From creating teenage mentors, to enhancing a participation pathway for girls, The Australian Golf Foundation Girls Golf Scholarship program has fostered many wins at Windaroo Lakes Golf Club in Queensland.

“It has been good for our club and great for the girls,” said Daniel Bird, Head PGA Professional at the club half an hour south of Brisbane’s CBD. “The program has tied in beautifully with our MyGolf program, enabling a smooth transition for girls.”

Bird has many girls scattered throughout his various MyGolf clinics throughout the week, but the scholarship program has enabled him to bring the girls together.

“It has been good to see the girls improve their golf, but there has been nothing better than seeing these girls have so much fun together,” he said. “It is just a fantastic opportunity for girls to spend time with like-minded girls without the pressure of having boys around. These girls are not only connecting through golf, but I know they are spending time together outside of golf too.”

An unexpected outcome of the program has been the mentor and mentee dynamics that have been formed.

“I am watching our older girls in the program helping the younger girls,” Bird said. “We also have a couple of older teenage girls who play at the club. This has been a powerful thing for our scholarship girls to see as many teenagers tend to drop out of sport.”

With parents seeing the benefits of the scholarship program, a General Manager that supports free cadet membership for any junior that participates in clinics/coaching and a solid MyGolf program; the club is in great shape to continue winning well into the future!

For more information and to see a list of funded centres, 2022 visit the Australian Golf Foundation website.

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, Jack Newton Junior Golf, Golf Management Australia, WPGA Tour of Australasia and PGA of Australia, as well as a number of additional generous private benefactors.

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. Visit australiangolffoundation.org.au for further information.

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.