Mark and Lisa Shervill have been named winners of the Participation & Development Coach of the Year award, sponsored by Your Golf Travel, at the 2026 England Golf Awards - recognising their outstanding commitment to growing the game and transforming lives across their community.
An in‑demand professional coaching team, Mark and Lida dedicate countless hours each week to outreach programmes that make golf accessible to people of all ages and abilities.
Their innovative coaching pathway — built around Mind, Body, Play and Motion — is adaptable for participants from age six to 92, ensuring everyone can learn and enjoy the game in a supportive, confidence‑building environment.
Their work with the British Legion Battle Back Centre has been particularly impactful. After securing extensive sponsorship, they created a safe, covered coaching platform for severely injured and traumatised service personnel. Today, around 400 participants benefit from this life‑changing initiative each year.
Through Crossbar Alternative Learning, the Shervills support 10 young people weekly, using golf to build confidence, improve wellbeing and teach positive behaviours.
Their school liaison programme now engages two local schools, with 12 children actively involved.
Their coaching pathway has also delivered exceptional results at club level. The Women into Golf programme has welcomed 187 women, with 135 progressing into club membership. Their junior beginner pathway has supported 215 young players, leading to 45 new adult members, 10 county players and five students progressing to US college golf programmes. A further 47 parents have joined through junior coaching alone.
Once met with scepticism, their outreach model is now seen as a blueprint for meaningful, inclusive growth. Mark and Lisa’s dedication, compassion and expertise continue to enrich lives — making them truly deserving recipients of this national honour.
Mark said: “To win this award means the world. Getting the recognition for what we do obviously is a great honour, but it's more than the award. I mean, every day that I coach, it's a passion, it's a purpose, and it's just a great thing to be able to share with everybody that I do help coach, and everybody at the golf club who supports us through our journey.”
Lisa added: “My proudest achievement of participation is getting as many women and girls into the game as I have. It's not just me, you've got to have the right environment, you've got to have the right team behind you, but to get over 200 through joining, starting, playing, enjoying it, loving it - that's the biggest and most proudest bit for me.
“I just want to encourage more women, more girls into golf and keep them playing golf and show them how wonderful a game it is.
“The trophy is definitely coming back to Lilleshall. We are going to celebrate with all the members of the golf club. This is as much theirs as it is ours. Without their support of the club, we can't do what we do. All the people that we coach, without their support, we can't do what we do and this is as much for them as it is for us.”
Their innovative coaching pathway — built around Mind, Body, Play and Motion — is adaptable for participants from age six to 92, ensuring everyone can learn and enjoy the game in a supportive, confidence‑building environment.
Their work with the British Legion Battle Back Centre has been particularly impactful. After securing extensive sponsorship, they created a safe, covered coaching platform for severely injured and traumatised service personnel. Today, around 400 participants benefit from this life‑changing initiative each year.
Through Crossbar Alternative Learning, the Shervills support 10 young people weekly, using golf to build confidence, improve wellbeing and teach positive behaviours.
Their school liaison programme now engages two local schools, with 12 children actively involved.
Their coaching pathway has also delivered exceptional results at club level. The Women into Golf programme has welcomed 187 women, with 135 progressing into club membership. Their junior beginner pathway has supported 215 young players, leading to 45 new adult members, 10 county players and five students progressing to US college golf programmes. A further 47 parents have joined through junior coaching alone.
Once met with scepticism, their outreach model is now seen as a blueprint for meaningful, inclusive growth. Mark and Lisa’s dedication, compassion and expertise continue to enrich lives — making them truly deserving recipients of this national honour.
Mark said: “To win this award means the world. Getting the recognition for what we do obviously is a great honour, but it's more than the award. I mean, every day that I coach, it's a passion, it's a purpose, and it's just a great thing to be able to share with everybody that I do help coach, and everybody at the golf club who supports us through our journey.”
Lisa added: “My proudest achievement of participation is getting as many women and girls into the game as I have. It's not just me, you've got to have the right environment, you've got to have the right team behind you, but to get over 200 through joining, starting, playing, enjoying it, loving it - that's the biggest and most proudest bit for me.
“I just want to encourage more women, more girls into golf and keep them playing golf and show them how wonderful a game it is.
“The trophy is definitely coming back to Lilleshall. We are going to celebrate with all the members of the golf club. This is as much theirs as it is ours. Without their support of the club, we can't do what we do. All the people that we coach, without their support, we can't do what we do and this is as much for them as it is for us.”
ENDS
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org
Contact details:
Tom Vale, Press & Media Manager
Tel: 07912 240850
Email: tom.vale@englandgolf.org
www.englandgolf.org