Bawburgh wins junior golf award
22nd February, 2012 by Alistair Dunsmuir
Bawburgh Golf Club in Norfolk has won England Golf’s GolfMark Club of the Year Award 2012. The success was due to its outstanding and innovative contribution to junior and beginner golf.
Over the past three years the club has built the Norwich Family Golf Centre – a 24-bay driving range, café and sports bar – plus created a new par-36 nine-hole course.
Bawburgh also offers flexible membership packages to suit all types of golfer and has forged links with the sports academy at nearby Easton College.
The club was awarded GolfMark accreditation, which recognises junior-friendly golf facilities, in 2007 and subsequently secured ‘High Achiever’ status.
Speaking at the England Golf Partnership’s County Golf Development Conference last night at Woodhall Spa, Robert Barnard, GCMA member and managing director of Bawburgh Golf Club, said: “I am over the moon, the competition was very strong and we didn’t expect to win. This is just great for the club and all our team – and now we’ve got to keep going forward.”
Marriott Tudor Park Golf & County Club in Kent and Addington Court Golf Club in Surrey were named as runners-up.
Any affiliated golf club in England can apply to work through the GolfMark process and achieve the accreditation. There are currently 535 golf clubs with GolfMark and a further 561 working towards accreditation.
@BawburghGolf Well done on the award! We’ve just written something up: http://t.co/TiIydN2e
Bawburgh Golf Club, which has built a ‘family golf centre’, has been named as England’s GolfMark golf club of 2012 http://t.co/WaCkf6aV
The team at the Bawburgh GC demonstrate a willingness to adapt and try new ideas, with awareness of what their customers want.
The junior team play in county and national competitions and, under the leadership of Junior Organiser Greg Gladwell, appoints its own Captain and Vice-Captain to help the newer members to the section.
At the weekends, the new driving range plays host to junior coaching sessions attended by many non-members who, it is hoped, will enjoy the surroundings and make Bawburgh GC their home club should they continue to play.
The nine-hole course also provides the ideal location for them to continue their golfing experience.
GolfMark requires all evidence to support what the club does to be kept on file and audited on an annual basis. This is currently maintained by Assistant Secretary Andrew Gooch who, coincidentally, was attending the GCMA’s Introduction to Golf Club Management training course in Weston-super-Mare when he heard news of the club’s success.
Any affiliated golf club can apply to work through the GolfMark process and achieve the accreditation by visiting http://www.golfmark.org. There are currently 535 golf clubs with GolfMark and a further 561 working towards accreditation.
Robert Barnard
Managing Director of Bawburgh Golf Club