Girls get into golf

MERBEIN Golf Club is bringing more girls into the sport.

Following the success of their first year of offering junior girls’ golf scholarships, the club has continued to receive funding from The Australian Golf Foundation to support six girls to pursue the game.

Scholarships are open to girls aged nine to 16, and while the program’s primary aim is to retain girls in golf by giving “creating shared experiences”, those new to the sport can also make a submission.

The program is part of a national campaign to get more girls playing golf and along with more than 160 other facilities across Australia, Merbein Golf Club will be working closely with Golf Australia throughout 2025.

Community instructor and club secretary Melinda Binding said seeing the progress of the initial participants has been extremely rewarding.

“We decided to see if we could put our hand up and help get some of these girls into golf, and you can just see the growth,” she said. “The girls really progress, going from being a bit shy in early clinics to coming out and doing it all year.

“To be able to mentor them to play in competition and play in championships, and then the ultimate experience at the end of the year, we went down to the Australian Open and saw the professionals up close.

“This included a golf clinic for just the participants of this program so the girls got to have a hit at Kingston Heath with one-on-one coaching from those at the top level.

“The program also connects with girls all around Australia who are doing the same thing, so we actually had a chance to a webinar with professional Stephanie Kyriacou.

“The friendship and the mentorship we’ve been able to foster over the year has been fantastic and something we hope we can grow even further next year.”

Those who join the program will be eligible for a full year’s junior membership at Merbein and 24 coaching sessions, essentially with the aim to receive a handicap and participate in club competitions and championships.

“It started off with relationship building and getting to know what the girls wanted,” Binding said.

“Some girls wanted to learn basic techniques and then get their handicaps, and some had them already but wanted to develop skills to play in championships.

“It’s a whole different thing as a junior coming through the ranks, especially as a girl, it’s still a male dominated game.

“We’ve seen the boys golf just continually grow, but the girls are catching up, it’s a really good opportunity to help girls have fun with the game and hopefully stay in it.”

For further information and to apply, contact Melinda Binding on 0447 790 949.