Q Golf - Official online magazine for Golf Queensland Summer 2012 | Page 13

“It’s good for business when we have
mums involved because ultimately they
control the purse strings,” he said. “If we
can get the mums on board and they can
see the value in our program then we will
go a long way to securing the mums, dads
and the kids going forward.
“They (mums) want to learn how to play
the game so they can get out on the golf
course and enjoy it with their kids without
feeling as if they are a burden.

golf is not just about standing there
hitting golf balls for 90 minutes.
“We get the kids doing physical exercise,
we get them out playing shootouts on
the golf course and that’s where the
skills they’ve learnt on the driving range
through the MYGolf program comes in.
“People have to understand that kids do
get bored if they do the same thing week
in, week out.

“Some of the nine- 10- and 11-year-old
kids are shooting between 45 and 55 off
the ladies tees and some of the mums
thought they may not be good enough to
play with their kids.

“That is why we are constantly upgrading
our skills with TPI courses and by
attending the Srixon coaching summit. If
you are doing the same thing term after
term, you are not going to keep the kids

“So, they took some lessons and now they
are now actively playing golf with their
kids. We want to grow that to 60 per cent
of the mums playing with their kids if dad
is not available.”

“The program has to evolve as quickly as
the kids grow because at different levels
and age they need different requirements.
We are aware the program needs to
evolve into something bigger and better
to keep the kids.

Another reason why the club’s junior
golf program is successful is because
of improved coaching methods.
Recently Victorsen attended the Titleist
Performance Institute (TPI) seminar in
Melbourne in an effort to improve his
knowledge of teaching the game.
“The TPI virtually revolutionised how to
run a junior program,” he said. “Teaching

“Kids have so many sporting options so
we need to make sure we have the best
programs to keep them. It’s something
we are always thinking about and always
trying to improve. It’s not so much how
many kids you have in the program it’s
about how many you keep.

www.golfqueensland.org.au

“The retention rate is important because
you can’t go looking for another 20-30
kids all the time. You have to retain the
kids already in the program.”
Well, Headland must be doing something
right because not only are they retaining
those already in programs but they are
developing a bunch of talented golfers.
One example is Ryley Martin, who arrived
at the club from Yeppoon in 2011 with
a handicap of 27. In the space of 12-18
months, he has reduced his handicap by
25 and now plays off two.
“He has probably won between six and
10 tournaments in the last 12 months,”
Victorsen said.
“His dad has joined the club and his
parents sponsor one of our junior fundraising days and that came out of the
relationship we built with the family.”
Victorsen’s goal in 2013 is to have 100
children turn up for clinics each week.
“That is the goal for us in 2013 – to
register 100 kids a week in our program
and 100 a week in the MYGolf program,”
he said.
“There are 60-odd kids in the MYGolf
program at the moment so I think it’s
possible to hit the 100 mark in 2013.”

Q Golf Online Summer 2012 13