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....Sixty Youth Benefit from Exciting Summer Golf Program
In its continuing quest to unearth talent and provide opportunities for Jamaican youth, the Sandals Foundation will be staging a free two week Junior Golf Academy for sixty youngsters at the Upton Golf and Country Club, Exchange St. Ann.
The Academy, which will be open to boys and girls between the ages of 10 to 15, will run from July 26-30 and August 2-6, with classes held 1 p.m. to 6 pm daily.
At the culmination of the camp, twenty of the young participants will be chosen to be a part of the Sandals Foundation’s successful Junior Programme, which this year provided three members of the Jamaica National Junior Team to the Caribbean Championships.
To ensure that participants have the best training possible, the Academy will not only be free of charge, but all the resources needed for them to have a top class experience will be made available.
“This will give children the chance of a lifetime to be exposed to all the opportunities that golf has to offer,” said Dave Reid, Head Golf Professional at the Upton Golf and Country Club.
In addition to extensive golf clinics and the use of well equipped resources, the camp will also include mentorship sessions.
Participants will also be given a chance to participate in local golf tournaments.
Reid was upbeat about the Sandals Foundation’s Junior Programme. “Despite the fact that our programme is small in the number of members, we are doing extremely well because we have produced several senior and Junior national players ,” he noted.
Dwight Moulton, Austin Swaby and Zandra Roye , three Ocho Rios teens, products of the Sandals Golf Academy, were selected on the National team to represent Jamaica at the prestigious Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships in The Bahamas.
The trio started playing the game just two years ago at the then Sandals Golf and Country Club, (now Upton Golf and Country Club) as part of a programme designed to give young boys and girls from the neighbouring community the opportunity through sport to also expand their opportunities in life through education.
For Roye, playing golf has been a life changing experience and has also helped him to be more disciplined and excel in school. Since the start of his golfing career his grades have improved dramatically.
“Without golf I don’t know where I would be today,” Roye noted. ”Before Sandals took me in I used to be on the streets playing, now it’s from school to the golf course and it has made me a better person.”
Most recent addition to the Jamaica National Hoerman Cup team is 19 year-old Wesley Brown, a caddy at the Upton Golf Club and now one of the island top golfing prospect.
“Golf offers a lot of educational values because once you are involved and you become outstanding, you will eventually get opportunities such as scholarships that will allow you to attend prestigious educational institutions while still playing golf,” acknowledged Reid.
Reid said it was a pleasure working with the group from the community and praised the Sandals Foundation for its foresight and efforts to give back to the area and provide opportunities for the many boys and girls who have become a part of the programme.
“Golf is a sport that teaches discipline that will not only enhance one’s sporting ability, but one’s intellectual ability, as it prompts focus, dedication and hard work,” he further explained.
