Leighton Buzzard’s Plantation Road golf club is to play an active role in a nationwide drive to encourage more young females to take up the sport.
The Golf England initiative – Girls Golf Rocks – gets underway at the Leighton club on Saturday (June 4) with a six-week programme of coaching on all aspects the sport
The “taster session” programme is focused on coaching girls between the ages of five to 18, with Leighton’s award winning PGA professional Maurice Campbell and colleague Will Tebbs at the helm, supported by former Ladies Captains Liz Bagshaw and Patti Marriott.
Says Maurice: “Over relatively recent years, several of our young ladies have become top-class golfers, with Vanessa Jay, Elizabeth Sweetnam and Heather Mutton all gaining places at Universities in the USA to pursue their golfing skills. My own daughter Olivia was junior club Captain last year too, but there’s a distinct shortage of young ladies now taking up the sport – and we want to make them aware of what they are missing.
“Golf is a great sport for people of all ages and abilities, is relatively inexpensive, and requires discipline and determination.
“We would like to develop a ‘pool’ of young ladies to play golf together regularly and help them develop skills which will last a life time.”
The first of the six coaching sessions gets underway at 2.30pm on June 4 with golfing equipment provided to those who don’t have their own.
Further information is available from the Professional Shop on 01525 244815.
[] Alex and Mike J Smith won Leighton’s Dennis Jordan foursomes qualifier with 40 points, a shot clear of Jon Dymock and Neil Laming with Steve Giles and Mark Vincent third with 38 points. Shane Bentley and John Latimer, Russell Cohen and Ben Willis and Jason Brooks and Julian Scarr headed a chasing pack with 36 points.
[] Nicholas King won Leighton’s May Midweek Medal with a nett 66, two shots clear of Steve Giles, with Phil Coumbe pipping Doug Smith for third place on countback after both finished with nett 69s. Other leading scores were: 70 – George ~Elford, Alex Gowen; 71 – Trevor Stimpson, Chris Ive; 72 – Christian Lester, Andrew Mcdonald.
[] Seniors’ scratch team captain David Banwell potted his 14th hole-in-one on Leightou’s 11th just four days after team colleague Mike Smith sank his second on the 10th in an inter-club match at Ellesborough. Both used seven-irons for their inch perfect tee shots.
PICTURE CAPTION STORY:
Just a month after being pipped for the Beck Trophy, Leighton Ladies Captain Lesley Bednarek bagged the Rosewear Bowl, beating Judi Malpass and Jan Harries on countback after the trio all finished with 35 points. Lesley is pictured receiving the trophy from her Vice Captain Oonagh Russell,.
Judith Harper won the Senior Ladies County qualifier, monthly medal and England Golf medal with a nett 73, a shot clear of Jane Tizzard, with Oonagh Russell and Patti Marriott heading a chasing pack.