Excitement brews as golf development programme tees off in Orange Farm
ORANGE FARM, April 20 – More and more girls between the ages of six and seventeen years old will be introduced to the game of golf for the first time in their lives as the second season of the Standard Bank Pro-Am Series and the Standard Bank Golf Development Programme returns this week.
Created by Lifestyle Golf who are the founders and promoters of the Standard Bank Pro-Am Series, the Golf Development Programme aims to take the game of golf directly to the girls and create an interest and excitement for the game, and generate support for them within their communities while exposing them to the best coaches in the country for further development.
“We are excited to start with the programme again,” said Jenny Havenga, founder of the Golf Development Programme. “We had a lot of success last year with the programme and we were very satisfied with the responses we received from the communities. This programme aims to introduce as many young girls as possible to the game of golf and we think that we are on the right track.”
The programme began last year at Serengeti Golf Estates where 30 young girls were inducted into the programme and taken through a six-week course, where the objective was to give the girls an introduction into the game of golf. These girls completed levels one to three of the programme which was being delivered by the Women’s Professional Golf Association (WPGA).
Another group of 30 – in Orange Farm and at around the same time – were being taken through the same programme and completed all the levels.
These two groups will now embark on levels 3 to 6 as they continue their development under the tutelage of some of the most respected coaches in the country.
In addition, two more regions – Eastern Cape and Western Cape – have been added to the schedule to widen the reach and find more girls to introduce to golf.
“Last season was a resounding success for us and we wanted to make this year’s instalment of the programme even bigger,” Havenga added, “and we felt we should take it to other parts of the country. We aim to introduce as many girls as possible to the game of golf and this is just a start. We are grateful to have a sponsor like Standard Bank for this programme because it helps us drive women’s golf from the grassroots level.
“We want to continue championing golf development for women and having a partner like the WPGA is very valuable because, through their expertise, we’ll be able to identify and nurture young talent and hopefully be able to set these girls right on their way to becoming better human beings.
“As you know, we have partnered with leading professional, Nobuhle Dlamini, who is a source of inspiration for many young girls from this programme and that shows the level of commitment we have in this project; and the level of inspiration we want to bring to these girls.”
Level three to level six of the training programme begins at Nomimi Primary School in Orange Farm on Wednesday to kickstart the new season.
Schalk Kotze, Standard Bank Head of Affluent: Consumer and High Net Worth Clients South Africa, said, “At Standard Bank we pride ourselves for driving Africa’s growth and this programme is just one such example. We appreciate what development means and that is why our support for this programme and the Series itself is unwavering. Golf is such a beautiful sport and we all need to play a part in making sure it is a sport that is accessible to everyone, especially the girl child.”
The Standard Bank Pro-Am Series aims to drive the development of female players at the grassroots level and empower talented professional female golfers by creating opportunities for more playing time which will enable them to hone their skills further.
For more information, contact Lifestyle Golf – Jenny Havenga or Gina Read.
