For girls living in Gove, one of the most remote locations in Australia, limited access to golf tuition is a thing of the past thanks to the Australian Golf Foundation’s Junior Girls Scholarship program.

The Program helps girls and their families overcome the challenges of living remotely and gives them the tools they need to excel in golf.

As part of their scholarship experience at Gove Country Golf Club, the girls enjoy coaching from Graham Bolton, a PGA Teaching Professional at Half Moon Bay GC in Queensland, who regularly travels the 3000 kilometres in order to deliver programs.

“This is a huge deal and thrill for the girls,” said Esther Rika, a committee member at the club, which is situated in the north-east corner of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.

“To get to the girls, Graham needs to travel via plane so we are very appreciative of him making the trip.

“The girls get so much out of these sessions.”

Recently, Participation Officer for Golf Australia – Northern Territory, Samuel Wright, also made the trip to Gove; this time from Darwin.

In addition to instructing nearly 250 people over three days at local schools and the golf club, Wright spent an afternoon coaching and mentoring the girls in on-course play and finetuning their swings.

“It was a highlight to see how much the girls were loving their golf,” said Wright.

“The girls take great pride in the scholarship program, as does the club and whole community.

“To have a national program as great as the AGF Junior Girls’ Scholarship in such a remote part of the world is special.”

Esther, a community instructor herself, is thankful to the golf industry, in particular the Australian Golf Foundation, for the support being given to help girls thrive.

“The program puts girls on a life-changing pathway, encouraging and empowering girls to keep playing golf,” she said.

“It inspires dreams, builds confidence, resilience, and enables each participant to develop life-long skills and friendships through golf.”.

Applications for 2024 club funding is now open and close on October 28.

For more information on the program click here

To apply for the 2024 program click here

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 Program in 2023, 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.