CGI Handbook- Getting Started

CGI Handbook- Getting Started

As children are coming to the game earlier with a long career ahead of them, it is now more than ever extremely important that they enjoy their earliest experiences of golf and that adults, parents and club officials, provide a safe and fun environment in which young golfers can thrive.

The majority of clubs appoint a ‘junior convenor, sometimes called ‘junior organiser’, junior coordinator, etc. For the purpose of this document the person shall be referred to as ‘junior convenor’.

When working with juniors the overall aim should be “To promote a safe, positive and nurturing environment where children can advance their physical and social skills. It is important to identify and eliminate practices that impact negatively on the enjoyable participation in children’s and junior golf”, as outline in the 2012 Charter for Junior Golf, page 4 and the Code of Ethics for Golf for Young People, www.cgigolf.org/safeguarding. This handbook will help the junior convenor to take steps to achieve this aim.

The document is a guide to convenors, committees and adult helpers in the setting up and running of a junior section. It covers policies that a convenor needs to safely manage the junior section as well as some practices that can be put into place within the club to make golf safe and fun for young people.

Not all advice will be suitable for every club so the convenor will need to decide the elements that best fit the structure of their club. To assist in implementing the most suitable practices for your club, the convenor may work with their Regional Development Officer from the Confederation of Golf in Ireland http://www.cgigolf.org/who-we-are/our-people/

Role of Club

“It must be accepted that children are entitled to the opportunity to enjoy their golfing experience. Apart from enhancing their social development through meeting and mixing with people, a golfing environment may help them lead full, active and healthy lives” Charter page 12.

Access to golf at an early age is advisable so that juniors are given the time to develop their skills at level at which they feel comfortable.

Age of Entry

There is no specific age as to when to start playing golf but it is important that the child has good physical fundamentals, such as body coordination, hand-eye coordination and basic skills such as running, jumping, balance, etc

Cadet’ sections (age 8-10 years) allow children time to learn the fundamentals of the game in a skill-based environment. At this stage juniors should be supervised, have plenty of access to the practice putting green and fairway and learn golf skills through fun games and activities.

‘Developmental needs and safety should be considered when granting junior membership. While acknowledging the desirability of young learners, the most suitable age for membership would appear to be 10 years of age.

At whatever age juniors can become a member of your club the following should be considered. In research, Canadian PGA Henry Brunton stated, “parents should guard against early specialisation in golf and over exposure to organized competition. This can lead to burn–out and overuse injury issues in later stages[1]”. You are looking to build a club for the future. Provision should be made for admitting juniors with no links to the club.

Entrance Guidelines

Irrespective of age, new entrants to junior membership should be inducted into the club in the presence of their parents and/or sponsoring members and told what they can expect of the club as well as what is expected of them, in respect of behaviour, coaching, playing and commitment

The object of the induction should be to let juniors become familiar with the club and juniors should be given a copy of and/or told how to access the following:

•  Junior Policy of the Club, including junior rules

•  Rules and Etiquette of Golf

•  Coaching details, including development plans for juniors

•  Junior Handicapping & Competition Rules

•  Junior Fixture List

•  Name and telephone number of the Junior Organiser

•  Safeguarding Guidelines Information in relation to these topics are covered later in this document

Junior Fees

Consideration should be given to a provisional membership at low-cost to encourage juniors to experience ‘club membership’ before committing to paying annual fees, buying clubs and getting additional equipment. A temporary membership where access to playing facilities is limited to specific coaching and playing times at a nominal fee over the summer months is ideal. A ‘green-fee’ scheme that allows juniors a specific number of games accompanied by existing juniors members or adults is another option.

Few clubs charge juniors a joining fee. In general, the annual subscription for juniors is £132 & 149euro, (based on 2008 research).

In transferring to adult membership, consideration should be given to students in full-time education and apprenticeships, introducing a scale of fees to be paid and/or phased payments.

Best Practice

Having recruited your members and decided on membership fees and criteria you can now set up guidelines for running the junior section. You can use the following pages to implement ‘best practices’ for juniors in your club. When deciding on the best course of action for your club it is best to decide on what your club needs now and in the future – don’t decide on a course of action for juniors because another club does it. Consult with juniors and the mentors, consult with the junior committee and management committee and plan the best course of action to produce future members of the club – your main aim is to have a healthy, sustainable club in 10 years time.

Role of Junior Convenor & Junior Committee

The junior convenor should be someone who is interested in the development of the junior section and not just elite players within the section. Their aim should be to have a healthy junior section with many members interested in becoming future adult members of the club. The junior convenor should ideally be a volunteer from within the men’s or ladies section of the club, who is willing to take on the role for 2- 3 seasons. Depending on the size of your club it should be their sole priority and it will be hard for them to hold additional roles on other committees.

As well as needing a lot of time to supervise sessions and competitions during the junior season, the convenor will also need time for administration work from early in the year, recruiting appropriate helpers, coaching registrations, competition entries, etc.

The convenor should be able to communicate appropriately with juniors and have a good knowledge of golf and the structures within golf clubs and the Unions.=

The junior committee should be made up of a number of people who have an interest in developing the junior section and of volunteers from within the club and parents of juniors. The size of your committee will be relevant to the size of the club but consider some of the following roles when forming the committee:

·  a representative from the men’s committee/ women’s committee/the management committee

·  a person with responsibility for coaching

·  a person with responsibility for teams

·  a person with responsibility for liaison with the juniors through junior captains

The committee should meet 1 per month in season (March – September) and also hold pre and post season meetings to plan and review.

·  Members of the committee should sign the leaders code of conduct and complete appropriate vetting checks

·  Members of the committee should be willing to complete any necessary training such as child protection or junior leaders workshop

See additional information of junior convenor and committee on page 14-15 of the 2012 Charter for Junior Golf.

Below is a sample task list for the Convenor for the season. It is not intended that the convenor would carry out all of these tasks alone, but rather would ensure that these tasks get done throughout the season with assistance from the junior committee and additional helpers.

As well as the junior committee you may have other helpers / volunteers to assist with the running of the junior section. It is recommended to do up a task-list of all jobs to be done for the season and ask volunteers with appropriate skills, knowledge or experience to help out – there may be adults to keen to help but they don’t want to take on a ‘big-job’, but if they understand a specific role or task they might be more than willing to assist.

Junior Convenor Task List

Getting started

·  Get a current list of all junior members at start of year

·  Ensure you have all contact details, set up web text or some appropriate form of contact with juniors

·  Ensure all junors are registered on Central Database of Handicaps, (even if they don’t hold an official CONGU handicap). If you are unsure about this contact your Handicap Secretary or GUI / ILGU.

·  Liaise with the Captain/Lady Captain and/or Hon Sec in relation to a calendar of junior events for the season ahead

·  Familiarise yourself with Safeguarding guidelines, especially club child protection policy see page 26

Recruiting new members

·  Link with the CGI Golf and Business Development Officer for your region in relation to recruiting new members from local schools where necessary and/or hosting a taster day for juniors in your club. You can receive the CGI coaching bag, in which you will find marker cones, flagsticks, hoop targets, soft golf balls and the CGI leader’s manual

·  Liaise with CGI in relation to training of leaders which will assist you in running fun golf sessions. Some practical games and tips are available on the CGI wesbsite.

·  Liaise with CGI in relation to ‘open days’ to recruit new members if necessary

Recruitment

If you wish to recruit more junior members you could consider:

·  Taster sessions for local schools/club members to bring along their children, grandchildren, nieces/nephews etc

·  Open days for local youth groups and other sports clubs & leisure centres

·  Bring a friend day

·  Schools coaching days

·  Adult & Child sessions or family scrambles Firstly you will need to consider why, who and when you want to recruit?

Firstly you will need to consider why, who and when you want to recruit?

Checklist

When / Is your membership intake limited to certain months of the year – are beginners interested in taking up golf in the winter / Easter holidays can be a good time to target beginners – longer evenings, better weather
Who / In what age category do we need new members
Do we need boys, girls or both
Who will help out on the day?
What / What activities will be done, fun games, coaching etc.
What will be the follow-up – introductory golf sessions for the next 4 Saturdays at the golf club?
What will the club offer, reduced membership, vouchers for lessons, reduced green fees, etc.
What charge, if any, will there be for lessons for members?
Where / In the club or at the local school / youth club, etc.
Are there flyers, posters, information to hand out to participants / See appendix 1 & 5
Anything else? / Providing refreshments?
Membership? Will the club offer full junior membership, 3-month summer membership, pay & play membership

Get into Golf Junior programmes – further information is available from your RDO, http://www.cgigolf.org/who-we-are/our-people/ in relation to organising an open day or linking with the local schools.

Preparing for sessions & competitions

·  Recruit a panel of volunteers to help out with junior sessions. Consider what training they will need and carry out appropriate recruitment checks

·  Volunteers can do various jobs. Recruit members who will offer to do 2 hours once a month, for example they can supervise at coaching or act as a mentor to those who are beginning to play senior competitions. Others may be there on a regular basis – do up a rota for supervision at coaching sessions and competitions.

·  Consider appointing junior captains – this will depend on existing structure within the club but it can give a sense of responsibility to the juniors and induct them into the structure of the adult section

·  Review the dress code – is it child friendly?

·  Liaise with the Competition Secretaries once a month in relation to numbers of juniors who have CONGU handicaps and may be playing in senior competitions

·  Prepare report for mens/ladies committee, monthly during season and occasionally during off season

·  Liaise with CGI in relation to coaching clinics, e.g. visits to Irish Open or Ladies Irish Open

·  Liaise with resident PGA Professional or work with CGI to secure services of PGA pro to implement an appropriate structured coaching programme

·  Make out a list of events for the juniors, to include coaching and competitions and open events outside of the club. Give a copy to each member as well as posting it on the notice board(s)

·  Hold an induction night for new players and/or hold a ‘start of season night’ so that juniors can socialise with each other and you can give any appropriate information to parents or guardians