WINDHOEK – Namibia Golf Federation secretary-general Brenda Lens is impressed with the way the sport has grown, including the involvement of young people.
Speaking to New Era Sport yesterday, Lens said golf has in the last 11 months seen growth and has become stronger.
She is also delighted with the way the sport has grown in the northern part of the country, which she said is a good sign.
The SG added that what was overwhelming for them this year, was seeing more youth partaking in golf at various international competitions.
“It was a very good year for golf. Golf got popular and strong in the country, especially for the youth. We had various competitions in Tsumeb where we saw 24 boys, coming from Oshakati to take part in the competition,” she said.
“Oshakati is also revamping the golf course which shows next year we can expect competition around the country.
Apart from that, we also took nine boys to Cape Town where they had their trainings for a week, which I believe had a huge impact on their lives. All in all it’s safe to say the future of golf in Namibia looks bright.”
Lens also went on to say that they had a total of 21 international competitions that they took part in 2019 and they are only hoping they will expand and get more golfers on board.
“The year 2019 was good, in terms of sport competition, we had 11 tournaments that we competed in for men while ladies had seven competitions and nine for the juniors, which we are very much proud of. As for next year, we are trying to get more golfers on board,” Lens added.
Despite seeing growth and diversity in 2019, Lens said water shortage was also a big issue this year, which caused few competitions not to take place due to grass not receiving enough water.
She, however, said they are working on ways to ensure the courses are well watered. “Despite the success in the year 2019, we also had few setbacks as we experienced water problem, which had a negative impact on the courses. But we are now busy working on a few things to ensure our grass gets more water for proper trainings of golfers,” said Lens.
Going forward, the SG said they expect more international competition lined up.
“In 2020, we are expecting a busy year filled with lots of functions, like we are going to have a All Africa Challenge Cup for ladies in Swakopmund where 20 teams are expected to take part in. And we will also send a team to take part in Africa Challenge Cup for juniors happening in Egypt in April 2020.”
By Maurice Kambukwe