Youngsters wanting to have a go at golf for the first time - or if they are beginners wanting to improve - could do a lot worse than get their mother or father to book them into the world's biggest one-day coaching session for youngsters on Sunday, August 5.
It's free and last year the organisers of The Rock Junior Golf Festival at Matfen Hall were deluged with thank-you letters after 330 boys and girls aged five to 15 flocked to John Harrison's excellent coaching academy.
Now, as then, PGA professionals from all over the North are being recruited for this North-East open day to give away golf lessons to the youngsters and put on demonstrations.
Most of the professionals will also compete in The Rock tournament, the biggest PGA regional event in England being played at Matfen from August 6-8.
Like the junior festival, the tournament is sponsored heavily by Northern Rock.
At the Sunday festival, the professionals will put on three sessions - from 10am to noon, from 12.30pm to 2pm and from 2.30pm to 4pm.
All sessions will involve putting, chipping and the short game, plus full shots on the driving range.
To ask about how to register youngsters, parents should ring the PGA North Region on (01204) 496137.
Meanwhile, as the pictures above show, even golf experts were young once and had to start some time.
The three boys holding the cup won in 1975 by the Brampton club in Carlisle - for Cumbria's champion juniors - are Michael Ruddick, Andy McFee and John Harrison.
Now 47 and Matfen's director of coaching, Harrison will be heading up the PGA pros putting on the Rock's junior festival.
McFee has become the European Tour's chief referee and you might spot him on TV when the BMW PGA Championship gets under way at Wentworth today.
Pictures of Harrison and McFee as they look now also apear above, all of which will bring back some fond memories to Brampton members.
Both men learned golf from the club's legendary former professional, Billy Laird.
Towards the end of McFee's student days, it was Laird who pointed out a PGA advertisement which led to McFee starting out on the path to his current role.
Brampton are a club so conscious of encouraging youngsters, they put on a Junior Captain's Day, plus a Junior Open Day, every year.
Being schooled in that sort of environment helped Harrison become one of the best coaches in the business.
Harrison started as the Brampton assistant and he was the professional at Barnard Castle before moving to Matfen.
