Bartica Secondary and Three Miles Secondary Schools became the latest additions to the golf programme as the Ministry of Education Allied Arts Unit and Nexgen Golf Academy continues pushing to take golf to every region in Guyana by end of 2022.
On Wednesday, Bartica’s Mayor, Gifford Marshall, was on hand to see the excitement on the learners’ faces as equipment was donated to the schools by the MOE Allied Arts Unit in partnership with the Guyana Golf Association and Nexgen Golf Academy.
The joint effort has brought about an incredible awareness for a sport once considered to be just for the elite, making it open to every Guyanese.
“In just over a year, the development of the sport has seen many ‘firsts’ in the nation-
expansion to over 100 schools; 2) over 100 CSEC students taking golf as Physical Education elective; 3) recognition in international magazines in Suriname and Japan; and 4) over 10,000 persons now have access to the sport,” a release from the two bodies stated.
“With many expats and re-migrants entering the country, it is important that our residents have an opportunity to network with them and there is no better place than on a golf course. We applaud the government’s initiative to create more facilities to accommodate this fantastic growth,” said Nextgen’s Aleem Hussain, president of the association.
Lorraine Barker-King and Kurt Braithwaite of the MOE Allied Arts Unit expressed their full support for the sport’s introduction into the schools’ curriculum at all levels and are hopeful that Guyana will become a dominant force in the region in golf.
Hussain said that his seemingly impossible promise two years ago to make golf a top rival for established sports such as cricket and football can no longer be ignored as wishful thinking.
“The results are in, golf is here to stay, just look at the smiles on the participants’ faces,” he declared.
“The Nexgen Golf Academy on Woolford Avenue offers a unique training programme that boasts of the ability to teach anyone how to hit a golf ball properly in less than five minutes. Stop by anytime and take up the challenge,” said Hussain.
