Celtic Tigers on the march

INTERVIEW time, but there is no job at stake. Instead, the committee members of a north county Dublin golf club are appraising the attributes of the young individuals facing them across a mahogany table and, despite themselves, are caught up in clips from a certain television advertisement.

"I'm Tiger Woods."

Deja vu.

"I'm Tiger Woods."

Another bright-faced child, with sparkling white teeth, is asked who his favourite player is, and the response is frighteningly familiar. "Tiger Woods." "Tiger." "Tiger Woods." The power of the media, marketing, fame.

Then, out of the blue one young lad answers with a touch of originality.

"My favourite golfer," he says, "is Michael Campbell."

The aspiring golfer who has quoted the New Zealander as his hero is just 10 years of age; but he has just earned himself a place in the junior ranks of the club. Not quite the same as winning the National Lottery, but not bad all the same.

THE days when a place could be found for any junior whose dad, or mother, was a member of a club, especially in the Dublin region, are effectively gone. Things aren't quite so easy anymore and many players, often as young as 10 or 11, are faced with an interview, or appraisal, to get into a club long before they will be undertaking such techniques in pursuit of a job in the real world.

Yet, interview procedure apart, the junior set-up around the country has changed for the better in recent times.

Most clubs hold etiquette and rules meetings for youngsters, along with coaching, before they are allowed out on to the course at all. And, in most cases, the young players are encouraged to actually participate in competitions (although, in most cases, deprived of the right to play in, say, the Captain's or President's prize).

Not to be found wanting, the Golfing Union of Ireland instigated a series of sessions last winter for "elite" young players, under the guidance of the various provincial coaches, a recognition of the need to adopt a so-called "professional" approach to the development of juniors. The coaches - Don Patterson (Ulster), David Kinsella (Leinster), Leslie Robinson (Connacht) and Brendan McDaid (Munster) - liaised with national coach Howard Bennett and golf psychologist Helen Lennon in an effort to ensure Ireland's young golfing lions moved with the times.

But it is at ground level, in the clubs, that juniors are first introduced to the sport and then integrated into a competitive environment. And most clubs have realised, some too late, that the trophy cabinets are only filled if young talent is on stream. There have been some changing attitudes.

Clubs, overall, are quite generous in the amount of tee-time actually given to juniors. In Tramore, for example, where there is a particularly strong junior set-up (179 juniors and 56 students), nurtured by Alan McIlraith and Michael Burns in the past and with Kevin Murray now continuing the tradition, juniors can play at a variety of times (with the exception of Sundays) throughout the summer. Before 8.30a.m., between 11.0a.m. - 1.0p.m., between 3.0p.m. - 4.30p.m., and alter 7.0p.m. (if accompanied by an adult in the latter case).

Indeed, there is now a realisation among most clubs that it is well worthwhile to encourage competitive participation. Cork Golf Club changed its constitution for the first time in over 100 years to accommodate juniors playing in the full men's championship. "We wanted to encourage active participation from juniors," says Denis Coughlan the junior organiser at Little Island. The idea is that those who actively play in competitions as juniors will. eventually, progress to full membership.

"We are going through a transition period here," admits Coughlan. "The junior membership is quite small - about 50 - but the club professional Peter Hickey has instigated clinics on Saturday mornings and we also hold regular competitions. Indeed, the tee-time is reserved for an hour each Sunday twice a month for juniors and there has been a noticeable pick-up in interest."

SUCH encouragement etc play competitions varies from club to club, however. Yet, the importance of developing a strong junior set-up cannot be over-stated. Stackstown, founded just 21 years ago, is a perfect example. Not only has a European Tour star (and former Walker Cup player) of the calibre of Padraig Harrington come through its system, but a conveyor belt of talent is now in place.

Even in the post-Harrington era, a mere two years since his switch from the amateur to professional ranks, Stackstown have continued to make huge strides, winning the Irish Junior Cup, backboned by teenagers, and producing an Irish youths champion in Mark Campbell. Al present, the club has 10 teenagers with single figure handicaps, a true indication of how well the youth policy is working.

The bottom line? "Encourage them," says Willie Ryan, junior organiser at Stackstown. "And encourage them to play competitions We set out at the very start with a policy to develop our own. If you put it in, you get it back, and that is what has happened here."

Stackstown, with 206 junior members, also operates a liberal attitude towards tee-times for its young players. Juniors can go out at any time on a weekday up to 4.30p.m., and after that if accompanied by an adult. But Ryan admits: "Padraig (Harrington) is the one they all looked up to and that has certainly helped our development."

However, the importance of a professional working in cooperation with the junior committee is amply demonstrated by Michael Kavanagh's role at Stackstown. He has regular clinics with the young players and, throughout the winter months, transfers such exercises to the Leopardstown Golf Centre. "We try to encourage the young players to participate in competitions; it teaches them etiquette and rules, and they become acquainted with playing in a competitive situation," adds Ryan.

Indeed, the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) actively encourages its members to coach young players and one of the more heartening trends in recent years is the number of club professionals now visiting local schools to hold sessions, especially with transition year students.

Schools golf is also important to the sport's development. Colm Gannon, whose Summerhill College team recently finished third in the Golf Foundation International Championship at Loch Lomond, has been immersed in junior golf for years, at Co Sligo Golf Club in Rosses Point and in the schools.

Earlier this year, in his role as the Connacht Branch's junior convenor, he organised a series of meetings around the province, with clubs, in an effort to maintain the upwardly mobile trend.

Among the decisions taken was that anyone who reaches 14 years of age must get an official handicap, rather than just a domestic one, to play in inter-club competition, while there was also a suggestion that juniors be encouraged to play in club competitions, provided they pay the full entry fee.

"We're making good progress in many of the clubs," says Gannon. "The situation in Connacht has improved immensely. I remember a time when we couldn't win a match in interprovincial matches, whatever the age-group or level. That has all changed and much of it is down to the work at grassroots level."

Young Mr Woods, who started playing at three, is not typical. But players are taking up the game from as young as seven. Indeed, the stipulated minimum age at Tramore is seven - and anyone aged between seven and 12 must be accompanied by an adult whenever he or she plays there.

Overall, though, juniors appear to be getting a pretty good deal with clubs more aware than ever that today's kids are tomorrow's adults. Indeed, there are many late arrivals to golf who wish the same opportunities and tuition had been so readily available in their day.