The final leg of the Safaricom Golf Tour was held at Royal Golf Club yesterday and among the junior players present were kids from Toi Primary School where the outreach was held the previous day. One of the kids who was chosen from the outreach to come play at the clinic is Bright Mdaki – a 13 year who has faith that he’s a future pro in golf.
Bright who has also tried his hand at other sports got word of the golf outreach from his sports teacher and he did not waste the chance. He showed up at his school on Saturday where he learned the initial lessons in golf, and which he believes will set him up for a bright future in the game, and maybe even a career. He and other students learnt the different parts of a club, and proper grip and positioning of a golf club for the best outcome. Most important of all, those initial lessons planted the seed and interest in the kids.
Bright has an interest in golf because it is fun, and he has seen it take people far in life. This is a sentiment that is echoed by his mum Susan Vusha who accompanied him to Royal Golf Club after he was chosen to attend the golf clinic. Susan is happy that the school was chosen to be part of the tour, and more so because her son gets to go to the next step which is the clinic. She sees this as a good step towards a successful golf journey for her son.
To other mothers whose children show interest in golf and indeed in any other sport, she would like to advise them to let their children be. You never know which decisions will open doors for your sons and daughters. To Safaricom, she is grateful for the tour and for bringing a new light into her son’s life.
When he got to the clinic, Bright was very excited to play on a real green and to meet up with other players and coaches. He would love to encourage his friends and other siblings to think about playing golf, and particularly one close friend who was offered the chance but declined because he thought it is boring.
As this season of the Safaricom Golf Tour comes to a close with the grand finale in Vipingo this weekend, one of my biggest highlights has been the outreach programs where we got to see complete newbies take up interest and attend clinics. This goes right along with the tour’s aim of demystifying golf by taking it to the grassroots to people who would never have thought about it.
As part of growing the sport among junior players in the country, Safaricom has partnered with the Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) to tap and nurture young talent. The juniors can register with the JGF for KES.1,000, which grants them access to play at any golf club in the country.