An outreach programme with a local primary school is proving a huge success within the Cheshire community.
Disco lights bounce around the simulator room at Marton Meadows. Music plays, sweets and treats are handed out, and six children celebrate the end of their first taste of golf.
It’s as far away from the stereotypical golf club scene as you can get – and that’s the point.
At this forward-thinking rural Cheshire club, it has become a familiar sight thanks to an innovative partnership with Marton and District CE Aided Primary School.
It’s a highly successful outreach programme which introduces golf to children who may never have stepped out onto a course.
“We’ve partnered with the local school and they release children to us, with a teacher,” said Tony Barker, an England Golf-accredited community golf instructor who is leading the initiative.
“We have six children at a time and they come over for an hour over a six-week period. We look at putting, chipping, we have them in the training facility and the simulator where we look at playing courses.
“On the last group, we have a leaving party for them. The simulator is set up almost like a school disco – with lights, music, sweets and treats.
“And, after the school holidays, we’ll get another six students. It’s really about trying to get the local community involved in the golf club and getting everyone talking about us.”
From left, Tony Barker, Lisa Harrop and Chad Parker
Added assistant manager Lisa Harrop: “There is no monetary exchange. This is just offering our time out to children that maybe otherwise wouldn’t get a chance to play golf or participate in this kind of sporting activity.
“It’s not defined by age – other than it’s obviously a primary school – and it’s a mix of abilities and of girls and boys. These aren’t people that have ever played golf before and it’s just giving them a chance to pick up a golf club and have fun as part of the school curriculum.”
In many ways, the scheme is symptomatic of everything Marton Meadows wants to be. It’s a club that is actively breaking down many of the barriers that can discourage newcomers to the game.
It’s part of a broader development, which has seen a 10-bay Top Tracer practice facility opened while renovations are also under way on the clubhouse and the 9-hole course.
“We’re probably not your archetypal golf club,” said Harrop. “We are very much about golf for all. That’s our ethos.
“It’s very important to us that golf is inclusive, not exclusive. We’ve been very competitive with our pricing. We adhere to all the rules and regulations but we’ve been a little more relaxed about some of the other less important rules that cause stigma.
“We’re not interested in the colour of your socks, or the collar on your shirt. We’re more interested in you coming along and having a good time. That seems to be working very well for us.”
For general manager Chad Parker, who has recently undertaken the GCMA’s Advanced Management Programme, the school sessions are part of a long-term investment in the club’s future.
“It is running at a cost to the club but we see it as an investment for the future,” he said. “Our owner has invested many millions into the club. We have a new clubhouse being built and we’re also having the course extended.
“That’s going to be completed in May or June next year. We’ve currently got eight par 3s and one par 4 and it’s going to be six par 4s and three par 3s.
“It’s ideal for all ages, males and females and for all newcomers into golf. We’re a feeder club for the bigger clubs. We want people to come here and learn the skills of golf,” said Barker.
And the schools programme is building vital profile for Marton Meadows in the area.
“What you get is the children will then talk to their friends at school. They’ll talk to their parents,” he said.
“It may be someone coming to the site to use the practice range, or to play on the course, that I have never seen or met. It’s made a massive impact in the local area.
“We get an awful lot of schoolkids coming to use the range and they get to a semi-decent level. They then go out on the course. It’s really helped raise awareness for us in the locale,” he said.
Three takeaway learnings
1 A short-term investment in your facilities can lead to long-term gains and is future-proofing your club
2 To attract new peple to the game, it is vital they feel comfortable immediately in the environment
3 Make sure your facilities and overall offering match up with the audience you are trying to attract
