The growing strength of golf development in Border

The Eastern Cape is often hailed as the centre of sports development in South Africa. With a rich sporting history and a sports-mad population, the region is the birth place of some of the countries greatest success stories such as Makhaya Ntini, Jongi Nokwe, Ashwell Prince and James Kamte.

The SA Golf Development Board (SAGDB) in the region aims to continue this tradition by providing its PGA-approved coaching to youngsters in the Border and Easten Province regions.

Border has become a particularly important region for the SAGDB, and one that enjoys extensive support from clubs and the official golfing bodies. Both the Border Golf Union (BGU) and Border Ladies Golf Union (BLGU) have been providing valuable assistance to the SAGDB programme.

"The BGU helped us a lot last year with the extra funds for playing in Junior Golf Foundation tournaments," explains the SAGDB's Border development manager Millie Zim. "The money was raised through "Rand-A-Round. The BGU President has promised to assist again this year."
Success for Jamie-Lee in EP

9-year old Jamie-Lee Daniels is already turning heads in the Eastern Province. The youngster from the SA Golf Development Board recently registered the second best net score in the C-division of the Nedbank Eastern Cape Women's Championships.

Playing off a 27 handicap, Daniels carded a round of 103 at the Humewood Golf Club. That was good enough for fifth place on gross score, while her net of 76 placed her second in the 18-player division.

The SAGDB's development manager for Eastern Province, John Bailey, believes that Daniels is showing a lot of potential at an early age.

"She is still very young and small in stature, but she has a big heart," Bailey says. "She has great potential because she is aggressive. Her coach is treating her carefully as he wants her to enjoy the game and not force her into drastic changes at this tender age."

Daniels is currently being coached by the SAGDB's head coach in EP, Mzuyanda Zingela. She is a member at Uitenhage Golf Club.

Bailey hopes that Daniels will get a chance to play at provincial level this year.

"She played in an Invitational side last year and we are optimistic that she will selected for the EP u/12 team in the very near future," he says.

Jamie-Lee's older sister Kim was one of the SAGDB's brightest stars and was accepted into the Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation for their 2009 intake. Their parents have been extremely supportive of their golf and have played a big role in their success.