NGF seeks collaboration to build golf courses

The Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF) has appealed to state governments and stakeholders to partner with the federation in its bid to construct golf courses in six geo-political zones of the country.

President of the federation, Mr. Peter Deshi, who made the appeal while speaking to Blueprint Sport in Abuja yesterday said already his board had taken further steps to re-introduce golf at all levels of the country’s educational system as a way of taking the game to the grassroots.

According to the former captain of the IBB International Golf and Country Club, Abuja, who was optimistic of the federation’s readiness to live an indelible mark before the expiration of his tenure, maintained: “Now that the Federal Government has shown a lot of interest to re-position golf and we are determined to show the world that this game is not necessarily for the rich. We are happy that the enthusiasm of the people is rising on golf.

“What we need to do now is take golf to the grassroots in line with President Jonathan’s directive. We are determined to start a youth development programme in all the six geo-political zones in all golf courses. We are trying to collaborate with the universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and even secondary schools to launch campaign on why students should focus more on the game.

“Constructing a mini golf course does not require much money and many players. You can get a golf course for as low as $100 or even less. And it doesn’t take one to be coach or specialist to train younger ones. Professional golfers can train upcoming ones. Currently, we have about 200 golfers spread across the country and if we can get, say, four or five professionals in each state, the work will be easier.”
Mr. Deshi also assured that with calculated steps, the current board of NGF was poised to take golf to an enviable height in both the continent and globe.