ON Thursday, the Guyana Golf Association (GGA)/Nexgen Golf Academy hosted 30 students from Rosignol Secondary School as part of their preparations for the historic step in becoming a part of the first group of learners to take golf as a Physical Education elective at this year’s CSEC examinations.

The students, accompanied by teachers, Miss Rameshwari Dharamdat and Sir Kevon Jawahir, spent 4 hours going through driving, chipping and putting drills before engaging in fierce chipping and putting competition, that produced the following results after multiple playoffs to determine a winner.

President of the Nexgen Golf Academy, Aleem Hussain, and coach Al Wilson took the time to work with each student individually and ensured that each one had the opportunity to hit dozens of balls before the competition.

Sir Jawahir spoke about the feeling he had when first invited to participate in the programme by Allied Arts Unit’s Ms Barker-King and Mr Braithwaite, “I never imagined that I would be hooked on a game so quickly and immediately wanted to ensure that my school would be an active participant. With the response demonstrated here today, it is almost certain that this will be a main PE activity in our school and at CSEC level for many years to come.”

Under the joint collaboration between Ministry of Education Allied Arts Unit and Nexgen Golf Academy, the sport has acquired the keen interest of thousands of students and their families in just over a year, taking full advantage of its COVID-19 compliant status.

“The unique teaching methods of Mr Hussain guarantee that anyone can learn to hit the ball properly in less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea!” according to Ms Barker-King.

According to estimates, the number of learners who will select golf as their CSEC examination PE elective this year will exceed expectations and that number is expected to be in the thousands next year as more secondary schools join the programme.
Currently, 82 schools are participating and 28 more from the Georgetown District are set to come on board in March. (CR)