PENRHOS Park’s Richard James and Radyr professional Georgia Lewis are the new regional coaches looking to develop the next generation of golfing talent in South West Wales.

Lewis will be looking after a Girls Squad covering all of South Wales, being based at a combination of Radyr along with Pyle and Kenfig, while James will be developing the South West Wales Boys Squad, based at Machynys near Llanelli.

Both are also part of the Golf Coach Cymru scheme which is aimed at developing then next group of top coaches within the Wales Golf system.

James, aged 33 and the head professional at Penrhos Park, near Aberystwyth, is excited about his new role.

“I’m looking forward to it, the trial went well so we cannot wait to get started with the group now.

“I am fortunate to have a good group of players in my squad, lots of talent, so it is really exciting to see where they go over the next few years.

“We can make a big impression at this age and they are great kids wanting to learn.

“I have been lucky enough to have played for Wales at a decent level so hopefully some of those experiences that I have had as a player, along with the last few years as a coach, will help put them on the right path.

“I was a late bloomer, I was never really part of the Wales junior squads and did not play for Wales until the Men’s level, so everyone’s path can be different.

“That is something to make clear to the juniors as well, that they will find their own journey.

“I will reinforce to them that there is still a lot of time left as long as they do the right things.

“I have been lucky enough to work with some great individuals and they make you look good as a coach.

“Someone like Under 16 Faldo Series European champion Dion Regan has been a joy to work with, I first met him when he was aged nine so to see his progress has been exciting.

“Working with the Golf Coach Cymru has been huge, coaches are often quite private but it is nice to share experiences and have the debates we have and going through the winning golf skills.

“It has helped me to have a bit more of a process when I coach, it has helped me improve my coaching and my players have improved as well. It has been a brilliant experience.”

Wales international Lewis, 28, said: “It is an exciting opportunity, there has not been any regional system in place for quite some time.

“I was initially involved in the system 17 years ago when I first got into a regional set up back then, so for me it is an exciting opportunity to give back.

“It is a really young coaching team and there is so much potential in the squads as well.

“Some of the players are just 11 years of age so potentially they have another seven years in the junior set up.

“It is about introducing them to what the next step of high performance looks like, seeing what they have to do.

“It is a big jump with strength and conditioning and mindset all part of it as well as the playing side, it will open their eyes.

“There has been some positive feedback it is being done by a female coach, there are not a lot of us in Wales, so to have that perspective can also help.

“At Radyr we have a healthy percentage of girls, about 30 out of a group of 100 in junior coaching.

“Having the AIG Women’s Open in Wales this summer has absolutely helped, girls came back from there having seen their role models close up, got autographs and signed clothing.

“We will be doing the coaching half and half between Radyr, and Pyle and Kenfig.

“There are some really good facilities at both so it will just be exciting to get going and see what we can do with the players over the next eight months.

“It will be interesting to see who can move up the Aspire Group as the next stage of their development in the Wales Golf system.”

Wales Golf Pathway and High Performance Officer, Natalie Powell, added: “The current squad system includes a High Performance Squad, Under 21’s, Under 18’s and an Aspire Squad below that. A couple of years ago the numbers in the Aspire Squad were very low.

“We are trying to increase the opportunities for golfers at the younger age groups.

“By introducing four new squads of seven to eight players, we’re creating more opportunities for young golfers to develop and progress within the pathway.

“We hope this leads to more golfers reaching the peak of the amateur game.

“Providing more golfers with access to performance environments, quality coaching, and competitive opportunities at the earlier stages of the pathway will help strengthen the overall system and support long-term success.

“We hope we can instil performance behaviours in those players so they understand what it takes to get to the next level.”

The new regional squads will start their winter sessions this month.

Regional South West Boys: Tommy Evans, Finlay Grey, Dylan Williams, Sam Matthews, Oliver Jones, Myles Jones, Harrison Jones, Efan Rees, Macsen Dyer.

Regional South Girls: Esme Matthews, Charlotte Huntley, Lacey Mai Rees, Phoebe Gorvett, Nevaeh Clarke, Molly Maclean, Lily Fitzpatrick.