The Branden Grace Charitable Foundation – a foundation setup by PGA and European Tour player Branden Grace – has pledged financial support over the next two years to the #Activestart programme.
The funds will be allocated directly to #Activestart and will be put towards providing a detailed golf and healthy lifestyle programme to a wide range of schools across George, Sedgefield and Knysna.
#Activestart, a Golf Pipeline* initiative, uses golf to educate young people, teaching them the values of hard work, discipline and integrity. Its’ aim is to make the sport accessible and free at the point of entry whilst introducing the fundamentals of the game to children in schools, primarily in grades 1 to 4.
The programme introduces the key core principles of Fundamental Movement Skills, Fundamental Sports Skills and basic fundamentals of the game of golf with its long-term ambition to give as many children as possible an opportunity to learn how to play golf and by doing so, introducing the core values of the game to kids at a vital learning age.
#Activestart has been running in Knysna since 2016 and in George since 2017 and during the past 18 months, over 4000 children have been introduced to the game. With the support of Foundations such as the Branden Grace Charitable Foundation, there is no doubt that this initiative can continue to grow and benefit the lives of more children living in the surrounding areas.
‘I am truly excited by the #Activestart initiative. The younger we start identifying talent, the easier it will be to develop that talent through the right pipelines,’ said Branden Grace, speaking from New Jersey shortly after competing in the 2017 Presidents Cup.
Peter Berman, Branden’s coach and owner of Scratch Golf, also speaking from New Jersey, said: ‘This is a wonderful gesture by Branden and his foundation and we are incredibly excited about the potential growth of #Activestart.
‘This is a massive lift to our work which is already making a significant impact on local schools. We already have tangible proof of the positive impact of the programme with a local school in Knysna, located in one of the poorer areas, being a recent example as #Activestart was introduced to grades 1,2 and 3 classes late last year. Before its launch, the attendance rates for these sessions was below 50% and it has now soared to over 90%. This huge increase in attendance highlights the power of #Activestart and shows that when children are having fun and learning,
‘This huge increase in attendance highlights the power of #Activestart and shows that when children are having fun and learning, school can be a fun place.’
‘#Activestart is the perfect platform for introducing the game of golf to young kids in our communities,’ says Adam McKinlay, Head Professional at The Academy at Fancourt.
‘Through the generosity of the Branden Grace Foundation, we are incredibly fortunate to be able to share our passion for the game with these children. The programme has
‘The programme has far-reaching implications with the short-term impact being the creation of a fun-filled learning environment for our youngsters along with the long-term potential of identifying talented young boys and girls who could be filtered into golf academies across the region, helping to build the new generation of talented golfers in South Africa.’
Sean Farrell, MD of The Golf Pipeline, is delighted to have The Branden Grace Foundation on board in the Southern Cape.
‘The #Activestart programme is phenomenal and will continue to grow from strength to strength with sporting heroes like Branden Grace inspiring the kids and helping to promote the game of golf at this grass-roots level,’ said Farrell.
‘The numbers coming through the schools, backed by a database and pipeline to the next phases is what we are all about. Our aim at The Golf Pipeline is to urge more corporate companies and personalities to work with us to implement more exciting initiatives attracting more young people to this sport and the additional benefits that the sport can bring to their lives.’
*The Golf Pipeline is a registered NPO & PBO dedicated to facilitating the growth of the game by generating funds to support a multitude of projects. One such project is the collaboration between The Academy at Fancourt, Southern Cape Golf Academy, Scratch Golf and Knysna Sports School in pioneering the introduction to golf across schools in the Southern Cape.
