JOLF founder impresses in US

A British PGA pro impressed the American golf industry with his ideas on junior golf during the Youth & Family Golf Summit at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.

Neil Plimmer, one of the driving forces behind JOLF, the junior coaching programme he runs alongside Nevill Perryman-Best at Cuckfield Golf Centre in Sussex, was invited by the PGA of America to join the panel for the summit.

“Bob Baldassari, director of youth development, asked me to join their international panel with guests from Spain, Kenya and Costa Rica to do a Q&A session and a 10 minute spot about what they offer to get people into golf in their own country,” said Plimmer who is a PGA Fellow Professional.

“So I talked about JOLF and focusing on the kids’ first experiences of golf, the importance of engaging with their parents, and delivering what we felt was most appropriate for a particular girl or boy’s skill levels so that golf really was fun. This struck a chord with the delegates.”

The audience reaction was noted and Plimmer was asked to come back the next day for another Q&A panel about junior coaching, this time with Michael Hebron, one of the top coaching gurus in the States, and key note speakers Stephen Norris and Glenn Cundari, technical director of the PGA in Canada.

“The JOLF aim is to provide fun via an engaging and appropriate experience to each child every time,” added Plimmer.

“It doesn’t try to impose regimes on children, but lets them go at their own pace and do what they find interesting, while making sure that their parents are fully involved by discussing their own situation and needs, and how golf may help.”

Since Plimmer and Perryman-Best deal with as many as 150 children a week from four years old upwards, and with JOLF classes costing £99 per 10 week term per child all fully booked, it’s nice to think that here in the UK we’ve got someone who has something new to tell about growing the game.

To find out more about JOLF click here.