Olympic hero Steve Backley believes would-be golfers can strike gold during Midlands Golf Week.
The three-time javelin medal winner himself a keen golfer is supporting the week-long festival which takes place from April 12-22 and makes it even easier for anyone to give the sport a try.
It is one of a series of regional Golf Weeks which will be taking place across the country during April and May. Activities range from free taster sessions and roadshows to open days and low-cost coaching programmes with PGA professionals.
They are part of the national Get into golf campaign which inspires more people to take up the game and enjoy fresh air, friendship and exercise. Visit the website getintogolf.org and click on the activity map for a comprehensive listings guide to all the events.
Backley, a former world record holder, believes the combination of golf's return to the Olympics in 2016 and the Get into golf campaign can help the sport reach out to a new generation of players.
Backley believes golf offers many benefits to people of all ages and abilities and is urging them to take the chance to get involved.
He says: If you are sociable, enjoy competition and the open air, then it's a no brainer! But be careful though, golf is addictive.
My advice to anyone thinking of taking up the sport is to play lots and enjoy it. We are all failing golfers so don't be intimidated by it. Tee it up, give it a rip and have some friendly banter while you go and find it!
Backley, who was awarded a MBE and later an OBE, enjoyed a glittering athletics career he won two silvers and a bronze at the Olympics and is the only British track and field competitor to have won medals at three different Games.
His impressive CV also includes four gold medals at the European Championships, three Commonwealth Games gold medals and two silvers at the World Championships.
But the former Loughborough University student admits he became hooked on golf as soon as he tried it.
Backley explains: I was in Los Angeles with my training partner Mick Hill. He too me to the Malibu club and it was heaven. I was hooked from day one!
We played there and then came down to earth with a bump when I came home and played on my local municipal in February. But I still enjoyed it.
Backley has developed into an accomplished single figure handicap golfer, playing off six at The London club, where he rates the par four 18th as one of his favourite golf holes.
Backley believes events such as Midlands Golf Week are vital to the future development of the sport. Making golf accessible and for youngsters to be able reach out and touch the sport is imperative to the future of the game, he says.
In terms of the Olympics, golf needs to embrace the dedication and meaning of the Games, which has made an Olympic medal so cherished, as tennis has done.
During Midlands Golf Week clubs from across eight counties Northamptonshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Rutland will put golf at the heart of the local community from April 12-22.
East Region Golf Week, involving Norfolk, Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Essex and Middlesex, takes place from April 22-28.
South East Region Golf Week, involving Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Surrey, runs from May 27-June 2
North Golf Week, involving Cumbria, Durham and Northumberland, takes places from April 29-May 5.
In the South West, Cornwall Golf Week runs from April 6-14 ; Dorset Golf Week takes place from April 15-21; Devon Golf Month starts on May 4 and Gloucestershire Golf Week runs from May 25-June 2.
Meanwhile, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire will join together to run Play in May.
To find your nearest centre visit getintogolf.org and look at the activity map or call 0800 118 2766
Notes for Readers:- England Golf is the governing body for amateur golf in England.
England Golf was formed on 1st January 2012 following the merger of the English Golf Union Ltd. and the English Women's Golf Association and is one of the largest sports governing bodies in England looking after the interests of over 1,900 golf clubs and 770,000 men and women club members.
Responsible for the training of the country's top amateur golfers, England Golf also organises all the major English amateur championships. England Golf works to actively encourage new golfers and increase the continued interest and participation in golf through its golf development initiative Get into Golf'.
England Golf is a member of The England Golf Partnership (EGP) together with the PGA and supported by the Golf Foundation and Sport England. Their Whole Sport Plan for golf identifies how England will achieve its vision of becoming The Leading Golf Nation in the World by 2020' from grass roots right through to elite level.
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