Diepsloot informal settlement is set to get a golf course

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Diepsloot set to join golfing set Tiger Woods blazed a trail for black golfers and now Johannesburg plans to cultivate its own black golf superstars at a driving range on the cards for Diepsloot. November 9, 2006 By Lucky Sindane DIEPSLOOT is to get its own driving range and educational facility to groom black golf superstars and golf club managers. Plans by the City to establish the driving range near Diepsloot in the north of Johannesburg are under way. Work is expected to begin in 2007. The range will offer schoolchildren and other community members regular coaching sessions. Those who show talent and persist with their training will receive free second-hand equipment and, eventually, club membership. Funding for the driving range will be raised during the Joburg Open, a week-long professional golf tournament to be held over the next three years under the auspices of the Sunshine Tour. "More facilities will be added each year to the driving range, which will be used for golf training and other related activities," said the City's spokesperson, Virgil James. "After three years the driving range will be fully functional with all the facilities that a normal driving range has." It is envisaged that an educational facility eventually will provide black matriculants with Seta (sector education and training authority) training in golf club management. "Our intention is not only to develop young black golfers but also to equip them with skills so that they can manage golf courses in future," James added. Explaining the thinking behind the plans, Executive Mayor Amos Masondo said, "The intention is to dispel perceptions that golf is only for the privileged few by creating a facility that will provide young black matriculants with Seta training in golf club management. "To show our commitment the City will provide several hectares of land for the development of this facility." The range will be managed by easyGolf. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za