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2015 Masters Champion Jordan Spieth served Texas barbeque at the Masters Champions Dinner on Tuesday night.

His mentor, Ben Crenshaw, a two-time champion who leads the conversation at the dinner, said that Jordan Spieth had chosen Salt Lick Barbecue to be served. Crenshaw called it a “great choice from right here in Austin, Texas.”

This is where Spieth went to college. But that’s not to say it’s where the barbecue is being prepared.

“I didn’t select Salt Lick. I don’t know where that was spread from,” Spieth said “Augusta National always makes the meals. So they asked, ‘What do you want to have for your meal?’ and I said I’d love to do some Texas barbecue. So they kind of go out and search for a way to make it based on popular places. I’m not sure what it’s exactly going to be. It’s going to be Texas barbecue. I’m pretty excited for it.”

Wherever it’s from, Crenshaw is sure to enjoy it. He hosted his first dinner in 1985 and said the food was based on what Augusta National had on the menu.

“I think it started very soon after that the champion got to pick his own menu,” Crenshaw said. “So it gave a real personality to the player.”

Tiger Woods said that the food was “unreal” and Jordan had done an amazing job. Phil Mickelson, an invitee as former champion, trashed fellow player Dustin Johnson by asking “where are you going to dinner tonight?” another classy remark from the Master of pearls of wisdom.

Butch Harmon, who coached Tiger Woods to eight of his 14 major titles, has offered his former charge the chance to reignite the most lauded player-coach partnership in the history of golf. Now he is no longer coach to Tiger’s old rival Phil Mickelson he is free to take on what must be golf’s biggest challenge.
Woods is picking up the pieces of his career after a series of serious back surgeries and has plummeted to the previously unimaginable depths of No 467 in the world rankings.
It would require an unprecedented fightback for Woods to dominate the game as he once did – most notably when he claimed the ‘Tiger Slam’ of all four majors in succession under Harmon’s tutelage in 2000-01. But any sort of reunion would spark fresh hope of a sporting miracle.

If anyone can help Tiger, Butch can. It’s heartening news.

The England Golf Partnership (EGP) is backing Community Golf to offer more opportunities for disadvantaged and disabled people to play the game in Surrey and parts of Sussex, Kent and London.

Community Golf was founded three years ago by PGA professional Richard Shaw who, with his team, believe that golf is a game that everyone should have the opportunity to play and be involved in.

They offer programmes to inspire and engage people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds and have developed links with schools for children with special needs and with community organisations reaching out to the lonely and socially isolated.

Community Golf runs outreach and club based programmes and has partnered with four golf clubs so far, to offer follow-on sessions, events and holiday camps: Epsom GC; Selsdon Park GC, near Croydon; Milford GC, near Guildford; and The Oaks GC, near Sutton. Currently 320 people are involved in weekly golf, with many more being given a taste of the game, and it wants to involve more clubs and volunteers to increase the work that they can do.

The new partnership will give support to Community Golf from England Golf and Golf Foundation officers and links with County Sports Partnerships. Richard Shaw (pictured) commented: “I am really excited about this. We all share the same ambition to grow the game and this will help us to reach new groups and new people who haven’t had access to golf before.”

Jamie Blair, England Golf’s Disability Manager, said: “The England Golf Partnership recognise the work of Community Golf in getting more disabled people active through the sport in their local setting.”

“By working more closely together we will create stronger links to more golf facilities so that disabled people get the opportunity, if they would like it, to move on to playing within these facilities. We want to combine the strengths of local deliverers who can activate the community and clubs who want to create stronger links within their locality.”

The Community Golf approach is creating many enthusiasts. Anne, 54, who joined a session at the Surrey Choices Woking Resource Centre, commented: “This is really addictive”. While Molly, a 14-year-old pupil at St Catherine’s Girls School, confessed: “I hate golf – but this was fun!”

Meanwhile, Bailey, a 12-year-old schoolboy, has made a real difference to older people in Crawley, West Sussex. He was challenged by his school to raise money for a charity and, with cake sales and sponsored activities, made £330 which he gave to Age UK Crawley.

The charity used the money to treat their members to play in the Community Golf Spring League and, said Richard Shaw: “They are now enjoying the health and social benefits that the sport has to offer and unbelievably the average age of the group is 83.6!”

Click here to find out more about Community Golf activities and opportunities to join its team as an activator or volunteer.

The England Golf Partnership brings together the amateur governing body, England Golf, and the Professional Golfers’ Association to grow the game with the support of the Golf Foundation and Sport England National Lottery funding. The Partnership’s Whole Sport Plan for golf aims to increase and widen participation in golf, from grass roots to elite level.

A debate is to take place in the House of Commons on the value of golf to the UK economy this week.

The Adjournment Debate, which will take place in the Commons Chamber on the evening of Wednesday 13 April, was applied for by Lincoln MP and Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Golf Group Karl McCartney.

The Debate follows an independent report published by Sheffield Hallam University, commissioned by The R&A, that shows in detail how much the sport of golf adds to the UK economy.

Nearly 74,500 people work in the UK golf industry with a third employed directly by nearly 3,000 clubs. Golfers spent £4.3 billion on their sport in 2014, half of which was channelled through clubs, and accounted for 14% of all consumer spending on sport. Golf paid £990 million in taxes to the Government over the same period.

The overall outcome is that golf’s gross value add to the UK economy is calculated at £2 billion or 7% of GVA attributed to all sport in the United Kingdom and after accounting for indirect and induced economic impact effects, the turnover of the UK golf industry is estimated at £10.3 billion for 2014.

In calling for the debate, Karl McCartney said “after seeing just how much golf does for the UK in terms of revenue generated, tax paid and people employed, it is only right that a sport of this scale is debated in the House of Commons chamber and the details placed on public record. Golf is one of the UK’s biggest industries and as the home of golf, we can use this data to ensure more is done to encourage people to become involved.”

The Sports Minister, David Evennett, will most likely respond to points raised in the Debate on behalf of the Government.

Accountants Hiller Hopkins polled 100 clubs and found the following.

5% of the clubs were operating at a loss. 56% said they were growing. 84% of clubs said they were renovating their clubhouses.There has been a big decline in membership numbers, particularly the younger age group, with 61% are over the age of 50.

Many clubs are abolishing joining fees and looking to credit based flexible memberships. There is more availability for non members.

97% of clubs still retain a dress code. This is claimed to be a disincentive for women to join the sport.70% of playing members are adult males. Less than 50% said that female membership was rising. 6% have no women members.

Less than 38% bring in revenues of more than £150,000 in hospitality, showing a big decline in bar and restaurant spend.

The younger generation are turning to Top Golf and avoiding golf clubs as a social destination, indicating that the growth of the game is in serious decline.

Surrey’s David Boote, 21, played an important role in the European Team which won the Bonallack Trophy this week,. The team of top European amateurs played the best amateurs from the Asia-Pacific region and won 21.5 to 21.5 at the Vidago Palace Golf Club, Portugal. Every member of the European team contributed at least 2 points.

David’s results were impressive. He won his singles match 4 and 3 and also scored two wins in each of the foursomes matches, by one hole and an outstanding 5 and 4 win with his partner Jack Hume from Ireland.

Welsh international David is in his final year at Stanford University, California where he is a human sciences major. He is a member of both Walton Heath and Kingswood golf clubs in Surrey.

This year he has finished 4th in the South American Amateur Championship and won last year’s Welsh Amateur Championship. He intends to turn professional after he graduates.

The Bonallack Trophy is named after the former secretary of the Royal and Ancient, Sir Michael Bonallack who was British Amateur Champion five times and played in the Walker Cup Matches against the United States nine times. Competitors from Europe are chosen for the team on the basis of their position in the World Amateur Rankings with special attention given to their results in match play events.

The Chinese owners of one of Britain’s most prestigious golf clubs have shelved plans to reduce the number of members by hugely increasing fees.
The Beijing-based Reignwood group wanted to cut membership at Wentworth in Surrey from 4,000 to 900 to make it the most exclusive club in the world.
It was to charge existing members a £100,000 debenture and increase annual subscriptions from £8,000 to £16,000.
Now the club has said existing members will not have to pay the new debenture.
Residents of the neighbouring Wentworth Estate, where houses can cost many millions, will also get reduced rates.
The club announced in October it would be charging existing members £100,000 and new joiners £125,000.
The planned charges led to a bitter dispute between golfers and Reignwood, who bought the club for £135m in 2014.

Club members and Wentworth Estate residents threatened legal action against the proposals which they said would fundamentally change its nature and character.
Residents also threatened to block roads during the European Tour’s PGA championship, held at the course every year.
Eric Leon, from Wentworth Residents’ Association, said local people, who own the estate’s private roads and verges, were not all multi-millionaires and could not afford the inflated fees.
Wentworth Club said the “membership update” followed a number of meetings between members, residents and Songhua Ni, president of Reignwood.
He said: “We have listened to a variety of differing interests from members and estate residents.
“We are continuing to make every effort to accommodate those, whilst focusing on our vision of making Wentworth Club the world’s premier golf and country club.”
Reignwood said it would be investing £20m into the club and golf courses by December 2018, with the first stage of the upgrade beginning in June after this year’s PGA Championship.

On Tuesday he was playing with a White Mountain jigsaw set.