AUSTRALIAN GOLF professional Adam Scott took some time off from his Open Championship schedule to give a group of local schoolchildren a great sporting thrill by taking them on in a chipping competition at the Junior Golf Centre at St Andrews.

It was very much one of the stars of today taking on the potential stars of the future at Tri-Golf, the modified game using colourful clubs and balls.

Some of the budding golfers who visited the centre in the tented village complex were holding a club for the very first time, but received great encouragement from the leading pro.

The player was the guest of the Golf Foundation, the charity committed to introducing as many youngsters as possible to the game.

The visit itself was organised by Adam’s club sponsor, Titleist.

And while meeting his new young fans, Adam revealed that he had taken up the game at the age of five, using a little golf club specially made for him by his father who is a clubmaker.

He said, “My family were golfers, but they were very encouraging about all sports.

“That’s all you need to get going in any sport, the right kind of encouragement.”

The Golf Foundation brings golf to some 500,000 schoolchildren per year.

The charity has also introduced the brightly-coloured Tri-Golf equipment to around 3000 schools across Britain, including several in Fife, Tayside and Angus.