How Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are inspiring the next generation of golfers and fans

Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter have been teammates for decades, first on European Ryder Cup teams and now as members of LIV Golf’s Majesticks GC.

Through the latter association, Westwood and Poulter are now working together on yet another initiative: a child-centered community impact program.

Together with the team’s co-directors, Oliver Banks and James Dunkley – and Jordan Stephenson, who joined the organization from Youth Trust Sport in Britain and serves as Majesticks’ head of impact and culture – the team created Little Sticks, a unique curriculum designed to create a more inclusive and enjoyable environment for children and young people, helping them unlock their potential through golf. Little Sticks’ primary goal is to educate, engage and empower young people by introducing them to the game and its values.

“Community has always been at the heart of what we’re trying to do,” Banks told me recently. “A lot of golf programs have come along that haven’t been executed particularly well, so there’s an opportunity for us where we can really make a difference.”

The Little Sticks pilot program began last year with programming for primary and secondary school-age children at six schools in Britain and one in the US. According to Stephenson, one of the program’s biggest challenges was convincing physical education curriculum administrators that golf was a valuable addition. Once they decided to implement the program, Stephenson facilitated the delivery of the necessary equipment, training and resources. The pilot was a success, Stephenson said, with data showing that almost 60 percent of children experienced a meaningful positive change in their well-being after attending at least six Little Sticks sessions.

Little Sticks is not just about learning the game of golf. The 12-week program takes a holistic approach and provides basics in the form of 15 simple games, while also emphasizing mental and physical wellbeing. The curriculum includes Poulter and Westwood providing instruction and encouragement in video form, with the players representing character values ​​such as resilience (Westwood) and teamwork (Poulter).

“We give them skills and tools that can help their future, but also give them a sense of belonging,” Stephenson said. “They belong to our team, the Majesticks, they belong to our players, so they also have a broader sense of community. What we really want to do is use our golfers as role models so that we have tangible people that our kids can learn about and the teachers can use in their lessons.”

The Little Sticks curriculum also reinforces these character-building lessons within the games the children play, rather than just in a presentation-style classroom, making it fun and engaging.

“If you look at a gym class, kids are playing golf 95 percent of the time. It’s just the activities they’re involved in that are designed to help develop those character-building skills,” Stephenson said. “So it’s not: ‘Sit down everyone, we’re going to tell you about resilience.’ Instead it’s: ‘You played this game, how did you like it? Did you find it a challenge? What did you do to overcome it when you thought you couldn’t do it? How have you used other people for support?’”

Stephenson said his next challenge will be helping the children who have participated in the Little Sticks program to continue their budding golf journey. He said he has been in contact with British golf federations and unions to discuss strategies to get these children involved in the game.

Another way to keep the kids connected: by tapping into their natural fandom. All Little Sticks participants are invited to attend LIV Golf’s stops in the UK, resulting in an ever-growing group of young fans for the team.

“The guys make all the videos, they’re involved from start to finish, so all the kids involved in this program really get to know the players,” Banks said. “They feel like they’re part of the program. I like it when the kids come out and watch the events. They see the players or they meet the players, and they immediately have an affinity with the team, they immediately have an affinity with the guys who taught them this program. That’s very different than any other youth program because the players are intrinsically connected to the development of these kids.”

Little Sticks expanded to 200 schools in the UK in 2025 and plans to add a further 150 programs in 2026.

“It’s been a real passion project for the entire organization,” Banks said.