Golf development in Gauteng in good hands
Golf is a game that has always been somewhat exclusive, especially because the high costs involved have made it difficult for many people to enjoy the sport. Golfing bodies in Gauteng are however working hard to make the sport more accessible to children from disadvantaged backgrounds in the province.
With the support of a number of clubs in the province and the regional the golf unions, the SA Golf Development Board is bringing golf to children in Alexandra, Soweto and Randfontein. By approaching schools and identifying potential golfers, the SAGDB hopes to find talented players that might otherwise never receive the chance.
"Gauteng is a very important province for us because it’s the country’s golfing hub,” said SAGDB media liaison Patrick Cairns. “We want to make sure that we create opportunities for as many children as possible and introduce them into the mainstream of the golfing community.”
The SA Golf Development Board is working together with Gauteng golfing bodies to create opportunities for young golfers.
To support these aims, the SAGDB is receiving excellent assistance from clubs such as Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC, Linksfield GC, Soweto Country Club, Durban Deep GC, Randfontein GC, Akasia GC, Hillside GC, Pretoria West GC and Springs GC.
To bring down the costs of participation, these clubs are providing help in a number of ways. Some are providing free memberships and free rounds on their courses, while others are helping out by offering transport to SAGDB youngsters, meals and drinks, and free use of their practice facilities."The development of the sport must be a joint effort between everyone concerned with the future of the sport in South Africa,” Cairns said. “The clubs have a particularly important role to play in making their facilities available, and we’re pleased with the relationships we’re building in Gauteng.”
The Central Gauteng Golf Union has also adopted the “Rand-a-Round” concept which encourages its affiliate clubs to collect R1 for every round played for the development of the game. The funds collected are administered by the union and used to help the SAGDB, the junior golf foundation, and the union’s own development initiatives.
“Our relationship with the Central Gauteng Golf Union is good,” said Thenjiwe Sithole, the SAGDB’s development manager in Gauteng. “Juniors who are over age are also often invited to play in their scratch league tournaments.”
Sithole said that the SAGDB is also working closely with the junior golf foundations in the Gauteng regions in the interests of developing the game. The Central Gauteng foundation meets with the SAGDB on a quarterly basis, and the Eastern Gauteng foundation invites players from the development programme to their inter-schools tournaments.
Sithole believes that the continued development of golf in Gauteng will depend on the successful implementation of the SAGDB’s new coaching structures, especially the recently adopted coaching manual. She’s also looking forward to the establishment of regional squads through which the most talented players can be exposed to a higher level of competition.
