ROYAL COLOMBO GOLF CLUB SCOUTS FOR FRESH TALENT

The Junior Clinic of the Royal Colombo Golf Club (RCGC) will host A Day of Discovery event to identify new golfing talent on December 10, 2018. With this programme, RCGC hopes to recruit a fresh pool of budding young golfers to its existing junior clinic outreach programme, which was initiated in 2011 to help the game thrive in Sri Lanka.

The target group for the talent scouting programme is as follows: 9 to 13 years (boys and girls). The programme will target promising talent outside the RCGC membership. When it was first introduced in 2011, RCGC mandated that a structured, long term programme was put in place to identify, train and create the future golf champions of Sri Lanka. Provisions were put in place for 20 students to receive free-of-charge access to training, equipment, practice facilities and access to the golf course via this programme.

The timeline agreed upon was 10 years of training to create a national golf champion. Within five years, one of these students, Tania Minel Balasuriya, succeeded in becoming the Sri Lanka National Ladies Golf Champion at just 15 years of age.

“There is no question that this country harbours much talent, but we need to be proactive in seeking out and nurturing it,” Jehan De Saram, P.G.A. Head Golf Professional at the Royal Colombo Golf Club said. “As golfers, it is our responsibility to strengthen and develop the game in Sri Lanka, and endeavour to be a feature on the international stage.”

De Saram also noted that for a country with so few golfers and limited access to opportunities in this arena, Sri Lanka has made a significant mark on golf in South Asia. “It’s noteworthy that many of our award-winning golfers don’t fit the mould of the typical Colombo elitist that many golf enthusiasts may be perceived as,” he said. “This is why we started the junior clinic outreach programme in the first place to dispel this notion and create an opportunity for anyone to learn and benefit from the game. Through the generous support of the Royal Colombo Golf Club and its members, this initiative has helped to nurture the talents of many young golfers.”

A Day of Discovery is powered by the generous support of the MTV/MBC Channel Organization linked to the Capital Maharaja Organization.

To register for the RCGC Day of Discovery, please send a Whatsapp message to 0775445153 by December 5, 2018. Early registrations are recommended in order to avoid disappointment.