SA Open development clinic paves way for future champions

A play play club and tennis ball being used as tools to pave the way to professional golfing careers for children who attended the SA Open Development Clinic on Saturday.

Aspiring young golfers got a taste of the great possibilities for their future on Saturday as professional coaches took them through the ins and outs of the sport at the South African Open Junior Development clinic held at the Serengeti Golf Club in Kempton Park.

Golfers aged between 8 years and 18 years from the Daveyton and Tembisa Golf Clubs attended the development clinic organised by the City of Ekurhuleni as a legacy of the SA Open Championship.

The purpose of the development clinic was to give the youngsters an edge by fine tuning the basics like stretching, getting a good grip, posture and swing, as well as putting, revision of the rules of the game and etiquette.

Nkosinathi Dauwa, a 17 year-old golf prodigy from Daveyton, was afforded the chance to up his game at the session. Inspired by his former professional dad Theo Dauwa, Nkosinathi started playing golf from the tender age of four years. He recently beat all the top juniors from Ekurhuleni to claim the Ekurhuleni Golf Union first prize at the Benoni Golf Club.

"I came here to learn as much as I can as I’m planning to turn professional one day," said Nkosinathi, who will represent Ekurhuleni at the Under 19 Inter-Provincial Tournament at Paarl in Cape Town in December.

A total of 100 children from all over the province were invited, including young golfers from Soweto. The experience was also worthwhile for their instructors who attended a coaching seminar focusing on human movement patterns, age appropriate training, motor skills development, ball flight analysis and the importance of basic technique.

The development clinic was the first step of a long-term development programme which will soon be launched by the City of Ekurhuleni’s Sports and Recreation department.

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