Dozens of members of the BISP community witnessed the grand opening of the new BISP Golf Centre, which is located adjacent to the top football pitch behind the school's Sport Hall.
“[I’m] delighted to be here, hearing about your impressive school, and all the wonderful opportunities you have in so many different sports,” said Sir Nick, in his opening speech given to the rapt large audience of students, parents, staff and media.
Sir Nick then went on to christen the BISP Golf Centre by hitting several chip shots, followed by a four hole shoot-out with BISP Golf Academy player Mark Luangnitikul, which – although Mark took the first hole – Faldo won by a final margin of 3 to 1.
One of the talented young golfers at the BISP Golf Academy, 14 year-old Mark – whose favourite player is Australian Adam Scott – is currently ranked third in the world in his age group, and first in Thailand.
Designed in collaboration with top designers and BISP Golf Academy Head Coach Oliver Bates, the BISP Golf Centre has been developed to allow the talented young golfers in the BISP Golf Academy to practice their full range of shots without needing to leave the school’s spacious 44 acre campus.
To this end, the BISP Golf Centre includes putting greens, chipping areas, bunkers, and a netted driving range.
Speaking to The Phuket News shortly before the opening, Coach Bates said, “We’re really honoured to have Sir Nick Faldo open this exciting new golf centre on the campus.
“We hope that by having this facility on-site we will develop the kids within the school and the elite players we have within our academy, who are already winning tournaments all around the world.
“We hope that we can do more with Sir Nick, who has already agreed to bring his Faldo Series tournament to the Laguna Phuket Golf Course in September,” he said.
“It’s taken a lot to prepare for the opening of the new centre and we could not have done this without the help of Laguna, who we will co-host the 2nd Laguna Junior Golf Tournament with later this month, and also Loch Palm, who are located so close to BISP.
“The centre allows us to teach all the required fundamental skills for golf on-site, supplemented on Thursdays and Fridays when we head to the island's top golf courses to put those skills into practice,” he added.
Coach Bates went on to say that BISP’s golf programme, which started about one year ago, now has 35 students, which includes two talented scholarship players.
“Those elite players certainly have the ability to be successful golfers,” he said. “However, we also have a number of students at the school who play for fun, which is also very important.
“It’s essential to bring new players into the game, and now that we have these amazing facilities on-site we hope that we will see this happen,” he added.
A loyal supporter of Laguna Phuket integrated resort’s award-winning Banyan Tree resort, Sir Nick specially took time during his Phuket visit to meet with BISP student golfers and tour the campus.
He is a huge advocate for junior golf development, having created his Faldo Series in 1996 to give opportunity to young people through golf and to help identify and nurture the next generation of champions. The Faldo Series now stretches over 30 countries worldwide and benefits more than 7,000 young golfers each year.
During the visit, Sir Nick also announced to BISP student golfers Phuket’s first-ever Faldo Series – Thailand Championship South to be hosted by Laguna Golf Phuket in early September 2016.
Open to golfers aged 12-21 years, the winners of each age group will qualify for the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final which will be held in Laguna Golf Lang Co, Central Vietnam in March 2017.
For more information about the BISP Golf Academy, please contact Director Jeff LaMantia at jlamantia@bisphuket.ac.thor visit www.bisphuket.ac.th/golf
For further information about Laguna Golf Phuket, visit www.lagunagolf.com/phuket
Additional reporting by Matt Pond