STUDENTS across the Swan Hill and Mallee regions were hit with NSW Open fever after attending the school and junior activation zone at Murray Downs Golf & Country Club.
Groups of students from St Mary’s Primary School, Lake Boga Primary School, Swan Hill Primary School, Swan Hill Specialist School, Balranald Central School and Barham High School tried their hand in golf.
Three different activities were on offer – target chipping (chipping the ball at an inflatable dartboard), a Lunchtime Launch It pad (using flight scope technology to track how far each student hits the ball), and bucket golf (chipping the ball into the bucket).
Lucky students also received autographs and pro tips from the likes of superstar golfers Cam Smith, Lucas Herbert, Corey Lamb, Dimitrios Papadatos and 2022 NSW Open winner Harrison Crowe.
Golf NSW Murray District regional manager Cade Webb organised the week-long activities in a bid to introduce more children to golf.
“As part of the NSW Open, we always try and do a school’s activation area, because we’re trying to get golfing to schools and we know it’s a little bit harder compared to other sports,” Mr Webb said.
“We sent out a blanket email to all schools within a 100 km radius of the golf club to see if they were interested in coming along and giving the activations a bit of a go.
“We’ve had 11 different school groups from all different levels and abilities.”
Many families, children and groups attending the NSW Open also had the opportunity to participate, including disability service The SHOP Active Swan Hill.
Lake Boga Primary School participated last Tuesday, and Foundation teacher Rachael Bryan said it had been an thrilling experience for everyone involved.
“It’s a really great opportunity for our kids to give golf a try, with some coaching and some skills training, and give all our students a little glimpse of the event as a whole,” Ms Bryan said.
“We were watching some highlights of some of the great golfers that are playing in the NSW Open, so all the students were very excited about coming.
“They’re really enjoying the opportunity to get out here and not a lot of them have actually been to Murray Downs before even though they’re local, so it’s exciting for them to come out and give it a bit of a crack.”
Mr Webb said he had been impressed with the talent on display in the region.
“You do see some up-and-coming stars and others with a lot of potential, so we’re trying to unearth those talents at these sorts of events,” he said.
“There was one young kid we had from Balranald Central School who went out and played nine holes of golf before he came here, so he lives and breathe golf and loves the game.
“But then you see a lot that haven’t really touched a golf club, but when they leave, they actually realised that it’s a bit of fun.
“These activities give a blanket approach to golf, where you can have fun while also learning technique, power and finesse.
“We’re very grateful to be able to bring this sort of event out to the region, and the schools and community have been brilliant in being a part of it – thank you.”
