Budding golfers get in to the swing of it at Kilwinning Sports Club

The new Short Game Golf Centre has just been launched at Kilwinning Sports Club and is already attracting youngsters from across Ayrshire who are desperate to be the next Rory McIlroy or Tiger Woods.

The centre, which is within the club’s grounds, also offers a Golf Academy for those who take their teeing off a bit more seriously.

The club, in Pennyburn Road, has run the Grant Gilmour Golf Academy since 2010 when it became the new home and base for Grant - a PGA Professional golf coach.

Grant and his golf coaching business operates out of the club’s facility playing an important role in developing and promoting golf at Kilwinning Sports Club in local schools and in the wider community.

The Junior Stars training programme is for girls and boys of ages from 5 – 18 years and is structured to help develop a young players agility, balance and co-ordination while learning the golfing fundamentals through fun games, skill challenges and exercise.

Grant is an experienced golf coach and has been a member of the Professional Golfers Association for over 25 years, having been Club Professional at Paisley Golf Club in Renfrewshire.

Since 1997 he has coached at leading Golf Academies across Europe in the Netherlands, Spain and Germany and now offers his coaching methods and philosophies at Kilwinning Sports Club.

But for those who just want to practice their shot they can hire a club for just £2 with a £10 deposit and can get 100 balls for £5 or 50 balls for £3.

Club administration manager Claire Hodge said: “We are very happy and excited to be able to open our short game golf centre to the public. It’s great news for all the budding golfers out there and we’ve kept the costs as low as possible to make it accessible to everyone in the community. There is a great buzz around golf at the moment with the Open Championship just having took at St Andrews and we are delighted to be able to offer golf along with all our other sporting activities.”