England Golf, in partnership with the Golf Foundation, has unveiled the Junior Journey — a new, national framework designed to grow junior participation and foster a lifelong love for golf among young people.
The initiative sets out a clear pathway for children and teenagers, from their first swing at school through to becoming active members at their local golf club. It places fun, inclusivity, and development at the heart of junior golf, ensuring more young people are introduced to the game in a supportive and structured way.
Both organisations are dedicated to increasing junior involvement in golf. Through the Unleash Your Drive initiative, the Golf Foundation will continue to connect golf clubs with schools and communities while expanding its popular GolfSixes programme, which gives young players on-course experience through six-hole competitions.
England Golf will support clubs in other key areas—such as recruiting and retaining junior members, developing volunteers and coaches, managing handicaps, and ensuring compliance with SafeGolf and Respect in Golf standards. These accreditations help create safe, welcoming environments that actively discourage discrimination and promote inclusion.
Golf clubs are being encouraged to engage with schools and communities to strengthen junior recruitment and provide a clear pathway into club membership. The Junior Journey offers a comprehensive framework that guides clubs on how to make this transition seamless and impactful.
The aim is to reshape how golf is perceived by young people—focusing on regular play, fun competition, skill development, and building a positive club culture. With support from The PGA, whose Members and club professionals play an integral role in junior engagement, the programme has been developed as a sport-wide pathway backed by research and community needs.
England Golf Junior Development Manager Laura Yapp said: “We want to inspire more juniors to play golf, and to do that, we need more clubs to enhance their offerings. The Junior Journey provides the perfect platform for clubs to grow and develop junior golf, and as a governing body, we will support golf clubs in providing more opportunities for young people. We want clubs to come forward and become ‘Junior Hubs’, and to be proactive in driving their junior section, as they can be the future of their clubs.”
Recent findings from an England Golf survey show that 47% of juniors rated golf as their favourite sport, citing its social, family-friendly, and outdoor aspects. Meanwhile, 80% of golf clubs expressed a need for a unified national framework to shape their junior pathways—something Junior Journey directly addresses. Notably, 84 percent of young golfers said they enjoy the game more when their club offers a clear, supportive development path.
Yapp added: “The research has allowed us to come up with a sport-wide pathway to promote and support clubs with. By highlighting the stages a young person can take and aligning our work resources and programmes with the Golf Foundation, we can bring our workforces together to provide the best support. We have also collaborated to jointly recognise the clubs who are implementing their own Junior Journeys by appointing them as ‘Junior Hubs’, and we’d like to see as many as possible come forward to help shape the future of their clubs by having a thriving junior pathway.”
Martin Crowder, Head of Development at the Golf Foundation, added: “The Golf Foundation has proven expertise and a strong track record in developing junior golf, with well-established programmes such as GolfSixes League in clubs, and Unleash Your Drive in schools. Our Regional Development Officers are looking forward to working in partnership with their England Golf colleagues to help clubs attract and retain more young people in our sport.”
The Junior Journey represents a united effort to strengthen the foundations of junior golf across England, with the ultimate goal of ensuring the next generation of players feels welcome, supported, and inspired to grow within the game.
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