England’s highest-ranked golfer, Georgia Hall, has launched her new golf academy at… Paultons Golf Centre in Hampshire with master classes for local school children.
To show their enthusiasm and passion for golf, a select group of Foxhills Primary School and Bramshaw Golf Club have been tipped by Georgia about the Paultons driving range and putting green.
This session follows a month-long training program led by Paultons highly experienced golf professionals. More than 750 children have taken courses so far, helping them unleash their passion for sports and golf in particular.
Earlier this year, Hampshire Golf Course announced that it had partnered with Bournemouth-born Hall to launch a new academy offering tailored youth programs and encouraging disabled golfers to get involved in the game.
Paultons are currently developing proposals to upgrade and re-design the existing training facilities including a 6-hole Academy course, improved short games facilities and an upgraded driving range. This next phase of improvements will help deliver the ‘best in class’ golf development facility, building on the extensive improvement work already carried out on the golf center in recent years. The existing 18 hole championship course has already been refurbished and the driving range experience improved with Toptracer technology and heated bays, which are already proving popular with locals, school children and visitors.
Hall’s experience and knowledge will help shape the ultimate vision for the new facilities at Paultons and the Academy. Its ambition is to provide a golf experience that will appeal to the widest possible audience. You will be involved in the whole process, directly involved with the Paultons project team.
Hall commented: “Through my academy I want to inspire more young people and especially girls to take up golf. Paultons Golf Center is close to where I grew up and where I still live when in the UK. When I was younger I didn’t have The best facilities for practicing sports, and even today I still have to leave the local area to practice when I am at home. Having a better range and short playing area is really important for the future development of golf on the south coast.”
Ben Blackburn at Boltons Golf Centre, added: “The partnership with Georgia is really exciting as we combine their passion for making golf more accessible through our plans to create an attractive golf destination for visitors from all over the country that offers the best facilities for the whole community, as well as enthusiastic amateurs and even professionals like Georgia herself .
“To date, we have provided courses to 750 local schools and it is clear that young people have an appetite for golf. Our shared vision with Georgia is to help nurture future talent, produce the next Georgia Halls that can compete at the highest level and become the best in the country if He wasn’t in the world. As we develop our plans, Georgia will be involved throughout the entire process with the broader project team.”
In close consultation with Hall, the Paultons are finalizing their proposals and engaging with a wide range of stakeholders including the New Forest National Park Authority and the New Forest County Council. A full public consultation will take place before an application to expand the practice facilities is submitted to the New Forest National Park Authority later this year.