WHILE a cadre of young golfers from the Sandals Foundation’s Junior Golf Academy has been making waves on courses all around Jamaica, they have also seen a spike in their grades, courtesy of the special scholastic tutoring being provided by the charitable organisation under its “Care for Kids Programme”.

The tutorship, which started over a year ago, features local teachers assisting the golfers in mathematics and English classes in an effort to improve their grades at school.

Classes are held every Saturday, with two hours each devoted to the two subjects. Attendance is mandatory for the players to remain a part of the Academy.

This special initiative falls in line with the Sandals Foundation’s commitment to education, as expressed by president Adam Stewart.

“I believe that we have a duty to take care of the less fortunate people around us. As corporate Jamaica, we have a responsibility to do better by people that are less fortunate,” Stewart noted at the launch of the Panasonic Classic Golf Tournament recently.

Organisers of this year’s tournament are seeking to raise some US$85,000 for the upgrading of the St Ann’s Bay Hospital’s Pharmacy and the Junior Golf Academy.

“The Sandals Foundation’s Junior Golf Academy is not just about a group of boys playing golf,” said Heidi Clarke, the Sandals Foundation’s director of programmes.

“We focus on their complete development. Their performance in school is as… important as their prowess on the course. The “Care for Kids Programme” is the vehicle by which we seek to improve their grades and prepare them for the future,” she added.

Fifteen-year-old Zandray Roye started playing golf over three years ago after visiting the Sandals Golf and Country Club. He had always had a love for the game and when he was introduced to the assistant professional, Bill Williams, and given the enviable privilege of joining the Junior Academy, he embraced it and has not looked back.

For Roye, playing golf has been a life-changing experience and has also helped him to be more disciplined and excel in school. Since the start of his golfing career his grades have improved dramatically.

“Without golf I don’t know where I would be today,” Roye noted. “Before the Sandals Foundation gave me this opportunity I used to be on the streets playing. Now it’s from school to the golf course and it has made me a better person.”

The two-day Panasonic Classic will feature a new professional category, along with the 36-hole Medal Play amateur men’s and women’s open, as well as men’s seniors and super seniors.

There will also be a Junior division in which some 20 players are expected to participate.