Express & Star

Street-wise golfers take to the greens

They have just started tearing up the fairways and practising their putting skills.

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But a group of Wolverhampton youngsters have shown they are street-wise when it comes to golf, after impressing at a national StreetGolf event.

Over the past month, staff at the 3 Hammers Golf Complex, in Coven, have been running a city-wide search to find promising young golfers.

The club is working in partnership with the Golf Foundation as well as charity The Way to attract more youngsters into the sport.

Head-hunting began at the Wolverhampton Dome with a host of footballing mad children from the Wolves’ Premier Kicks Session given the chance to take part in a golf taster session.

And they were then invited to the 3 Hammers Golf Complex to compete for a place at the National StreetGolf final, which also took place at the Staffordshire course.

The sport combines golf with freestyle football and sees participants first compete on an 18-hole, par three course.

They are then set a number of other challenges including the ‘pressure putt’ and ‘the 10-yard bucket target test.’

Two teams from Wolverhampton entered the competition.

Team WGS was made up of Wolverhampton Grammar School pupils Bella Evans, Ava Wainwright, James Walker and Hadyn Williams with the youngsters finishing in an impressive seventh place overall.

Team Wolves, consisting of McKorley Allen, Sarlotte Ose, Tano Alaimo and Sophie Brown, finished in 10th position.

“The two Wolverhampton teams did themselves proud,” said Ian Bonser, owner of 3 Hammers Golf Complex.

“We have seen them all come on leaps and bounds since we first met them just a few weeks ago.

“To go from never having hit a golf ball to taking part in a competition like this is really admirable.

“From what we have seen here at 3 Hammers I think this will be just the beginning for many of these youngsters.”

The youngsters were guided around the course by Stacey Mitchell, who works for the Golf Foundation. She said: “I can’t believe how far their golf has come so quickly and they have a great attitude. I was really impressed with how they supported each other as it can be nerve-wracking playing in a national final.”

Martin Crowder, national development manager for the Golf Foundation, added: “Football remains the major sporting influence on young people and StreetGolf has allowed us to harness the ‘power of football’.”