The Tribune

THE Bahamas Junior Golf Association is slated to host its fourth annual Junior National Golf Championships at the Bahamas Golf Federation’s Driving Range March 11-14.

According to association president Gina Gonzalez- Rolle, before the Ministry of Education approved golf as a part of the school curriculum, said she was told that never in her lifetime would she ever see golf in the school curriculum.

“Four years later we can happily say not only has golf been a part of the school curriculum for four years, but that scholarships have been granted to our junior golfers and Bahamian students who thought they were not able to play sports, are now top athletes in junior golf,” she said. “Our kids realise that they don’t have to only swim, do track and field, or play basketball to be an athlete, but they can play golf and get a scholarship and if that’s not enough, The University of The Bahamas has a competing golf team in which we are so proud of, as a lot of their students came through our junior programme.

“We have started our training with tiny four-year-olds, who could hardly hold a golf club, but they start and just like other sports they may be slower to begin because of their age and strength but because the race is to those that endure to the end, we know that we will have great Bahamian golfers once they continue to work and be trained.”

The week of March 11, said Gonzalez-Rolle, will go down in history as the 4th annual inter school golf championships will be staged with students from schools across the country, including Exuma, Grand Bahama and New Providence. “When I spoke with Minister (of Education) Glenys Hanna-Martin two years ago, her vision and love for Bahamian children blew my mind. I knew that she would grow sports through education,” Gonzalez-Rolle said.

“When I spoke to Minister (Youth, Sports and Culture) Mario Bowleg, his vision was to grow sports and continue to make the Bahamas proud and I feel like golf has done just that.”

She noted that they have been able to develop their Bahamian junior Richard Gibson, who is placed 323 in the world and Nolan Johnson, Heath Cliff Khan and president Lynford Miller. “These are all the best amateur golf players in the world and three of them have come through the Bahamas Golf Federation’s junior programme,” Gonzalez-Rolle said.

“I think that absolutely speaks volumes for a sport that’s been hardly recognised or supported. I am proud to say that The Bahamas Golf Federation, with the support of Fourteen Clubs, has worked tirelessly to ensure that golf will be recognised as the sport of choice in this country, and I believe that our dream will be a reality in my lifetime.”

This year’s tournament is being sponsored by Doctors Hospital, RF Bank and Trust, Lightbourn Trading, Sand Dollar Imports, Brice Newbold Foundation, Aquapure, Capital Union Bank, Bahamas Waste and the Baha Mar Foundation, who have supported the association since the beginning.