Westy’s bid to ensure the kids are all right

Chasing his first major at this week’s Open Championshiop at Royal Lytham, Lee Westwood will be getting down with the kids again next week when he devotes his time to helping youngsters at his own golf Academy.

The Lee Westwood Golf Academy in partnership with the Co-operative gives aspiring young children the opportunity to learn from PGA qualified coaches in a fun environment.

With coaching ratios of 10:1, children are grouped on ability, allowing both beginners and more advanced players to learn in the right environment on the 3-day course.

“I am very proud of my Academy and the opportunity it presents for the young golfers,” says Lee. “My Academy is all about learning about the game whilst also enjoying it.”

Westy set up his Academy in 2009 with management company Activate Sport. Together they created the Lee Westwood Academy coaching programme, making sure there was a competitive element for boys and girls aged 7 to 16 years at nine centres throughout the UK.

“The game is certainly more fun when you get the right tuition, it’s really important to get the basics right with proper coaching. Once you’ve got the basics right, it’s a game that everyone can enjoy and that’s the most important thing,” says Lee.

A survey of 189 parents whose children attended an Activate Sport camp at Easter showed that 92% of them strongly agreed or agreed that their child enjoyed the camp.

The next 3-day Academy courses will be held across the country at the end of July including at the Morley Hayes Golf Centre in Derbyshire from July 25-27, with extended hours to cover working parents from 8.30-5.30. On top of that, anyone attending will have the opportunity to win a day’s golf with Lee at the end of August.

Before Westy heads for the United States and the PGA Championship, he will be heavily involved with the camps.

“It gives me a great deal of satisfaction in putting something back into golf because as professionals you take an awful lot out of the game. The Academies cover the whole spectrum, and this is a great way to get started in the game.”

Worksop-born Westwood picked up his first golf club at the age of 13 and within two years was junior champion of his home county of Nottinghamshire. He won his first amateur event in 1990 and turned pro in 1993 after winning the British Youth Championship.

As well as playing in the last six Ryder Cup competitions – he has been unbeaten in all five matches twice – his ongoing string of tournament victories and high placings put him at number one in the world rankings at the end of October 2010.

Today, he stands at number three in the world, and he celebrated his 40th worldwide victory with the Nordea Scandinavian Masters in June, putting him joint second in the rankings for the most European tour titles ever, with 18 notched up to date.