THE Zimbabwe Golf Awards Organising Committee (ZGAOC) reckons the 2013 local golf awards penciled for Thursday evening are the route to coming up with our own Golf Hall of Fame – demystifying the “elitist” tag around the sport.
By Munyaradzi Madzokere
In an interview with Standardsport, ZGAOC chairman Oliver Gwaze clarified the objectives behind the awards.
“This is the first time golf awards are being held and we are looking forward to the awards committee to start looking into the 2014 awards and to improve on the ones we are starting with.
“It is our intention to work on an ambitious programme of coming up with a Golf Hall Of Fame in the near future, providing golf with role models to inspire other Zimbabweans and promote exemplary sports personalities, ” he said.
A Zimbabwe golf Hall of Fame will be a welcome development as the country has over the years failed to adequately merit outstanding yester-year and current golfers such as Nick Price, Mark McNulty, Tony Johnstone and Brendan de Jonge among others.
As such, the Golf Achievement and Life Time Golf Achievement categories should put to an end the ignominious reputation.
Other objectives include rewarding individuals, corporates, communities and programmes that have achieved a constant high level record of golf service, assessing national golf performances, golf infrastructure and golf development programmes while providing a platform for promoting the image and popularity of the sport.
“We also expect the public to appreciate the game of golf and to remove the myth that it is an elitist sport.
“Beyond individual participation and achievements, we envisage an industry that will be a critical factor in the manufacture of golf equipment as well as golf clothing outfit.
“The University of Zimbabwe is already embarking on a scholarship programme that embraces golf as part of its curriculum,” added Gwaze.
He, however, was tight-lipped when quizzed about the sponsors for the event.
“Without mentioning names at this stage, yes we have a number of sponsors covering the corporate world, institutions, golf associations and individuals. The list will be published on the event day.
The Zimbabwe Golf Awards and fundraising dinner will be held at the Rainbow Towers mainly to celebrate 2013 golf excellence.
Some of the categories available include Amateur Female Golfer of the Year, Amateur Male Golfer of the Year, Female Junior Golfer of the Year, Male Junior Golfer of the Year, Golf Development Programme of the Year as well as Corporate Recognition, among others.
