Golf everyone? |
| Posted: 26 Jan 2011 07:53 PM PST A nine-hole round of golf in Australia is a dollar a hole; the same game in Bali will cost five fold that amount; here golf is only for the golden. That was until Melina Caruso stepped up to the tee and established the Bali Junior Golf Community to make golf accessible to middle class Indonesian children. "We love the sport, but I don't play golf and nor does my husband Agus. Our oldest son, Andrew, is passionate about the game and is goaling for the 2016 Olympics. But at US$60 dollars a game we could only afford for him to play once a month, and even that was a stretch at times," says Melina, of her son who played with 18 year old third-hand gold-clubs until very recently. Given Andrew's dedication to the game, Melina sent him to the BannLynch golf program under the umbrella of the Australian Victorian Institute of Sports to see if he had the mettle to make it big in golf. "His coach says he has got it, but that he needs to play every day. So we had to find a solution and I was unwilling to help only my own son receive reasonable green fees here in Bali when there are so many other young people out there playing golf. And some of them are already champions and we, in Indonesia, are not supporting them," says Melina who "door knocked" on every one of Bali's private golf courses, seeking assistance for the province's junior golf community. Her requests for assistance fell on deaf ears with some of the clubs, but others including the Bali Beach Golf Course in Sanur, home of the Denpasar Gold Club, and New Kuta Golf have done all in their power to make golf more accessible to all. "We have 43 kids in the Bali Junior Golf Community and those who are members of the Denpasar Golf Club can play free every weekend here at Bali Beach Golf Course and fees at New Kuta Golf are also affordable. We have incredible support from people such as Rishi Eddy from Ruci Sports Golf House who helps the kids with equipment and golf coach, Vence Subiyata a former golf champion, who though a very busy man, is there to coach whenever he is needed," says Melina of adult golfers who believe the game is not just for those born with a silver spoon, or in this case, a silver set of golf clubs. "We want to see green fees come down as Bali is one of the most expensive golfing destinations in the world. We want to see Bali's junior golfers succeed and we need to see green fees come down so they can play on a variety of greens," says Rishi who makes available high quality second hand golf sets for juniors so they are playing with correctly weighted clubs. Also backing Bali's junior golfers is Eddy Putra from the Indonesian Golf Association, (IGA), who says golf is a game that engenders integrity, honesty, patience and character in players. "Through the junior golfing community, we want to educate the kids on the rules of golf. So many adults don't know the rules and we see cheating going on all the time. The thing is in golf you are competing against yourself — you penalize yourself if a shot is incorrect, so if you are cheating — you are cheating yourself. There are no referees; it's a totally different sport to any other. For kids to learn to play golf when they are young, they want to learn and have a different mindset to adults. The kids understand it's important to know the rules," says Eddy. With several of Bali's youngsters already playing in international championships that knowledge of the rules and golf etiquette is critical, says Melina. "It's important to know the rules if they want to play seriously. When they enter a competition they will be judged on how they play. My son Andrew used to be impatient on the golf course and his coach said that was not on. He had to learn golf etiquette and take some failures on the chin. That lesson in patience and overcoming frustration has been carried across into his school work — his teachers have seen a profound improvement in his behavior and ability to focus on his studies," says Melina, highlighting the fact that sports can be beneficial to study. The junior golfers agree. Melinda Tanan, 16, and Melati Putri, 13, both from Denpasar, have taken to golf like ducks to water. Both are willing to study hard and keep up with chores around the house for the reward of green fees as pocket money. "If I practice (golf) a lot, keep my bedroom clean and study hard, Dad is happy to support my golf," says Melinda, who dreams of one day building her own golf course. For Melati the game is challenging and a great way to meet new friends. "There is a lot of feeling in this game — its challenging and I like the view, the fresh air and the trees; the environment makes me feel refreshed," says city dweller, Melati who plays several times a week after first beginning with her Dad as a 10 year old. Reinforcing family ties as youngsters' journey the difficult puberty years is another aspect of golf that parents and children of the Bali Junior Golf Community pointed up this week, ahead of Sunday's Junior Tournament Series and Championship at New Kuta Golf. "I started paying when I was eight years old because Dad forced me to play. At first I thought it was pretty boring — then I started to feel it was pretty fun," says Jose Massana who has been playing golf for the past four years weekly with Mum, Wayan Kelanis and Dad, Miguel Massana. He does chores around the house and studies hard for his golfing reward. "I earn my reward by doing the right thing," The family says golf is key in making time to share feelings and ideas. "This is the only sport you can really play together. Having golf as a reward has been a real benefit in parenting," says Miguel. "For me this is the only way to be together as a family. If we went somewhere else — we would be entertained and not be talking to each other. Here on the green we are enjoying our sport and walking and talking together as a family," says Wayan. Supporting these youngsters in their sports, and introducing the sport of golf to more children is paramount to the Bali Junior Golf Community and its dedication is already showing results. Several of the community's golfers such as 17-year-old Made Dita of Sanur took out second place in the IGA amateur open class in Jakarta, 14-year-old Victoria Chandra is ranked 7th in the world in the 12 -13 age class, playing in the US against "about 40 kids from all over the world", and 16-year-old Marcella is currently training with a coach in the US after playing in the 2009 Sea Games in Laos and taking third place in the open Ladies Amateur Championships in Batam last year. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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