Yorkshire golf: Lee Sharpe to open Balby Carr Academy satellite club for young newcomers

Sharpe, a two-handicapper at Horsforth GC, will officially open the StreetGolf Satellite Club at Balby Carr Academy in Doncaster on Wednesday.

The academy has combined with South Yorkshire golf technology firm Zen Oracle to form the club, which is part-funded by the Golf Foundation and will look to boost participation in the sport by youngsters, change negative perceptions about it – and nurture new talent.

Sharpe said he hopes it will “help produce some fresh, young, talented golfers”.

Two training courses, funded by the Golf Foundation, will be provided to enable participants to become ‘Golf Leaders’, who will then deliver its Street Golf and Tri-Golf programmes in secondary and primary schools.

After-school sessions will be run by Zen Oracle’s PGA Golf coach Marcus Bell, both at Balby Carr Academy and at Bawtry GC, using Zen Oracle’s new coaching concept FlowMotion, combined with the Golf Foundation’s national initiative, StreetGolf.

Follow-up sessions will be run by the 20 FlowMotion Golf Leaders and Golf Foundation Activators to around 800 pupils, at Balby Carr and at schools both within and outside Balby Carr’s catchment area, in preparation for a Tri-Golf competition at Bawtry GC.

Sharpe, a Zen Golf ambassador, said: “The Golf Satellite Club at Balby Carr Community Academy is a terrific venture and I’m pleased to be able to play a part in its launch.

“The Sports Academy at Balby has a first-class reputation, particularly in the world of golf. It draws talented young people from across the region, looking to make a career in the sport.

“The link with Bawtry Golf Club will further enhance the sports academy’s reputation as it looks to encourage the sporting stars and coaches of tomorrow.”

Shane McClune, PE Curriculum Manager at Balby Carr Academy, said: “Lee had heard about the launch through Bawtry and wanted to be involved.

“Having somebody like Lee supporting the satellite club will increase its profile and give our students a real boost.”

Among the names on the academy’s roll of honour are current English Amateur men’s champion Joe Dean, from Sheffield.

Bell said: “These Golf Leaders will develop the skills of hundreds of pupils, using extracurricular provision and PE lessons at Balby Carr Academy.

“The project will feature the FlowMotion golf coaching technique, a coaching method being used to teach the game to beginners that yields results within hours of hitting the first ball.

“One of the UK’s most accomplished junior golf coaches, Peter Ball, has recently joined the growing ranks now adopting the Zen FlowMotion coaching technique, further enhancing the revolutionary system’s growing reputation. Peter’s most recent accolade was winning the PGA’s Europe Presidents Award for Growing the Game.

“We hope that this project will serve to majorly boost golf participation among young people and produce the next batch of Yorkshire golfing talent.”

For more details on joining the Sports Academy contact Ian Lindley or Shane McClune at [email protected] or [email protected], or call 01302 312 140.

For more information on Zen Oracle, visit www.zenoracle.com/coaching.