The Eastern Province Golf Union used the recent provincial strokeplay tournament at Wedgewood as an opportunity to launch a development initiative in conjunction with the Eastern Cape provincial department of sport, recreation, arts and culture.
The thrust of this partnership is to provide up-and-coming golfers with the means to compete at a higher level, both in terms of receiving playing opportunities and having the right equipment to achieve their goals.
EP Golf Union executive member Rowlin Adonis said it was important when talking about golf development to see it as whole and not just refer to certain elements of the programme.
“We have to start somewhere and it does happen at a grassroots level, so there is a lot of emphasis from our side, as a golf union, to be able to create a pipeline of players which allows us to compete at any level nationally,” he said.
“The question is how do we achieve this and make it a priority going forward, and after discussions with the provincial DSRAC, and presenting them with proposals, we are happy to announce that they have come on board to support this venture.”
Acknowledging that it was not always easy for young aspiring golfers to obtain the right equipment, Adonis said one of the development elements was to provide the quality of clubs which would allow them to achieve the goals both they and the union had in mind.
“You can’t play golf at a competitive level if you don’t have the right or quality equipment, so we are honoured to receive funds from the provincial DSRAC to help us in this matter,” he said.
“We also joined hands with our equipment sponsors Srixon and today we are able to hand over to two full sets of Srixon clubs to young players we have identified as having the potential to knock on the door of provincial selection.”
The players who received the clubs are Valentino Daniels and Onamandla Hani, and they are both excited about the opportunity they have received.
Adonis said, however, that the equipment would remain the property of the EP Golf Union and as young players moved through the ranks and possibly received support from other parties, they would use the donated clubs for other young golfers in the EP development programme.
“Through the SA Golf Development Board under regional manager Frans de Kock, and with support from our sponsors, we will also hopefully acquire more equipment in the years ahead to assist us to achieve our objectives for the promising development players,” he said.
Besides the equipment, Adonis said they would also be looking for opportunities to expose the region’s young players to a higher level of play.
“We want to help them try to compete in national tournaments because that comes with pressure of a completely different kind, so it’s important that they experience that as well.”
He thanked DSRAC assistant director (sport) Avile Qowa and co-ordinator (sport administration) Nozipho Shange for their presence at the handover and their contribution to the furtherance of the EP golf development programme.
The Herald
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