Laing tees up ambitious plans

Mark Laing has a driving ambition – to help more people in Worcestershire and Herefordshire take up the sport he loves.

The long-standing and well-respected member of the PGA is now spearheading the Get into Golf campaign in the region as part of his new role as development officer for the Worcestershire and Herefordshire County Golf Partnership.

He arrives in his new job with a background of more than 40 years membership of the PGA, having joined in 1973 while at Harborne Golf Club in Birmingham.

Three years later he became one of the youngest club professionals in the country when taking the pro’s job at Little Lakes Golf Club in Bewdley. He went on to play a major role in the design, development and construction of the present course and the Gaudet Luce golf complex, at Hadzor, near Droitwich.

Laing also designed and built the club’s nine-hole par 3 course, which has provided an innovative pathway into full club membership.

He joined the committee of The PGA in Worcestershire in 1986 and was captain from 1990-92 and WPGA chairman for more than 20 years from 1992 to 2013.

Golf clearly runs in the Laing family – eldest son Andrew is head greenkeeper/course manager at Gaudet Luce Golf Club while younger son Robert is a PGA professional working as golf operations manager and coach at the junior academy at the same club

Laing senior has been involved in the work of the CGP since its inception in 2006 and was chairman in 2013.

“I believe that my experience across such a wide spectrum of golf will help the CGP deliver its targets of introducing more people to the sport and encouraging them on into club membership,” he said.

“My background includes course design and construction, coaching, training, retail, food and beverage, golf operations, club professional and director of golf, a combination which has given me a great insight into the challenges facing our clubs today.

“I look forward to working with clubs and golf facilities across Worcestershire and Herefordshire to make it easier than ever for people to give golf a go and to show them the benefits to both their health and social lives that can come from playing the sport and taking up membership of a club.”

For the latest Worcestershire clubs offering Get into golf taster sessions and coaching visit the activity map at www.getintogolf.org

Get into golf is a national campaign to inspire adults to take up the game and is run by the England Golf Partnership through its network of County Golf Partnerships, supported by Sport England and National Lottery funding.

Get into golf opportunities include FREE taster sessions and low-cost beginner courses with PGA professionals. They are a fun and sociable way to start golf – and a great way to make new friends.

You can follow Get into golf on Twitter twitter.com/getintogolf or on Facebook at facebook.com/Getintogolf