More than £20,000 has been allocated to encourage women and girls to take up golf ahead of the 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles.
Perth and Kinross Council is giving the cash to a range of community groups in the local area.
The £22,000 will come from its dedicated Solheim Community Fund 2019. The largest event in women’s golf, is taking place at the Perthshire course from September 9 to 15.
The successful groups had to meet strict criteria to receive funding by developing a Solheim Cup or golf related themed idea or activity, involving their local communities.
The activities will help to showcase Perth and Kinross to the 100,000 spectators attending the event, which will be beamed to 600 million homes across the world.
Among the projects being supported is a plan by Pitlochry in Bloom plans to erect a new willow sculpture.
The scheme is an echo of the 2014 Ryder Cup, which took place at Gleneagles in 2014, when 18 willow figures were erected in communities across the area.
Organisations specifically targeting women include Strathmore golf club, where players want to create a purpose built cabin and purchase sets of clubs that can be hired at a reasonable cost by new women and junior members.
Perth Ladies Golf Club also plans to offer local women and girls a taster in golf and follow-on golf sessions.
Leader of Perth and Kinross Council Murray Lyle congratulated the successful groups.
He said: “I am extremely impressed by the vast range of innovative ideas and activities the applicants have put forward to support their communities celebrate the fast approaching Solheim Cup, which will once again put Perth and Kinross at the centre of the world sporting map.”
In a separate initiative, five Scottish PGA Professionals will be running We Love Golf taster sessions aimed at women.
The We Love Golf campaign will take place at clubs across Perthshire, Stirlingshire, Fife and Angus – all within an hour’s drive of the Solheim Cup venue at Gleneagles. The clubs taking part are Forfar, Drumoig, Murrayshall, Gleneagles and Callander.
Robert Maxfield, of the PGA said: “We are delighted to be able to support The Solheim Cup’s ambition to increase female participation in Scotland. The We Love Golf campaign bridges the gap between women and girls who may be interested in trying the sport and the PGA Members who deliver fantastic pathways into regular participation.
“We make sure that their first golf experience delivers the fun and friendship that all golfers enjoy.”
