SURREY JUNIORS FEEL RYDER CUP-STYLE PRESSURE

• 2012 Academy Ryder Cup at Oak Park is fourth annual event
  
• PHOTO CALL: 0800-0830 Saturday 3rd November, team photo session
  at Oak Park Golf Club, Heath Lane, Crondall, Farnham, Surrey GU10 5PB

CRONDALL, SURREY - Most golf clubs run junior competitions, but few go as far as Oak Park GC, near Farnham in Surrey, to ensure their kids get that big-match feeling.

On the first weekend in November, twenty-four children aged from 10 to 17 will recreate one of sport’s most high-pressure environments, in the fourth annual Academy Ryder Cup at Oak Park.

They’ll be divided into Team USA and Team Europe, and will play in full uniform. Their Captains – Gavin Grenville-Wood for Europe, Paul Mayoh for USA – will coach their protégés through the inevitable nerves and performance anxieties which the weekend will bring.

Following the European Ryder Cup team’s heroic victory in the USA last month, anticipation for this year’s junior equivalent is running at an all-time high. But unlike the real Ryder Cup, which is biennial, Oak Park’s juniors enter this particular pressure-cooker on an annual basis. And in 2012, Oak Park’s Team Europe is out for revenge, after two consecutive defeats to Team USA in 2010 and 2011.

It all starts this year on Friday 2nd November; Half Term week ending with a Practice Day for the 24 competitors, who have golf handicaps between 28 and 10. On Saturday 3rd November, the two-day Academy Ryder Cup begins on Oak Park’s attractive tree-lined 18-hole golf course.

For 13 of the young golfers, pulling on their Total Teamwear Ryder Cup-style golfing kit will be a new experience, but four golfers are ever-presents, having played in each of the previous events (running score Europe 1 – 2 USA).

For these four – Christian Lindgreen (12, Team USA); Bobby Wheeler (11, Europe); Mark Pailing (15, USA); Richard Pharo (13, USA) – the high-intensity weekend has become almost the norm after another packed season of golfing activities at one of the UK’s most progressive and junior-friendly golf clubs.

Almost 80 junior golfers competed in three weeks of Academy Ryder Cup qualifying events this September at Oak Park, with training sessions and golf lessons given out along the way. 16 qualified by right at the end of the process, with each Captain then having four additional ‘picks’ to boost his team. The teams consist of ten boys and two girls apiece.

“The Academy Ryder Cup at Oak Park is incredible fun for our junior golfers,” says Oak Park’s Director of Coaching and Team Europe skipper Gavin Grenville-Wood, “but it also enhances their competitive golf skills. Six of our ‘alumni’ have gone on to play County-level golf, and in fact four of our competitors this year – Bobby Wheeler, Christian Lindgreen, Richard Pharo and 12-year old Georgina Carter – have already played golf for Hampshire Under-12s this season.”

With 2012 event sponsors Sherborne Windows, Porsche of Guildford, and Waterfords Estate Agents helping Oak Park with the costs of the event, and Total Teamwear sponsoring the kits, Team USA captain and Head Coach Paul Mayoh is convinced that the Academy Ryder Cup at Oak Park sets the standard for junior golf competitions nationwide. “While it’s important that children also enjoy playing golf as a casual and healthy sport, we’ve found that our juniors also like to play in serious competitions too. We coach over 200 children in a given golf season, and once they reach a good enough level to play on the main golf course, it is astonishing how quickly the competitive instinct kicks in.

“I think that our version of the Ryder Cup is every bit as nerve-wracking as the real one – especially for the parents!”

As General Manager of one of Surrey’s most popular golf clubs, Simon Edwin believes that the Academy Ryder Cup sends out the right message to the local community. “Golf should be as inclusive as possible,” he says, “and we are known in the area – indeed across the UK – as having one of the most thriving Junior sections at any golf club. The work which Gavin, Paul and the Academy coaching staff do week-in, week-out, not only produces better golfers of all ages, but it also plays its part in growing participation in the sport.

“The publicity generated by events like our Ryder Cup for juniors can only mean one thing – more golfers. We’re part of the 25-club Crown Golf network of clubs across the south of England, and in 2013 across the group we will all be focusing on opening golf up to more children, more families and more lady golfers than ever before.”

The tournament begins at 0900 on Saturday 3rd November, and again at 0900 on Sunday 4th November. Contact Gavin Grenville-Wood at Oak Park Golf Club on 01252 850850 or email info@oakparkacademy.com. The club’s website is www.oakparkgolf.co.uk.

Ends.

If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Gavin Grenville-Wood, Paul Mayoh or Simon Edwin, please call or email Andy Hiseman on +44 (0)7795 360112 / andy@hiseman.com

<<< CLICK FOR HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGE

Academy Ryder Cup 2012
at Oak Park Golf Club, Surrey, UK

Oak Park junior golfers with "Team USA" Captain Paul Mayoh (front centre left, in white) and "Team Europe" Captain Gavin Grenville-Wood (front centre right, in blue).

<<< CLICK FOR HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGE

Academy Ryder Cup 2012
at Oak Park Golf Club, Surrey, UK

(Left) "Team Europe" Captain Gavin Grenville-Wood and (Right) "Team USA" Captain Paul Mayoh

CONTACT OAK PARK GOLF CLUB

Gavin Grenville-Wood, +44 (0)1252 850850, info@oakparkacademy.com

www.oakparkgolf.co.uk

Oak Park Golf Club is a proprietary operated Members' Club boasting 27 holes of challenging golf from the 9 hole Village course that skirts round the edge of the picturesque village of Crondall to the Woodland 18 hole course that truly lives up to its name featuring tree lined fairways from the 1st tee to the 18th green. Our signature holes, the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th offer some truly unique views over Hampshire. Located in the village of Crondall, the club is easily accessible from the A3, M3 and A31 With a relaxed clubhouse atmosphere, the Club has a thriving membership with a fantastic social section to compliment the various golfing activities, throughout the year. Oak Park has something to offer everyone with it's fantastic facilities, whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro.

www.crown-golf.co.uk

The award-winning Crown Golf group has 26 UK golf facilities and 39 golf courses in its portfolio. With pride in customer service and innovation, Crown Golf (established in 1994) aims to provide an outstanding golf experience for its members and visitors, tailor-made to suit the lifestyles and needs of a wide range of golfers. The company’s flagship is the European Tour venue St Mellion International Resort, home to The Nicklaus Signature Course – the first in the UK to be designed by 18-time Major-winner Jack Nicklaus.