Around 200 girls from across Sweden took part in a range of development activities at the Helsingborg Open through the Swedish Golf Federation’s programme Girls Golf Sweden.
They had the unique opportunity to connect with the Ladies European Tour’s star players through short game clinics and learned what it takes to compete at a high international level.
Nicole Garcia of South Africa, local player Johanna Bjork and Paula Hurtado from Colombia showed the girls a variety of chip shots while Mireia Prat helped them to sharpen up from the greenside bunker. Some attendees were beginners, but most belong to a golf club in Sweden. They had the opportunity to ask questions and work on the weaknesses in their own game as well as learn new techniques in a fun and inclusive environment.
Petra Lindstrom, who heads up the department for the development of juniors and elite players at the Swedish Golf Federation, said: “We have girls from eight districts across the country coming here to watch the LET girls play in the tournament, to get inspired, make new friends and meet the stars, but we also have our national coaches here. We just want as many girls as possible to be involved and love golf.”
The Ladies European Tour’s Development Director Mike Round added: “One of the objectives of the Ladies European Tour’s development strategy is to connect with amateur golf and help to develop the game in the countries where we play professional tournaments. Through working with the Swedish Golf Federation we hope to make a real impact and encourage more women and girls into the sport.”
The Swedish Golf Federation is a world leader in its development of junior talent and the activities for junior girls in the Girls Golf Sweden programme also include The Greatest Girl Camp, Skandia Super Camp Region, Mini Camps, ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup.
In addition to the Girls Golf Sweden activities for junior girls, around 350 school pupils attended the Helsingborg Open and were introduced to the game through Try Golf.
