The Letchworth Golf Club Junior Coaching program, formerly known as the North Herts Schools Program, was started in 2021, with the club building extremely strong relationships with 10 local schools, source funding GolfWay kits to all the schools and seeing over 1000 juniors try golf both at the school and the club.
Spearheading the project, Rich Moore and Esther Strous, were awarded the Community Champion Award at the Hertfordshire High Sheriff Award annual award ceremony at the University of Hertfordshire in March 2025. This award highlighted the work done by the everyone at the club to get to the point it is at now.
The club now have a full Junior Membership with 135 juniors, 80% (B) / 20% (G) gender split, with a waiting list of 40 plus. That is a 59% increase in 12-months. The limit of 135 is to ensure that the club can meet its compliance initiatives in relation to safeguarding.
All 135 junior members are involved in the coaching programme and club weekly activity, including Academy / Heritage competitions, internal and external matches representing the club and their section and Golf Foundation League Golf Sixes. Those on the waiting list are kept linked with the club through further coaching sessions and camp opportunities during the season.
A very successful winter coaching programme was introduced in late 2024 with the purpose to encourage continued participation and progression in the off season. This included life skills development, etiquette, strength & conditioning and scoring education.
The strong links with the local schools have also meant that for those pupils not yet linked in with club membership, they can still get involved with the monthly Schools Golf Sixes competitions held at the club.
Each year, since 2008, the club host the Heritage Schools Trophy which have 40 local school pupils take part along with school leaders leading the games. The club have also been host to the North Herts Primary Schools ‘Golf Way’ Competition for many years, which sees over 120 pupils taking part.
With the Junior membership now at its maximum limit of 135, and a strong waiting list in place, the club have set up a Transition Group which manages the junior’s journey from short course to main course play.
The Juniors at the club have seen great success stories this past year including being selected for County Squads, which is a testament to what the club provide in way of support at grassroots level and beyond. There has also been excellent representation at external events with some success in the form of County wins, which is encouraging for the future of the game.
Within the heart of Letchworth Golf Club exists an independent Golf Foundation whose sole aim is to open opportunities for all the clubs’ youngsters and their development in the game.
The Mike Amos Letchworth Golf Foundation (MALGF) was formed 16 years ago by former club captain John Cole and named after a former club president, Mike Amos, who gave so much to county and junior golf. MALGF is supported by the club, its members, and local companies who give generously to its fundraising activities and is run by 6 trustees, all long standing members of the club.
The funding raised each year contributes towards mentoring, coaching, competition and event entry fees, travel, and subsistence of juniors of all ages and skill levels as they progress forward as juniors and on towards the senior ranks.
The MALGF fundraising takes shape of the annual golf day, The John Cole Memorial, which in 2025 alone raised more than £22,000.
In addition, MALGF have also provided funding for two new PGA Trainees who were recruited in September 2024 by the club as part of the new Apprentice Programme at Letchworth. MALGF are supporting the two Apprentices with 50% of their PGA course fees over the full 3 years of the degree. This represents an annual investment of £4,650 and would not have been possible without the generosity of the Foundations friends and supporters.
The Apprentice roles, created by the club in partnership with MALGF, are designed to enhance their future PGA careers with knowledge and experience in all the aspects of the game. This includes administration of competitions, social media and website development, creative freedom and supporting day-to-day tasks in the running of the golf club.
The Apprentice programme goes above and beyond the club’s unique vision, and the gender balance of the two apprentices further enhances equal opportunity in the golfing landscape.
To further support the MALGF and junior development, and to encourage the membership growth at the club, the Club Board reduced the Academy Membership rates by 50% in 2024 which saw over 90 new junior members signed up and were retained in the 2025 season.
In late 2024 the club linked and worked with a Special Needs Academy in the community and ran coaching sessions at the school site. This introduced 125 pupils, 64% (B) / 46% (G) gender split, to the game who would not normally have the opportunity.
The club have been a Golf Foundation Grassroots club for many years and are involved in the Golf Foundation Golf Sixes League each year competing in the Hertfordshire North League.
The club sign up to the Girls Golf Rocks programme each season with 2024 seeing success with 9 girls who are now part of the club’s regular activity. The drive is to keep growing the female side of the game each year.
The club have done a lot of work and development in the past few years, and the last 12-months is testament to the clubs drive to grow the game. All the foundations laid in the past few years, have now come together and are visible when you see the buzz, and the activity of juniors at the club during school holidays, weekends and at external events and matches.
"Letchworth is home to many talented junior golfers, and I'm excited to see their journey and development both this season and the years ahead."
