More than a thousand people tried golf for the first time in Brussels last week at an exhibition to celebrate the European Week of Sport.
During the pan-European drive to encourage Europeans to #BeActive, the exhibition, which was supported by the PGA of Belgium and Flanders Golf Federation, even tempted the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics, to try his hand in the swing nets.
Commissioner Navracsics tweeted that ‘Whether in school, at the workplace, outdoors or in a sport facility – anyone can #BeActive, regardless of background, age or fitness level’, and pledged to swim a kilometre a week throughout the year.
Spanish MEP Santiago Fisas, one of the instigators of European Week of Sport, rekindled his love for golf at the exhibition, which also featured a putting competition throughout the week. Some of the European Week of Sport ambassadors also stopped by the golf stand.
During the opening ceremony for the inaugural European Week of Sport, Mr Fisas said: "Sport has a social, economic and cultural dimension and this is the reason why we must promote the practice of sport in the European Union."
Elsewhere in Europe, golf facilities took the opportunity to promote golf’s contribution to an active lifestyle for people of all ages and abilities, including at the KLM Open in the Netherlands last week. On the Wednesday, 50 local students took part in a clinic with three professionals, enjoying lessons on how to swing a club, how to putt and using Trackman.
“We had the ideal position visible from the main road, so when people saw everyone else having fun, they wanted to try it too.
“For the vast majority of the young school kids, it was their first taste of golf and they saw how fun it can be. I would say at least 70 percent of the people had never properly swung a club before having a free lesson with us, which is great. Residents and tourists of all ages having fun trying golf, plus the added thrill of a team prize, reinforced the ethos of the positives from being included in a team sport environment.
“Overall the golf activity was a highly successful week. It was great to be part of and to encourage new golfers of all ages and abilities to continue with the sport and #BeActive.”
Andy Gealy, also from Provision Events, added: “It was a great success with so many people getting involved in golf for the first time. It was very rewarding as everyone had so much fun. New golfers of all ages were having lessons with the PGA Golf Professionals and you could see an instant improvement in their game.”
For more information, check out the websiteHEREor search for #BeActive on Twitter.
