Modderfontein Golden Oldies support golf academy for Tembisa youngsters
The golf club pays for the children to be brought to the club by taxi on Saturday mornings
MODDERFONTEIN Golden Oldies have once again supported a worthy cause within the local community.
After learning there is a golf academy at Kempton Park Golf Club which is run for children from Tembisa ranging in age from about five to 18 years of age, members decided to assist.
This academy is run by Mike Sebanz, director of golf at Kempton Golf Club, together with Sam Serongoane and Frans Molopo. Several members of the golf club also give their valuable time and forfeit their Saturday morning games to assist 20 to 30 youngsters who are brought to the club to hone their skills in the wonderful game of golf.
Academy member Lebo Makume is the junior champion of the club. He is 18 years old and plays off a three handicap.
“There is a bright future ahead for this youngster and we hope to see him excel in provincial and national competitions one day,” Shen Reid of the Golden Oldies said.
In addition to the academy, the club has also taken under their wing Julia, who is deaf and mute.
“We understand she came to Mike expressing her desire, in sign language, to learn to play the game of golf and they immediately adopted her and provided her with equipment and coaching. She also attends the weekly coaching sessions,” said Reid
The golf club pays for the children to be brought to the club by taxi on Saturday mornings for coaching and practice. After their sessions they are treated to a cold drink and a packet of chips or something similar. Over a year these costs add up to a considerable amount.
The Golden Oldies felt it would be a nice gesture to make a contribution towards covering these costs. Accordingly, they donated R10 000 to the academy fund. A further R2 000 was donated specifically to assist Julia to enable her to continue learning the game of golf so she can one day be a regular golfer.
“We will monitor the progress of the children, the academy and Julia and will not exclude the possibility of making further donations to support this cause in the future,” said Reid when they visited the golf club to meet the youngsters, including Julia, and hand over their donations.
