Varsity College has identified a need to offer talented young golfers in Kwazulu Natal the opportunity to pursue their golfing dreams here in South Africa. There has been a trend over the past 15 years whereby students after completing their Matric, pursue golf scholarships and bursaries in the USA. This has meant that South Africa’s loss is USA’s gain.
In line with the Varsity College philosophy they are able to provide these young golfers with an opportunity to pursue their dream of playing golf competitively; while at the same time, getting a recognized qualification through Varsity College, a top quality structured golf programme and a strict health and wellness programme; covering all the critical aspects to develop a holistic top class golfer.
Varsity College identified golf was as one of the key sports that fits within their Sports Life vision and plan to introduce golf as a sport across all campuses through the introduction of the Varsity College Golf Academy in 2012.
There are three key components to the Academy namely; golf coaching, academics and a health and wellness programme. All three components of the Academy will not work independently, but rather as a collective, each one is dependent on the other for success and longevity.
The coaching component will take place at the Mt Edgecombe Driving Range, which is on the Mt Edgecombe Country Club Estate. George Harvey, who was the Head Coach for the Ernie Els Golf Foundation, will guide the players through a structured programme which will develop, grow and equip the players for competitive golf in the future. George has coached a number of SA’s top young golfers such as Louis Oosthuizen, British Open Champion and Charl Shwartzel, Masters Champion. The Academy will also be offering enrichment courses through the academic year which will cover aspects such as Like Skills, Course Management, Golf Etiquette and Sports Psychology.
The academic component will be hosted and managed by the Varsity College Westville Campus. Varsity College will be offering the following courses that Academy students can choose from; Higher Certificate in Business Principles & Practice, Diploma in Sport Development and Management and Bachelor of Arts Corporate Communications. Varsity College will provide a structured timetable with lectures either in the morning or in the afternoon, depending on the course schedule and will also provide a fantastic student support system to equip the students with study and time management skills which will ensure they are keeping on top of their studies.
The Health and Wellness programme will take place at the Club Zero Gym at Clifton College High Performance Centre in Morningside, Durban. Hayley Cassim will be personally overseeing the assessment, development and progress of all members of the Academy. The Club Zero Gyms are fully equipped with the state of the art gym equipment, which is ideally suited to the needs and wants of the golfers in the Academy. The Academy students will be given advice on nutrition and personalized health and wellness plans.
Throughout the year the Academy students will participate in a range local and national tournaments as well as team building activities culminating with an opportunity to represent Varsity College at the national university golf tournament.
For further information on the admission and selection criteria for the Varsity College Golf Academy please contact David Shevil, Academy Manager, on 082 515 3522