A WARRINGTON golf club is breaking new ground with the appointment of their first female junior captain.

Kirsty McIntyre will hold the role for 2017 at Poulton Park Golf Club in Cinnamon Brow.

The A level student at Winstanley College in Wigan is the first girl in the club’s history to take up the position.

“I am very proud and very much looking forward to my year,” she said.

“It is great to see that we have a number of new juniors who have joined in recent months. I am looking forward to playing with them and helping them to help develop their golf.”

She plays off a handicap of nine and has been a member of Poulton Park since 2009.

Club director Tom Frame said: “She is a great ambassador for our club and is at the forefront of promoting girls’ golf across the county.

“During her year of captaincy she is looking forward to doing all she can to help develop junior and girls’ golf both at her club and further afield while still playing an active part in the various competitive teams that she plays in.”

McIntyre was introduced to golf by her father as an eight-year-old and took to it straight away.

Her dad, David McIntyre, last year’s club captain at Poulton Park, said: “I am very proud of what Kirsty has achieved with her golf in recent years.

“She has had a passion for the sport since a young age which drives her to keep improving. I am sure she will make a fantastic junior captain for Poulton Park Golf Club.”

She obtained her first handicap at the age of 12 and quickly became a regular in both the junior and women’s teams.

At Culcheth High School she helped her team to reach the national schools finals at Woodall Spa in 2015.

McIntyre also plays county golf for Cheshire girls.

During 2016 she helped promote girls playing the sport in Cheshire by taking part in ‘Girls Golf Rocks’ programme, led by England Golf.

She also clinched the Cheshire girls team Order of Merit award for 2016 despite having to juggle her limited on-course appearances with studies for her GCSEs.

Alison Lysons, England Golf Club support officer in Cheshire, said: “It’s great to see Poulton Park appointing a female junior captain for the first time. Her experience will be invaluable in encouraging other young people, and particularly young girls, to take up the game of golf.”