Dedicated coaches mixed engaging challenges with inspirational, thought-provoking discussions during the love.golf annual conference held at the Park Plaza Hotel in Leeds. The ever-growing love.golf programme is delivered by a passionate community of coaches in the UK, Canada, Spain, Panama and United Arab Emirates, and is a group golf programme exclusively for women, replacing traditional instruction with the freedom to explore new skills, discover untapped potential and bond with a supportive group of like-minded women.
To continue to develop and drive the programme’s aims, the two-day event, saw the programme’s coaches engage with keen golfer and leadership expert, Julia Regis, and Amir Malik, the founder of the Muslim Golf Association. love.golf founder and head coach, Alastair Spink, said: “The conference gives our coaches the opportunity to come together, learn from each other, to embrace new ideas and to challenge their approaches to coaching.
“Our community of coaches are doing great work in the continued drive to introduce more women into the game. This year’s event has invigorated them to do this, emboldening them to attract more women to the game that we all love.”
Addressing the conference in her keynote discussion, Regis explored not only her thoughts on developing a coach’s potential, but also her own experiences in encouraging more women from diverse backgrounds into the game. Malik explained his drive to introduce more Muslim communities into golf, particularly women. He showcased his impressive work to date, including a first-of-its-kind experience for Muslim women at Stonebridge Golf Club, organised with love.golf coach Hannah Crump.
“Our wonderful speakers brought an extra dimension to the event and they really challenged our thoughts. It was good to hear connections being made between them and our coaches, as they seek to make a meaningful impact in driving up female participation numbers across all backgrounds,” added Spink.
In line with the programme’s desire to introduce and engage new women golfers into the game, the coaches were also put through their paces, as they embarked on a challenge to create a video to promote love.golf. Equipped with a golf club and golf ball, the teams crafted engaging video content that emphasised the joy of the sport and the social side of the programme. To do so, they took the streets of Leeds and used every inch of the conference location to shape their storytelling, producing results that encapsulated what love.golf is about.
Molly Moore, love.golf coach at Reigate Hill in Surrey, said: “Being able to meet and work with other coaches, especially after a long time apart, was such a thrill. The social media challenge taught me a great deal about what I can do to connect with new audiences and was such a great way to work with and learn from my fellow coaches.
“The guest speakers were incredibly motivating and it was humbling to hear the experiences that they have had in the game. Encouraging a more diverse golfing community to come forward is vital for the game. I can’t wait to see how 2022 unfolds for me and for the rest of the love.golf coaches — it’s an exciting time to be part of the programme.”
