Brandon Stone gives back at grass roots level
European Tour professional Brandon Stone hosted a complimentary golf clinic at Mount Edgecombe Driving Range where approximately 80 children from the Durban area attended.
Passionate about golf youth development, the talented golf pro’s objective for the clinic was to get kids and families excited about golf.
According to Stone, partnering with Mount Edgecombe Country Club (MECC) and the Mount Edgecombe Driving Range provided the ideal opportunity and base for the clinic as the KZN based club has multiple golfing facilities including two championship golf courses, a fitment centre and a driving range. Most significantly though, the Mount Edgecombe Driving Range has an extremely successful development programme for children, which includes the Target 36 new method of teaching golf.
27 year old Stone has won several amateur tournaments in South Africa and played on the 2012 South Africa Eisenhower Trophy team. With his golfing prowess and success starting to gain momentum on the global golfing circuit, his mission is to now also give back to golf at grass roots level.
“The next generation is so important and we need to invest in them at an early age to grow the game of golf," Stone said. "The aim of this clinic is to really kickstart this development. As a child I went to as many clinics as I could and they inspired me so much.
"I really want to give that experience back and pass it on to our future generation of top SA and hopefully international golfers. The clinics I attended in my youth were made up of professionals who were living my dream and if today I can just inspire a few kids to go professional or start a career in golf – then that would be the ultimate achievement."
PGA certified Coach and 2014 PGA Coach of the Year, Steve Cottingham from the Mount Edgecombe Driving Range said that the club and golf in SA in general had fortunately seen a huge increase in kids playing golf and taking lessons since COVID-19 and lockdown regulations hit the country.
“The climate is now perfect to inspire kids to get on the golf course. It’s great to have partnered with an up and coming golfing star like Brandon Stone and we look forward to hopefully doing more clinics like this with him and other SA leaders in the sport to expose the youth in our province to love and enjoy the great game of golf,” stated Cottingham.
Stone was excited by the turnout from the children of Durban and loves the fact that golf is a sport that can be enjoyed by all members of the family.
“This is the start of hopefully something great because I am passionate not only about encouraging children but whole families to get into to golf.
"That’s how I got into it – playing with my father and grandfather. Sadly I still have not taken any money off my grandfather yet! Golf is the one sport that is unique in that it has a handicap so anyone of any age or experience can compete against each other.
"This makes for the perfect family game – that parents are not spectators but are out there playing competitively with their children”, concluded Stone.
