Karratha Indoor Golf has become the first off-course facility in WA to receive Regional Service Grant funding to stage free beginners’ golf programs.
The grant — provided by the Department of Cultural Industries, Tourism and Sport (CITS) — saw a series of clinics for juniors and women held during the July school holidays as a prelude to more comprehensive four-week golf programs running throughout August and September.
The four one-off clinics and four upcoming programs fully booked out and will ultimately see more than 60 participants gain a sound grounding in the sport at no cost to themselves.
On top of that, the funding allowed for three members of staff at Karratha Indoor Golf to complete National Program Deliverer accreditation, enabling them to deliver future MyGolf and Get into Golf programs for juniors and adults in the community.
Tamika Jones, Managing Director of Karratha Indoor Golf, says the initiative has been extremely well received by participants.
“The feedback we’ve received so far has been great, with juniors and adults alike thoroughly enjoying the experience,” she told GolfWA.
“This funding helps make it easier for people in the Pilbara to give golf a go and creates more pathways for juniors and women to get started.
“We’re excited to be playing a part in helping to grow participation rates in the Pilbara and hope this is just the first of many similar initiatives in the years to come.”
Karratha Indoor Golf’s July school holiday clinics fully booked out
GolfWA Participation Manager Marc Pike hailed the positive impact the Regional Servicing Grant (RSG) program has delivered.
“The ongoing support of CITS through the RSG program plays an invaluable role in growing participation rates across regional WA, and this is a great example in action,” he said.
“The new Australian Golf Strategy focuses on the ‘big swings’ of evolving the game, belonging within the game and connecting to more people.
“Supporting off-course facilities like Karratha Indoor Golf to grow the game in non-traditional arenas will attract different demographics to golf who may not have considered participating previously.”
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