On Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th February, a group of Year 10 and Year 11 Gainsborough Academy students were invited to participate in a ‘Careers in Golf’ workshop, hosted by The Golf Foundation and PING at Thonock Park Golf Club.
The workshop is a new initiative organised by Brendon Pyle, Chief Executive of The Golf Foundation, and is supported by Jack Cole, Careers in Golf Programme manager and Navigate, with aims to educate young people and take them ‘behind the scenes’ of the global golf industry whilst breaking down any negative barriers around golf. They hope to encourage young people of all backgrounds to consider a career in golf, even if they aren’t into the sport itself.
Over the two days, students took part in an interactive group workshop, and were given the chance to experience the golfing range accompanied by PING’s golfing pros.
After an introduction and programme presentation in the morning, the students were set a series of group tasks where they broke down all the careers and departments involved in running and maintaining a golf club and large scale event. They were also challenged to come up with their own ‘golf competition event’, and present it to the rest of the group by the end of the session.
In the afternoon, students were given the opportunity to try their hand (and aim) at the golfing range, and build their skills on the green with the support and guidance of PING golfing pros. Students took to the task with great determination and perseverance and thoroughly enjoyed their experience at the club.
PING are one of the biggest employers in Gainsborough and in the global golf industry, so this was a great opportunity to get an insight and help students broaden their horizons when it comes to considering their next steps after school. One student commented “Today has really got me thinking about my choices after TGA. I didn’t realise what could be on offer for me! I really enjoyed the driving range too!”
We would like to say a big thank you to Brendon, Jack, Navigate and all PING Europe staff that were involved with the event. It was a great success and one we look forward to attending again in the future.
#ProudToBeTGA
