Leeds Golf Centre has been shortlisted for an award in the prestigious 2017 England Golf Awards.

The home of modern golf has made it to the final shortlist in the ‘Most Welcoming Club’ category, with the winner announced at a celebration ceremony at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Thursday, 16 March.

The awards will celebrate all that’s excellent about golf in England. They will recognise leading professionals, elite amateurs, top coaches and the stars of club and county golf who do so much to inspire people to play the game.

Over the last five years, there has been £3 million invested by the Parklane Group to make significant improvements to the club, and new initiatives such as the annual “Up to Scratch” Challenge that was launched last year to encourage beginners to take up the sport and which promises to turn them from a beginner into a proficient player in just eight weeks.

In addition, the club renewed its partnership with David Leadbetter in 2016, arguably the most recognised name in golf tuition, reaffirming its status as the UK headquarters of The Leadbetter Golf Academy for a further four years.

Commenting on the shortlisting, Nigel Sweet, operations manager at Leeds Golf Centre, said: “To be shortlisted in such a prestigious award is a huge coup for the club as we have worked extremely hard in recent years to make our club more accessible and welcoming to people of all ages and abilities, encouraging anyone and everyone to take up golf as a hobby. Being recognised by the England Golf Awards is testament to the hard work that has gone into developing our facilities and we look forward to welcoming many more guests to Leeds Golf Centre.”