SWAN educates members, students on golf rules
By Femi Atolagbe
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In a bid to bring the game of Golf closer to the grassroots, the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, (SWAN) Ondo state chapter in conjunction with X- node Consult organised a retreat for its members and selected secondary schools students in Akure, at Smokin Hills Golf Resort Ilara Mokin, Ondo state.
In an interview, the SWAN chairman, Mr Wahab Bankole said that the association chose Golf among other games to disabuse and educate the mind of the populace that see golf as a game reserved for the rich in the society.
His words: “Golf is not popular in Nigeria because people classified it as a game reserved for rich men, which in the real sense is not so.”
“This retreat will afford our members the opportunity to be familiar with the rules and coverage of the game and it is a means of encouraging the young ones to have interest in the game,” he said.
A resource person and a professional golfer, Mr Topa Yusuf while taking the participants through the nitty gritty of the rules of the game urged government to invest in the game to make it more attractive to the young ones.
Yusuf added “that some of the golf courses in Nigeria are owned by private individuals, there is need for government to complement the efforts of such individuals to popularise the game in the country.
“Golf is a game for discipline and intelligent people, it’s a game that shows people’s characters and it’s less hazardous,” he said.
Representative of X- node, Emmanuel Ikechukwu said their organisation decided to partner SWAN to create awareness about the game of golf at the grassroots hence the need for the inclusion of secondary schools in this retreat.
Some of the secondary schools students participated in the retreat expressed happiness saying the lecture changed their thought about the game.
Some of the selected schools at the retreat are; Saint Louis Secondary School Akure, Accord Academy and others.