Gateshead Golf Club experienced problems with anti-social behaviour around the course, as well as graffiti and litter on the bridge that joined the two areas of the course. There were incidents of young people intimidating or attacking players and stealing golf balls and equipment.
The golf club's first reaction was to call the police to deal with each incident. Sometimes the club members chased any young people away. The problem intensified as more young people targeted the golf course and players as they felt unfairly blamed.
Eventually the club's Chairperson decided to change the approach. Young people in the area were asked what they wanted. Many were interested in playing golf, so the club provided free lessons and equipment.
There was also a project that involved young people working with a local graffiti artist to repaint a tunnel between two parts of the golf course. Young people have taken ownership of this art and regularly visit it and check that it has not been vandalised.
These successful approaches involved several partners as well as the golf club. Partners included the police, Wrekenton Communities Matter and neighbourhood management teams, the Council’s youth service and anti-social behaviour team, and community and voluntary sector groups. The local councillor was instrumental in putting the golf club in touch with partners who could help.
By summer 2008 there were nearly a hundred young people involved with the club. Some of them are good enough to become future professionals. Others have agreed to become ambassadors and to show their peers how golf can help change their lives. Graffiti, violence and intimidation by young people have stopped and the club has won an award for its contribution to the community.
The cost to the club has not been quantified. The Chairperson reports they have saved money that would have been spent on maintaining security and a perimeter fence. The golf club is private and sought no external funding for the venture. The cost to the public purse has been negligible.