Golf: Special deeds on the course

Abu Dhabi: Summer is almost upon us and golf will soon go indoors and under the lights. But for those who managed to stay outdoors on the course to enjoy the UAE winter, nothing could have been more enjoyable, a mood that was reflected by the children from Abu Dhabi’s Future Centre for Special Needs (FCSN) who developed a passion for golf thanks to the Academy by Troon Golf at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.

The Academy hosted 20 students aged 16-22 every Sunday from October 2012 to April in a fun and light-hearted training session. From balance obstacle courses through to hopscotch and learning the basics of golf, the Saadiyat teaching professionals introduced the youngsters to a whole range of activities that have ignited a love for the game in them.

The initiative started as a way for Saadiyat Beach Golf Club to support the local community.

Saadiyat Beach Golf Club’s junior golf expert P-J Van Merch told XPRESS: “We had a great time with the kids, but unfortunately we’ve had to stop proceedings temporarily because of the rising temperatures.

“We are in contact with the school and based on the weather, we’ll restart it sometime later in the year.”

Van Merch also revealed plans to have an indoor session during summer. “We want to do an indoor event for the special needs kids. The UK runs a similar course and we will set up a course at both ours and their facility, let the kids train and play and then compare the levels and monitor their progress,” he said.

Talking about the experience the kids had during the six months, Van Merch said: “We had one specific class every week. Once a month we had another class. We basically worked on the motor skills and movement skills. Then in that extra class, we worked on golf-specific techniques.

“The response was very good. It was amazing for them to be in the open air, in the tranquil, scenic environment, they felt great. It was also great to get them to play golf.”

So, how was it working with the special needs kids?

“It was very difficult, very challenging. We did have one particular kid who loved it, he was very enthusiastic. Others too showed a lot of enthusiasm. Our target is to give back to the community. It was good to have Arab kids and a few Emirati kids in the mix,” he said.