point.
"We started with juniors as young as eight and nine and took the decision we would develop their talent all the way though the system. Players such as Seán McTiernan, current Irish selector Kevin Flanagan and former Irish international David Dunne all came through the ranks at Rosses Point.
"It has come full circle now as David worked closely with the Fred Daly team (under-18 team competition) who won the All-Ireland last year and are in the Connacht final this year. David is now involved with our Barton Shield team."
Of the current junior crop, Rosses Point had an unprecedented four boys - Michael Durcan, Stephen Brady, Barry Anderson and Stefan O'Hara - selected for the under-18 interprovincial team.
Durkan and Brady are also on the national Boys panel and the club's Barton Shield team, while Durcan recently won the Connacht Boys championship for the second successive year.
Rosses Point also had Megan O'Hara, Holly Robinson, Shauna Brady and Amber Gleason selected for the girls' under-15 interprovincial team.
Rosses Point is a good illustration of the benefits of dedicating time and energy to juniors.
"I would say the most demanding job in any golf club has to be that of junior convenor," adds McManus.
"Terry Brady (father of Stephen) is our current junior convenor and has been in the role for three years. Prior to that John Durcan (Michael's father) held the post and both have been heavily involved for the last eight years.
"When Terry steps aside another parent will get involved. These guys, who give up a tremendous amount of their time, also rely on support from other parents and members - otherwise the whole thing doesn't work."
Fortunately, the ethos of the club is excellent in the matter of junior members.
"Another very important factor for us is the healthy competition we have with our neighbours Strandhill Golf Club, because they too have a great junior section," notes McManus.
"The current captain, Declan Basquille, a son of the former GUI president Tommy, works closely with the junior convenor to develop the junior section at Strandhill."
So what is the secret behind the success of a club like Rosses Point?
For a start they enjoy a good working relationship with their club professional, Jim Robinson, who helped put the coaching structures in place.
From there they split the juniors into different age groups, starting with the basics at a young age then moving them through the ranks. In turn the top junior players advance to the GUI Connacht coaching schemes and, hopefully, on to elite national level.
"From April onwards we run junior competitions every Saturday and give each category experience of matchplay and strokeplay situations. When the kids break for their summer holidays we increase it to two competitions a week, Wednesday and Saturday, with coaching by Jim in the evenings," says McManus, noting there are over 120 junior members at the club.
"Tom Forde, for example, looks after the under-12s and his role will be solely with that age category. It's important to get kids competing with their peers and not rushing them too quickly. They also need to enjoy what they're doing."
This year Rosses Point won the Connacht inter-club under-15 event by a staggering 18 shots. The highest handicap was eight in a team comprising Rory O'Connor, Alex Gleason, Thomas Finnegan, Declan Reidy and Seán Flanagan.
They also won this competition in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and were runners-up to Strandhill in 2007.
In a wider context it's important to look beyond any one club.
It's at the stage before kids become involved with a golf club that the work of Junior Golf Ireland actually begins.
"JGI was formed in 2004 and was largely in response to the Junior Charter of 2000 when both the GUI and ILGU realised the need to look more into the future," explains Anne-Marie Hughes, director of golf at Junior Golf Ireland.
"Many other sports in Ireland were growing their junior sections and both governing bodies needed to do likewise to make sure Irish golf remained in a healthy state in years to come."
JGI's budget is reviewed annually - with the exception of a €150,000 grant from the European Tour over three years - a legacy of the 2006 Ryder Cup.
The Irish Sports Council puts up some €120,000 per year. The GUI contributes €100,000, as does the RA. The Women in Sport initiative invests €40,000 with a view to attracting more women to the game.
The PGA's support is very much benefit in kind; they provide JGI with office space at PGA National at Palmertown House; they also provide coaching.
The Darren Clarke Foundation sponsors scholarships for kids.
"Really our objective is to introduce kids to golf who otherwise wouldn't have had the chance to play the game and we've done that through our primary-school programme," adds Hughes.
"With our four development officers - one in each province - we target schools and work closely with them over an eight-week period. Initially teachers are given the basic tools to deliver a programme to the kids.
"It would be a stretch to call this a coaching programme - it's more a fun introduction to golf. The hope is that through our coaching manuals and support we can provide teachers with the necessary training to make golf sustainable at school, by including it as part of either the PE curriculum or an after-school programme."
From there JGI will take a group of school kids to a local golf course, where they are asked to enrol in the coaching programme. That's where the help of the PGA comes in as trained professionals and level-one coaches co-ordinate the sessions.
"We've had huge growth in the last 12 months and gone from having 60 coaching centres to almost 200 centres around the country now," explains Hughes.
"It's not our goal to find the next Pádraig Harrington; that's more the role of the GUI and ILGU. We are very much at the grassroots trying to introduce kids to golf.
"Creating a wider start base naturally provides a better opportunity to nurture and develop young talent. By starting on our Junior Golf Coaching programme the aim is to feed young golfers into their local clubs, who in turn develop juniors further when they get an official handicap, play in competitions and receive coaching on an ongoing basis."
Hughes notes about 10,000 kids have signed up to the JGI programme since 2005.
It is a busy period for JGI; they are also co-ordinating a nationwide survey - titled "National Review Junior Golf: A National Perspective" - through the international Niamh Kitching.
Kitching has completed the first phase, a general survey of all 417 affiliated clubs in Ireland.
"In phase two Niamh will select a sample of 20 clubs before refining that down to, say, six and spend time with them to examine how each junior section works and how it might be improved," adds Hughes. "We've tried to be representative by choosing a city club compared with a rural club or a club in the North versus a club in the South to provide us with the best geographical spread."
Research has identified a number of positives and several problem areas. Many clubs in the West of Ireland, like Westport and Ballinasloe, have been very proactive. A number of primary-school kids attended JGI coaching at each club and both clubs have enrolled over 40 new juniors recently.
A similar success story unfolded when an Arklow member struggled to find anyone of similar age for her daughter to play golf with. She approached the local primary school, and as a result the Co Wicklow town welcomes over 40 junior girls who are playing golf there this summer.
"That's an ongoing project and we'll keep track to see how that develops," says Hughes, adding that it's more difficult to increase junior numbers in the east of the country, and Dublin in particular.
As golf clubs are run as businesses these days, money can become a priority when demand for membership is greater.
Hughes also says it is more difficult to get girls than boys involved in golf at a young age - the ratio of boys to girls playing junior golf is roughly four to one - but the recent Ladies Irish Open at Portmarnock Links and the build-up to the 2011 Solheim Cup in Ireland provide a great platform.
"We had over 200 girls visit the JGI tent (at Portmarnock) and they were able to get coaching from the top female pros before going out to watch them in action," says Hughes.
"To see the girls' faces when they are leaving is one of the reasons you do the job."
Only time will tell if any of these youngsters get to emulate Harrington - but it's reassuring to know every effort is being made to support junior golf in Ireland.
Junior Team
2008: Girls team of Amy Gaynor (16), Holly Robinson (14) (Jim's daughter) and Amber Gleason (12) won the Under-19 Allgrip Girls Inter Club Challenge.
2008: Four boys selected for under-18 interprovincial team (Michael Durcan, Stephen Brady, Barry Anderson, Stefan O'Hara).
2008: Four girls selected for under-15 interprovincial team (Megan O'Hara, Holly Robinson, Shauna Brady, Amber Gleason).
2007: All Ireland Fred Daly champions (into 2008 Connacht final)
2007: Home Nations champions
Individual
Michael Durcan: Selected on Ireland Boys team, Connacht Boys Champion 2007 and 2008.
Barry Anderson: Selected on Ireland Boys team.
Sean Flanagan: Under-13 Munster and Leinster Boys Champion.
Alex Gleason: Connacht Boys Under-15 runner-up. Under-14 Munster Boys Champion.
Stephen Brady: Selected on Connacht senior Interprovincial team.
David Brady: Fourth (individual)
at US Kids Golf European Championship, Gullane, Scotland.
Represented Europe against the Rest of the World in Van Horn Cup. Selected to play World US Kids Golf Championship at Pinehurst, North Carolina
Notable Senior All-Irelands
Barton Shield: 1995, 1996, 1997, 2006
Senior Cup: 1996, 1997, 2007
Formed: 2004
Organisations involved: Collaboration between the GUI, ILGU and Irish PGA
Funding: Irish Sports Council, GUI, RA, European Tour, Women in Sport
Director of development:
Anne Marie Hughes
Provincial officers
Connacht: Justin O'Byrne
Leinster: Rory Leonard
Munster: Jennifer Hickey
Ulster: Gary Lavery
Research: Niamh Kitching Location: PGA National headquarters, Palmerstown House, Naas, Co Kildare (045 881286)
