ATTENDANCE and participation in class have paid off for some Barham High School students who were rewarded with a unique golfing experience.
As part of the school’s 300 CLUB – a points rewards system – students who accumulated 300 points or more through attendance percentage, awards, tasks, activities and more during Semester 2 earned a free trip to the NSW Open at Murray Downs.
As part of the experience, students participated in three different activities – target chipping (chipping the ball at an inflatable dartboard), a Lunchtime Launch It pad (using flight scope technology to track how far each student hits the ball) and bucket golf (chipping the ball into the bucket).
Golfing superstars Cam Smith and Lucas Herbert also made an appearance, spending time after their practice session to sign autographs.
Teacher Natalie Lake said the students were thrilled with the entire experience.
“They’ve enjoyed the activities throughout the day, and some of us watched the pros practice over on the greens and they really enjoyed watching them,” Ms Lake said.
“Now the students are really keen to get back and watch the pros doing their thing.”
Fellow teacher Martin Shevels was pleased the reward was well received from the students and was looking forward to more students hitting the local course.
“The students have all engaged really well and it’s been a great day out,” Mr Shevels said.
“It’s great to have an event like this here and be able to come out for the day and show students something different.
“We have a really nice golf course in Barham, so it’s quite a popular sport in Barham and to be able to see the pros is a unique influence.”
The week-long activities at Murray Downs were part of a school and junior zone organised by Golf NSW Murray District regional manager Cade Webb.
Mr Webb put the call out to schools within a 100km radius of the Murray Downs Golf & Country Club in a bid to introduce more children to golf.
“As part of the NSW Open, we always try and do a school’s activation area because we’re trying to get golfing to schools and we know it’s a little bit harder compared to other sports,” Mr Webb said.
“We wanted to see if any schools were interested in coming along and giving the activations a bit of a go, and we’ve had 11 different school groups from all different levels and abilities.”
Students from St Mary’s Primary School, Lake Boga Primary School, Swan Hill Primary School, Swan Hill Specialist School and Balranald Central School also participated.
Mr Webb was impressed with the talent on display.
“You do see some up-and-coming stars and others with a lot of potential, so we’re trying to unearth those talents at these sorts of events,” he said.
“Some live and breathe golf, but then you see a lot that haven’t really touched a golf club, but when they leave, they actually realised that it’s a bit of fun.
“These activities give a blanket approach to golf, where you can have fun while also learning technique, power and finesse.
“We’re very grateful to be able to bring this sort of event out to the region, and the schools and community have been brilliant in being a part of it – thank you.”
