A number of LET players have volunteered to be part of the LET’s Development Group which aims to maximise the organisation’s contribution to golf development. The players met in Morocco prior to the Lalla Meryem Cup to discuss the importance of contributing to activity at event and for an update on the plans for 2019 to help grow the game, particularly amongst women and girls.
According to Eva-Lotta Stromlid, a member of the LET’s Development Department who met with the group: “Our players are great ambassadors for juniors and for the communities where they live or where we visit. They are always enthusiastic about golf development and are very keen to give back. They are very engaging and willing to give their time and this creates a nice dynamic between the professionals and the amateurs coming to visit the events.”
The LET and its members are committed working with partners and local and national organisations to ensure that its events leave a lasting legacy. Throughout the year, the Development Group members will be asked to support programmes that help to develop junior golf, participate in clinics at the LET events, share the experience of professional golfer through Q&A sessions or meet aspiring elite amateurs and show them behind the scenes so that they understand how professional events work. The hope is that all of this work will inspire beginners and make aspiring youngsters feel more prepared and motivated as they progress along the performance pathway.
Development Group member Emie Peronnin from France said: “When I was back in university, I learned about the value of volunteering and being part of a community and helping people out. Now that I’m part of the LET, I’m part of a new community, so I want to help to develop it.” She added: “I’m very involved in my golf club’s junior programme and whenever I have the chance, I play with the women’s golf team and I also play with the juniors at my golf club. It’s fun and it’s also rewarding. I looked up to the older generation when I was young and now it’s nice to be able to help the younger generation.”
The LET’s Development Group and the work it does is one of the ways the LET is responding to the introduction of the R&A Women in Golf Charter. Mike Round, Development Director for the LET commented: “The R&A is one of the LET’s best supporter and we feel it is important that we play our role to help The R&A activate the aims and objectives set out in the Charter. The Development Group is one example of this.”
Reports about the LET’s development activity can be found in the Development section of the website – https://ladieseuropeantour.com/development.