Inclusive community golf projects for young people can join in with this season’s Golf for Good feeling: they can apply for ‘HSBC Golf Roots PLUS’ funding of up to £1,500 from the Golf Foundation.
It has been a tough year for everyone during the Covid-19 crisis. The European Tour is a friend to our Golf Foundation charity and started the #GolfForGood project this summer, creating multiple regional charitable opportunities – with former Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjorn even raising thousands of pounds for the Golf Foundation and UNICEF UK on his historic #Wentworth2Wales walk.
The Golf Foundation joined in with this Golf for Good message throughout ‘Lockdown’ and in recent times, keeping young people and families active and happy through golf, wherever it can be enjoyed. Today it announces HSBC Golf Roots PLUS funding is available for a wide range of community-based educational/social/health projects which wish to introduce the life skills benefits of golf to young people. These projects can now apply for this funding from today until Friday January 8, 2021.
If your organisation is interested in applying, click here.
HSBC Golf Roots PLUS projects (funded by HSBC and The Gerald Micklem Charitable Trust) are a key initiative within the Golf Foundation’s drive to create life changing opportunities for young people using the power of golf.
In recent times, a range of these have supported young people with a disability and/or special educational needs (SEND), or behavioural issues.
Other projects have worked to build the confidence of young people and widen their social opportunities through golf, while offering further local community benefits. These have included charity/local authority led groups in deprived economic areas offering structured and sustainable golf learning for young people who are often very new to the game.
All the projects have been #GolfForGood and this hashtag will be seen on new PLUS projects. A PLUS project should, among other criteria, reflect the core values of the Golf Foundation:
• be inclusive and innovative;
• make the introduction of young people to golf fun;
• demonstrate how it will enhance Skills for Life learning and inspire its young people.
Ideally, each HSBC Golf Roots PLUS project should link to a local HSBC Golf Roots golf facility (last year we worked with 437 such facilities), involve a PGA Coach, and train young people as volunteers.
During the last year or so, 15 organisations have benefited from HSBC Golf Roots PLUS funding. Current projects include the Coalfields Regeneration Trust in Wales, Special Olympics Sandwell, the Bath Rugby Community Foundation and Inspired Sports Solutions in Birmingham.
The Bath Rugby Community Foundation project has presented SEND young people with a new sport and skill, while at the same time giving respite for parents and carers once a week. The ‘SEND Golf Club’ has been created with support from nearby Saltford Golf Club, aimed at young people aged 7-25. Saltford PGA Pro Chris Coles, Golf Foundation RDO Tom Sparks, and Dan Hine and the Bath Rugby Foundation coaches have all worked together to introduce the young players to the practice facilities and Academy Course at Saltford, with many of the young players graduating to become members of the driving range. The use of free golf equipment, a warm welcome and familiar faces, regular sessions, and opportunities to try the sport in a community setting, have all clearly provided a great support network for these new young golfers.
An important aspect of HSBC Golf Roots PLUS funding is to widen the access of golf for young people who have never had the chance to play. We awarded PLUS funding to Inspired Sports Solutions so that pupils from four schools in a deprived area of Birmingham could enjoy a new lunchtime games activity using our Tri-Golf and StreetGolf formats. It was such a success that an after-school club was set up in two of the schools.
The project had a strong focus on developing students’ leadership skills. Sixteen pupils were trained and mentored as golf leaders and local PGA Professional Greg Lynch from Warley Woods Golf Club, which supported the project, has invited the young leaders to attend his golf academy.
If your organisation is interested in running an HSBC Golf Roots Plus Project in England, please discuss your proposal with your Regional Development Officer before applying. If you are based in Wales, you will need to contact the team at Wales Golf, you can find their details here. If you are based in Scotland, please contact Gavin Forrester at Scottish Golf [email protected] for more details.
To apply for a HSBC Golf Roots PLUS discretionary grant, please fill out and complete the attached form here.
Changing Lives in Harlow is a project that has been supporting young people at risk of expulsion, knife crime and gang culture. The team worked with Essex Police, including a recent Unleash your Drive workshop to help young people deal with pressure, improve self-control and other benefits.
Rivermead School in Kent received a PLUS grant to support an inclusive golf project for young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
Positive Futures in Caerphilly, where 55 young people enjoyed community golf sessions in one of the most deprived areas in Wales;
Northamptonshire Sport & Brampton Heath GC supported young people who attended six mainstream schools that have SEN units, with follow-on golf coaching at Brampton Heath GC;
Hertfordshire Golf Development received funding for its ‘Autism in Golf’ project that offered golf activity to around 90 young autistic people, helping youngsters to be more physically active;
North Lanarkshire Golf Development Group created a pathway for children with social and behavioural problems. Each school received a 10-week training programme where they received coaching from PGA professionals.
* To learn more about the overall impact of the Golf Foundation click here.
