By Serrin Bertino

‘Easy and positive’ are two words Sam Breguet, junior coordinator at 13th Beach Golf, uses to describe the Australian Golf Foundation (AGF) Junior Girls Scholarship program.

“In terms of gaining support to adopt, and then set-up the program, it has been simple and easy,” said Sam.

“It is a well thought-out process and we have simply followed the instructions to get to where we are.” And what a way the club has come, from having just one girl previously involved in the junior golf program to now a group of seven girls, aged 12-16, playing on a regular basis.

“Not having many girls at the club to start with, we promoted the scholarship through our community and were thrilled to attract seven brilliant candidates,” said Sam.

“Most of the girls had participated in a clinic here or there but had never progressed any further. “It was interesting to learn that the girls’ main desire for a scholarship was to meet other girls they could play with.

“This really proves the importance of the scholarship program in terms of connecting girls. “This is my overall aim of the program – to enable girls to meet friends they can play with,” she said.

Another top priority of the club is to ensure the girls, and their families feel, welcome and included.

“We want the girls and their families to know how important they are to us, so we organised a special induction that our committee and board members attended.

“We are also working to integrate the girls into the club by inviting them to events in our junior syllabus.

“This includes a short-course fun ambrose event with our other juniors, and our 9-and-dine event that we encourage the girls play.”

With short days during winter, the club has connected with Geelong Golf Studio, an indoor facility to ensure girls can keep practicing and playing after school.

“We are extremely grateful to the studio for their support and willingness to grow girls golf,” said Sam. Jake Cole-Sinclair, Golf Relationship Officer at Golf Australia has been very impressed with the delivery of the scholarship program at 13th Beach.

“The club has done an incredible job with the delivery of the program. “The induction process and connection of girls to the club, with a pathway to further development, has been one of the best examples I have come across,” he said.

Applications for 2024 AGF Scholarship club funding open 18 August 2023 and close 28 October 2023. Keep an eye on the AGF website Australian Golf Foundation is the national foundation for golf in Australia. The AGF supports Golf Australia’s vision to grow golf by investing in targeted initiatives to inspire all Australians to enjoy and play the game. Find a local scholarship program near you.

Visit australiangolffoundation.org.au for further information. Australian Golf Foundation is thrilled to partner with NEXTGEN Group as the principal partner of the AGF Scholarship Programme in 2022, with significant further support provided by Golf Australia, Golf Victoria, Victorian Golf Foundation, Golf Queensland, Golf South Australia, Golf Tasmania, Golf Western Australia, Western Australian Golf Foundation, Golf Northern Territory, Golf Management Australia, WPGA Tour of Australasia and PGA of Australia, as well as a number of additional generous private benefactors.

The scholarship program has come to fruition thanks to the foresight and generosity of Bonnie Boezeman AO, Director of the Australian Golf Foundation, who originally established the program at Killara Golf Club, NSW.