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Gloucestershire Golf Union

E-Newsletter - January 2021

This month's contents:

A message from GGU
Junior Presentation Evening
Junior Coaching Programme - Strength and Conditioning
SafeGolf Accreditation for Affiliated Golf Clubs and Facilities
The County Card has gone digital!
Gloucestershire County Golf Partnership Bidder Bursary and Grant

A message from GGU

The year hasn't started as many of us would have wished, but we hope that you are all safe and well and are looking forward to getting back to golf soon.

We'll soon be opening up entries to our County Championships so please keep an eye on our social channels for all the information and to get signed up.

We were delighted to host our Junior Presentation Evening earlier this month and celebrate the achievements of our players in 2020. Thank you to both Mark Powell and Dave Hares for co-hosting the event and to everyone that attended, it was a great to see you all and to have the opportunity to look back at what was an exceptional year.

Our C ounty App is now live and you can now download your virtual copy of the County Card to your phone or tablet. If you would like more information on the app or if you've not yet signed up, see below.

Disappointingly it will come as no surprise that the Annual Junior Organisers Conference is cancelled for 2021 (for the first time in about 15 years!). The Gloucestershire County Golf Partnership will however be adding some information for Junior Organisers onto their website to help with their sections and you will be informed when this is available.

SafeGolf accreditation has now become part of the England Golf affiliation process for 2021. All clubs should already be working towards this and Debbie our CSO for Gloucestershire is available for appointments to help clubs achieve this by the deadline of 31st March. Please see below for further information.

As always, we love to see and hear how you're all getting on, simply tag @GlosGolf in your posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Junior Presentation Evening

Earlier this month we held our Junior Presentation Evening in full lockdown style! The event was a great way to get everyone together virtually to celebrate the incredible achievements of our players in 2020.

Both Joe Long, the British Amateur Champion, and Jack Cope, the English Amateur Champion took part in an inspirational Q&A session to get the evening started.

All the individual awards were then presented to the players recognising their achievements. This year, we were also able to recognise the achievements of the Men's squad as part of the presentation evening.

We are extremely proud of all our players for their hard work and dedication in what was a difficult year for us all.

Junior Coaching Programme -
Strength and Conditioning

As part of our 2021 Junior Coaching Programme we are pleased to be adding a new Strength and Conditioning element. This new part of the programme is supported by DrGolfGlobal and every player in our U18, U16 and U14 squads will be signed up to take part.

Dr Zach Gould is the co-founder of DrGolfGlobal and as well as being highly qualified as a strength and conditioning coach, he is also an elite golfer, having represented Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup. Zach is currently a lecturer at Cardiff Met University, and the Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach for Wales Golf.

The new programme will incorporate an on-line strength and conditioning training platform and a series of training videos. Our players will have opportunity to communicate with Zach to get advice, support and to record their progress. Our Performance Coaches will then receive regular reports from Zach on the progress and engagement for each player that will be used to help monitor and support their development.

In addition to supporting our Juniors, our performance coaches will also be working with Zach to gain Coach Certification to increase the overall capability of our coaching team.

We have initially signed up for 2021, but are hoping that we'll be able to establish this as an on-going process/capability for the county.

SafeGolf Accreditation for Affiliated Golf Clubs and Facilities

The SafeGolf accreditation will become part of the England Golf affiliation from April 2021.

All affiliated clubs and facilities have been receiving communications from England Golf with regards to the importance of SafeGolf as we move towards the deadline of 31st March 2021.

All clubs should be working towards this with earnest and taking advantage of this time before we open up and head into a busy season.

With this in mind Debbie Casling (EG CSO Gloucestershire) has set aside each Tuesday and Thursday for SafeGolf Meetings.

Please contact Debbie to book an appointment.

The County Card has gone digital!

The new County App is now live and available to members of both the Gloucestershire Golf Union and the Gloucestershire Ladies' County Golf Association.

When golf returns, members will be able to use the app to play at over 1,000 courses across England and Wales at a reduced green fee rate.

We've updated the County Card page on our website with download instructions and FAQs for members.

Thank you to all the club representatives who attended the two training sessions we ran in December. All clubs have now been sent their club admin registration details and the supporting assets to promote the app and help members transition to the new digital card.

If you were unable to attend one of the sessions and would like a recording of the training or any further support please do get in touch.

Gloucestershire County Golf Partnership Bidder Bursary and Grant

Bidder Bursaries and Grants have been made possible by a 'gift' from a benefactor and are available to all juniors in Gloucestershire under the age of 18 and is administered by the Gloucestershire County Golf Partnership.

The Bidder Bursary is to be used for an annual junior subscription (excluding affiliation fees) for a period of up to 2 years and dependent upon receipt of an annual progress report from the applicant.

Once a junior has exceeded the age of 18 and no longer pays a junior subscription, the bursary would cease. An application form should be submitted together with an accompanying letter from the applicant in support of the application. The junior subscription will be paid directly to the Golf Club.

The Bidder Grant is available for the purchase of equipment to be used by the applicant which will allow the further development of the applicant's game. The maximum amount that applicants can apply for each year is £250. To apply please complete and return an application form.

Click here for more details and to apply.

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