Wales Golf Junior Club of the Year, Llantrisant and Pontyclun, has seen junior membership increase by half this year, with a starring role at the AIG Women’s Open helping to drive that success.
The number of girls at the South Wales club has more than tripled, an example of how Wales hosting the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl has had a massive impact on the sport.
They enjoyed unique opportunities at Royal Porthcawl, both behind the scenes and in front of the cameras, forming the guard of honour for the trophy presentation for the first time in the event’s 49 year history.
Llantrisant and Pontyclun pair 14-year-old Holly Miles and 12-year-old Oliver Jones carried the AIG Women’s Open Trophy for Japanese winner Miyu Yamashita and the Smyth Salver, presented to the leading amateur, Spaniard Paula Martin Sampedro.
Club juniors also had a coaching session with defending champion Lydia Ko as part of a behind-the-scenes tour, the chance to be on the range with South African competitor and previous Championship winner Ashleigh Buhai, and the opportunity to watch the world’s best women golfers in action.
The number of juniors at Llantrisant and Pontyclun is now 170, having started the year with 115, and just nine years on from only six to seven juniors at the North Cardiff club. The numbers of girls has gone up from six to 20 this summer.
“Winning the Junior Club of the Year has opened up a lot of doors for us, it was perfect timing for us with the AIG Women’s Open coming to Wales in the same year,” said Llantrisant and Pontyclun’s Junior Leader, Gavin Evans.
“We have seen a big uptake this summer, we are now up to 170 junior members after beginning the year with 115, so that is a big thing for us.
“We have seen a lot of 14, 15, and 16-year-olds trying to get into the sport after the football and rugby seasons finished.
“And the number of girls has gone from five or six to 20, with quite a few younger girls in our Lions Academy. It can be difficult to get teenage girls into golf, but hopefully the younger girls will stay in the game.
“The AIG Women’s Open has definitely been an attraction, we had a few involved in the prize giving on the Sunday as well so that was an amazing opportunity and they handled it so well.
“To be the first club ever to form a guard of honour is something special as well.”
The level of opportunities was a reward for being the Wales Golf Junior Club of the Year, a recognition of the incredible work the club has done over the last few years, led by Evans and with the club’s PGA professional John McDonald also making a massive contribution.
AIG Women’s Open organisers The R&A were able to plan a series of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for the juniors.
“It all kicked off on the Monday with a fantastic day behind the scenes, seeing how the players are treated and what they have to deal with – it was a really good insight,” said Evans.
“Meeting Lydia Ko was the highlight for the juniors – she did inspire a few to play more. Then on Saturday we had a range session with Ashleigh Buhai, seeing how she warms up and the types of shots she tries to hit.
“Everyone was excited about that and then they had the chance to watch some of the golf as well.
“Holly, who carried the trophy, also had a lesson from Lydia Ko earlier in the week, so she is over the moon and her Dad tells me it has pushed her on, she has gone crazy for golf now and is always wanting to get out and play.
“We got so many mentions on SKY TV, it was awesome for those involved. Oliver and Holly were nervous, but when it came to the time they nailed it.”
The opportunities show the benefit of applying to be the Wales Golf Junior Club of the Year, on the back of the work over the last few years to build up that section of the club.
“It has been an amazing journey. We started with nine juniors at this club nine years ago, now it is 170, with 80 of them playing in the weekly competitions and a few involved in international squads.
“It is a great advert for our club, but also other clubs can see what we are doing. We are quite vocal on social media, we have a good presence there, and there are some good junior sections around who could shout more loudly about what they do.
“I would certainly encourage other clubs to put the work in and apply to be the Wales Golf Junior Club of the Year, it has given us some incredible opportunities and support.”
Wales Golf Head of Participation Theo Baker led Llantrisant and Pontyclun through many of their opportunities at Royal Porthcawl, adding, “The juniors at the club had some wonderful experiences, but were also a credit to Welsh golf in everything they did.
“They were incredibly involved and interested, while watching Oliver and Holly in the prize presentation at the end was the sort of thing to send shivers down your spine.
“All of us at Wales Golf would like to congratulate them on the great work which earned those opportunities, and look forward to seeing the applications from other clubs to win the award next.”
Entries will be opening for the Annual Wales Golf Awards late 2025.