1. The Golf Life The Observer (Special Report) by V. Ravindran
A mission that began
more than two decades
ago, the development
of golf relied heavily
on passionate office
bearers and like-minded
sponsors. It is still very
much work in progress.
First steps:
Malaysia’sjunior
development
movement
V. Ravindran is the General Manager
of Samarahan Country Club in
Kuching and has served two national
golf associations in 28 years.
The roots of junior
development in Malaysia was
started by the Malaysian Golf
Association (MGA) in the 1980s
during the presidency of Tun
Abdul Hamid Omar, deputy
president Datuk Thomas
M.L. Lee, honorary secretary
Edmund Yong and honorary
treasurer, Tan Kok Kee.
These “Big 4” of Malaysian
golf teamed up with several
states and together with the
Royal Selangor Golf Club
(RSGC) and Kelab Golf Negara
Subang(KGNS)- thetwinpillars
of our nation’s golfing industry
- with the kind sponsorship of
Credit Corporation of Malaysia
(CCM), sought to bring forth
junior clinics and mini
competitions.
The national Junior Open
was inaugurated at about the
same time as the title sponsor,
Commercial Union Insurance
(CUI). For almost a decade,
CUI was the title sponsor of
the national Junior Open and
it featured players such as
Jyoti Randhawa, Shiv Kapur
and Prom Meesawat, all of
whom became contemporary
professionals. It was the first
of its kind in the Asian region
and a great milestone for the
golfing industry.
The Junior Open was held
for many years and was put on
hold in year 2000 due to a lack
of sponsorship. Thankfully, it
was reinvigorated again at a
later stage.
At about the same time,
the Sportexcel Foundation
was formed and golf was
made an integral part of
their agenda. Colonel Dulip
Singh was actively involved
in MGA’s programmes at
RSGC and was appointed
the first Executive Director
of Sportexcel. Soon after,
he passed the baton of the
Malaysian Golf Association’s
junior competitions onwards
and to-date, it remains the
strongest impetus for growth
within the Foundation.
In 2002, when Malaysia
hosted the World Amateur
Team Championship for
both the Men and Women’s
categories, a blueprint on
junior development was
submitted to the R&A Ltd
by the then vice president
Datuk Mohd Zain. At the
time, Datuk Mohd Zain was
also the chairman of junior
development.
The blueprint was well
received by R&A Ltd and
the first grant of £6,000
towards junior development
in the country was approved.
Further cooperation with
the National Sports Council,
Selangor State Education
Department, schools in
Serendah and the Serendah
Golf Club saw the launch of the
first grassroots development
program involving some
200 school-going kids
drawn from primary and
secondary around Serendah
and Bukit Beruntung. Before
the program, these children
didn’t know the first thing
about golf, let alone play it.
The programme was
held on a weekly basis after
school hours. Lessons were
conducted three times a week
and were stretched out across
the classroom, driving range,
practice greens and thereafter,
a slow shift into course
management and playing.
Four qualified coaches,
headed by MGA’s resident
professional V. Gunalen, were
involved with the program
over the span of two years.
During this period MGA
and the Malaysian Ladies
Golf Association (MALGA)
developed a Master Junior
Development, Standard
Operating Procedure and a
Junior Training program.
All of this was formulated
by a dedicated group
of professional golfers.
Implementation of the
program was carried out
across all affiliated clubs in
Malaysia.
Ainil Johani is proof of
the program’s success. Back
then, she was an upcoming
junior who had been pegged
for future development. 10
years on, she is a full-fledged
professional competing on
the international circuit.
The procedure involved
required elimination
rounds. By 2004, there were
approximately 40 juniors
who had mastered the
fundamentals of junior golf
and were ready for tournament
action. From the 40 juniors,
two showed tremendous skill
and they were inducted into
the Bakat School. Of the two,
further whittling down was
carried out and only Victor
Jayakumar made the cut,
being successfully put into the
reserve squad. Soon thereafter,
he joined the National squad.
38 golfdigestmalaysia | august 2014

2. august 2014 | golfdigestmalaysia 39

3. The Golf Life The Observer (Special Report)
40 golfdigestmalaysia | august 2014
Victor is now pursuing his
Mass Communication Degree
at Universiti Utara Malaysia.
UUM has collaborated and
allowed for ex- and current
State and National players to
obtain their degrees. This was
formalised during my tenure as
general manager back in 2010.
In 2002, I also oversaw
the Rakan Muda project,
which was introduced by
the then Sports Minister. It
was a momentous occasion
for golf. Sapura was our joint
sponsor and they pledged
approximately RM1 million,
which was to be paid out over
the span of two years. This
funding went towards the
junior programmes which
were being introduced to
the driving ranges of most
Selangor and Kuala Lumpur
Clubs. This slowly spread to
other States.
The first player who comes
to mind as a result of this
program is Anis Helmi from
Kelab Rekreasi Tentera Udara
(KRTU). Here, the programme
was well-received and it was
highly functional. Sadly, the
following years saw a decline
in the program due to poor
support from clubs. KRTU
valiantly held the fort until
2007 but the Ministry had no
follow-up and the programme
was shelved.
2004 saw the Bakat
Program back in action at
the Bukit Jalil Sports School.
Datuk A.S. Khamis, who was
the Honorary Secretary then,
was the man behind its re-
introduction. Prior to this,
the previous batch in 2000,
where Hanafiah Jamil and
several other proteges were
based, was disbanded due to
unknown reasons.
The 2004 batch consisted
of Akhmal Tarmizee (who left
after three months), Ahmad
Fadzali, Kenneth D’Silva,
Michael Chua, Izaimi and
Victor. They did justice to the
programme and not only did
they do well in their studies,
but excelled on the golf course.
Akhmal, Kenneth and
Izaimi are now professional
golfers who ply their trade
on the local and Asean
circuit. Michael is pursuing
his degree in the US while
Fadali is pursuing his degree
at Universiti Kebangsaan
Malaysia (UKM) under
the MGA program. This
collaborative programme with
UKM was also executed during
my time as general manager.
A lack of funding made
the payment and support
for coaches’ fees and other
expenses (which the MGA was
footing, in addition to support
from MSN and BJSS) difficult.
Funding was stretched as
at that time, golf had not
been listed as an Olympic
sport. Sadly, this caused the
program to be discontinued.
Following on from this, it
was under the helm of Khamis
that the National Junior camp
was introduced back in 2004.
The inaugural camp was held
in Terengganu with limited
funds. Thereafter, the 2nd
Camp was held under the
Chairmanship of Datuk Hj Md
Yaccob Kassim in 2006 at the
Seremban International Golf
Club. At that time, I was the
senior manager in charge of
junior development. MayBank
was the title sponsor of our
National Open and the camp
was rebadged as the MGA-
MayBank National Junior
Camp. It must be noted that
the camp is owned by MGA
and that MayBank acts as a
supporting partner. The camp
was planned to be held
nationwide as a boost (and
a slight boast) to the golfing
industry in the country.
Sincethen,thecamphasbeen
held annually and has been
elevated to a very prestigious
level. Two juniors from the
camp have now been invited to
play in the Maybank Malaysian
Open Pro-Am, indicating just
how important the camp is.
2006 was the year when
the National Junior Open was
first introduced after a hiatus
of some six years (again, due
to lack of sponsors). In 2002,
100Plus led the charge in
junior development and held
the first ever “by invitation
only” junior event. By 2006,
this concept had bloomed into
the 100Plus Malaysian Junior
Open, which is currently an
integral part of the World
Amateur Golf Ranking and
is an immensely popular
tournament in this region.
2007 saw a major re-
invigoration in junior
development when HRH
Tunku Abdul Majid became
MGA’s president. Tunku
Introduced the State Junior
Clinic, which was officially
launched at KGNS. From a
one-day clinic it was increased
to two days, the second
event being a follow-up
after six months of intensive
introduction and training.
2007saw500juniorsexposed
to the game and when I left
MGA, the numbers had risen
to 3,000 youngsters a year. The
progress of the program drew
the interest of R&A Ltd and
our yearly grant was gradually
increased. As of 2012, the grant
stood at €12,000.
In 2009, Datuk Robin Loh
was elected as President and he
secured a grant of RM1 Million
from the Prime Minister’s
office for junior development.
This was used for funding
numerous activities between
2009 and 2012.
In 2012, MGA received a
further grant of RM2 Millon
for the 2013/2014 period.
R&A Ltd also gave
away junior sets, training
equipment and coaches’ fee
support packages. In 2011,
MGA was the blue-eyed boy
of the R&A for being the most
active governing body in
the region in terms of junior
development, so much so that
it was used as a reference point
for other governing bodies
that required assistance.
Along the way, the
Malaysian Ladies Golf
Association (MALGA) carried
out its own program called
“Golf for Girls” with the
support of their own sponsors
and R&A Ltd. The program has
produced plenty of interest
and successfully discovered
and developed excellent
golfers like Kelly Tan who is
playing on the LPGA Tour
this season. TSM is another
charitable organisation which
has successfully conducted
(and continues to conduct)
its own tournaments like ‘The
Search for a Malaysian Tiger’.
The Sarawak Golf
Association has also been
running its Chief Minister’s
Cup for the past 16 years. This
proud tradition attracts 140
players annually and is by far,
the biggest junior tournament
in the country. Sarawak also
organizes several club junior
opens, an activity which is very
rarely seen in other States.
Lately, CIMB, KLGCC,
RSGC, KGNS, the Johor Golf
Association and the Sabah
Golf Association have delved
into junior development
programs. This is a great boon
for this wonderful sport as
it will ensure that the next
generation will be equipped
with the necessary skills to
do our country proud and to
continue our nation’s proud
golfing pedigree.