European summit at Fulford Golf Club

The Heslington-based course has been chosen as only the third English club in the 40-plus year history of the women’s amateur game to host the European Ladies Amateur Team Championship.

And the stirring message from England team coach Steve Robinson – who heads his own academy at North Yorkshire’s Sandburn Hall Golf Club, just off the A64 on the road to Flaxton – is that his charges will be going flat out for another home conquest.

When the Euro championships were held in England at Ganton in 1971 and at Wentworth in 1991, England prevailed in each.

Robinson wants a hat-trick even if he has lost four of his England mainstays and major talents to the professional ranks since the turn of the year.

He cited how Charley Taylor, Charlotte Hall, Kelly Tidy and Elly Clyburn had all graduated to the professional circuit from the England women’s performance squad which Robinson has coached for just over two years.

But in spite of that mini-exodus, Robinson’s mantra was to aim for the number one spot among the 20 six-strong teams expected to compete in the championships at Fulford from July 6 to 13.

Said Robinson: “Victory is what we will be going for. If you don’t have that aim then you might as well not turn up.

“We will have a young team, but we have a lot of promising players coming through and I’m not sure about an over-emphasis on experience.

“My belief is that if you are good enough then you are old enough.

“It’s a great opportunity for some of our younger players to come through and shine.”

Robinson was thrilled at the championships being held in his own York backyard at Fulford, where he has many fond memories as a player.

“I’ve won two big Yorkshire events at Fulford – the Yorkshire Professional Golfers Association championship and the Yorkshire PGA Masters.

“It’s a course that has been kind to me and I hope it’s going to be exactly the same when England play there in the Euros in the summer.”

The selection of Fulford was also hailed by the England coach, who regularly runs his training courses for the England Performance Squad at Sandburn Hall.

“Fulford is such a historic and such a great course,” said Robinson.

“I know from an England point of view how the club has bent over backwards to accommodate these championships.

“Gary Pearce (Fulford’s general manager) and Jonathan Plaxton (club stalwart and former England international) have been fantastic in their support.

“Not only is staging the championships at Fulford great for the course and for local golf, it is also going to be great for the city in that it will generate a lot of money with 20-odd teams and their various back-up squads.”

Championships organisers England Golf have appealed for volunteers to help to smooth the overall operation of the tournament.

This will be co-ordinated by the club and anyone interested should phone Fulford on 01904 412579 to express an interest.

For more information on the championships visit the www.englandgolf.org/euro2013 website.