Opportunity knocks for talented player

“To play golf well, you need a certain level of physical fitness,” says Ben Harris (18), a Mitchell House College learner.

Ben started playing golf with his family about two years ago and wanted to take the sport more seriously.

He then joined Goose Academy, where he is coached by Ray Earle. “Ben can still go far, in this past year he improved a lot,” says Earle.

Ben hasn’t competed in big tournaments yet, but wil take part in the upcoming Koro Creek Open Tournament and the Polokwane Open. “If he does well here, which I am sure he will, he gets a place in the u/19 inter-provincial team, representing the Limpopo team,” explains Earle. This young golf player has improved his handicap from 18 to four in just a year. A handicap is the number of strokes a player receives to adjust their inherent scoring ability to the common level of scratch or zero. The thing Ben enjoys most about this sport is scoring birdies. “A birdie is a score of one stroke under par,” explains Ben.

For him the most challenging thing about golf is the short games, where you pitch and chip.

Ben is in gr. 12 and says he has two options on what he wants to do next year.

“I can go to university and study business management, but I also have the opportunity to go to a golf academy. Either way, I will continue playing golf and try to improve my game,” he says.