THE club professional at Forrester Park Golf Resort is hopeful that hosting a prestigious national tournament can spark greater junior interest in the game.

This year’s Scottish Golf Union (SGU) Junior Tour for under-18s – a forerunner for the Scottish Boys’ Amateur Championship and the Scottish Girls’ Open Championship – takes place this weekend at the Cairneyhill venue and a field of the country’s leading juniors will compete in the season opener.

A total of 45 boys and 15 girls will go for glory in one of the SGU’s flagship events.

They provide up-and-coming golfers the chance to test themselves on high-quality courses and give national selectors the opportunity to assess player development.

Forrester Park’s professional Paul Edgecombe believes that although the event will showcase the course, which is deigned to high-specification USGA standards and can be used all year round due to the quality of its turf and drainage, it could also inspire more junior players to pick up a club and get into the swing.

He said: “This is very good for the club and a thumbs-up for the course because this is part of the crème-de-la-crème in the juniors.

Paul, former head pro at the Vale & Country Club, added: “Players will be coming from far and wide and because the owners built specialised drainage, the greens can cope with any amount of rain and the SGU have guarantees that the course will play well.

“There are very few courses which would be able to take a championship in early or pre-season and there is flexibility because it’s not a set course.

“They can put the tees further back and make it a long course or bring them forward, so there is great diversity in how the course can play.

“It is good to have on the CV and anyone can come along over the weekend and watch a few holes if they wish.

“There are 15 girls in the field so it’s not just boys but I hope that having the event coming here can help the general club-to-club environment.

“Golf is in a slightly tricky position – especially in bringing youngsters through.

“There is a tremendous battle with technology to try and get kids out there and it is a challenging sport to learn but once they do they get incredible enjoyment.

“And it is relatively inexpensive in relation to other things on an hour to pounds ratio. Golf clubs have struggled to attract the same levels of junior interest that they did in years gone by and I think being more relaxed is one way golf needs to go.

“It has to come away from the ‘private members, no entry’, shirt-and-tie idea and be open to all.

“The owners here are very much of the mindset that everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy the course and golf.

“I hope events like this can help start a turnaround.”

The Junior Tour begins on Saturday and continues until Sunday.

As well as the course itself, Forrester Park also offers a floodlit driving range with 20 bays, of which 16 are under cover.

If you would like more information on the golf and tuition offered at Forrester Park, call 01383 880505 or visit www.forresterparkresort.com.