GIRLS along the Myall Coast are being given a shot at a new sporting scholarship.

The team at the Hawks Nest Golf Academy is currently recruiting for potential recipients as part of an Australian Golf Foundation program, which aims to address the under-representation of women and girls.

Female players make up just 20 percent of total participation in the sport.

“We need a group of five to benefit and have three very enthusiastic girls already,” the academy’s PGA Head Coach Glen Haynes told News Of The Area.

“As a PGA member, along with over 160 other golf facilities across Australia, our mission is to grow the game.

“And we seek to grow junior golf at Hawks Nest.

“The girls will receive a proper initiation into golf; looking at the rules, scoring the game, etiquette, and how to become members of the Golf Club.

“Kids spend too much time on phones and screens, and golf is a social and physical game with strong fundamentals and discipline.

“It is a game for life.”

The wider program has seen over 3000 scholarships granted so far with 60 percent awarded to girls from regional areas and 88 percent of those recipients retaining their club memberships upon completing the program.

In accordance with the scholarship guidelines, Hawks Nest Golf Club will provide free membership to those who join in 2025, as well as free practice range balls.

The new scholarship program is set to run during school terms from February, with six coaching sessions per term.

Girls are to be aged 9-16 years, have some practical experience with the game, and their own set of clubs.

By Thomas O’KEEFE