Germany takes its junior golf league into schools

The German Golf Federation is putting its junior team-golf league into schools, after reaching around 500 young players at 37 clubs by 2025! The format is GolfSixes League, a short-form team competition launched internationally in 2022 with backing from The R&A, the Ryder Cup European Development Trust, the DP World Tour and the Ladies European Tour. It was created by the Golf Foundation, which developed it across Britain and Ireland before it travelled. What Germany did with it is the interesting part. Rather than adding another strand to clubs that already run junior sections, the federation aimed it squarely at clubs with no junior programme at all, treating it as a way in rather than a step up. Up to 200 clubs have since said they are interested in running something of the kind. The target for this year is 40 clubs. From 2027 the plan goes further: both the on-course league and an off-course Mini League are due to be introduced through Abschlag Schule, a schools programme that reaches roughly 10,000 children and teenagers between six and eighteen. The federation also ran a league event alongside a professional tournament last year, putting the format in front of a wider audience than a club competition normally reaches.