New faces at Golf Southland
It’s pouring down outside and the ducks are making the most of the extra standing water around Queens Park.
It’s definitely not a day for golf. Which makes it a perfect day to talk about golf.
Golf Southland has an unpretentious office propping up one corner of the Queens Park golf club. It’s currently inhabited by two people who are very familiar with sport in Southland but, conversely, not golf so much.
Megan Leslie, Golf Southland’s new participation coordinator, is a representative footballer who has also coached football from youth through to adult levels.
And while she has joined a golf club, her new role is not about teaching the perfect takeaway, it’s about trying to get more people to play the game, especially young people and women.
“My role is mainly about working with kids on Futures golf from five through to 18, trying to get more women into golf and the all-abilities stuff. It’s about providing participation opportunities.
“My background is mainly with football, so it’s a different area for me, but it’s mainly about working with the kids and women to make sport more accessible. It’s about giving people the confidence to get out on the course with their mates, or mum and dad not feel judged.
“You don’t have to be this crazy, ultra-fit person to come and play a round of golf. There’s a bit of walking but it’s good sport for anyone. It’s also really social, you can come and play a few holes with your mates. You can enter competitions and be competitive.”
What is Futures golf?
Futures Southland is about creating lifelong golfers by providing learn and play opportunities for young people across Southland.
Hubs have been established in Gore, Winton and Invercargill for young people aged 5-18 to explore, learn and play at a number of golf clubs in their area. Each hub hosts subsidised coaching programmes and events suitable for a range of ages and abilities. Each hub has a $120 annual joining fee.
Developing the game in Southland
New Regional Support Manager Simon Flett is a representative squash and darts player and comes to golf after six years as the General Manager of Bowls Southland.
He’s looking forward to building on the work done by predecessor Simon Boland and the additional profile the game has received from the exploits of New Zealand’s top players, especially Olympic gold medallist Lydia Ko.
Golf Southland’s role focuses on growing participation and administering representative golf, along with providing some capability support to clubs.
“There are a lot of similarities with bowls,” Simon says.
“It was a bit hard to make that decision for a change because I was starting to comfortable and now I’ve got to go out and introduce myself all over again.
“I’ve been straight into rep season so I need to get out into the clubs and find out what they want. We’ve got the Dot Golf system and there are the new constitutional changes which are required for all clubs, so I’ll be supporting them in that and anything else they need.
“When I went into bowls I didn’t go in all guns blazing. I wanted people to become familiar with me and vice versa. You can’t do a job like this on your own, it’s about building a good team around you. It’s about building that first and then we can bring in some cool initiatives and keep growing the game.”
