Veteran Queenslander Peter Senior has backed Blitz Golf as a concept to bring young people to the game
Blitz Golf can be used as a tool to encourage young people to take up the game, according to a highly successful veteran.
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High profile veteran Peter Senior has backed Blitz Golf as a tremendous initiative and believes it can aid the decline in club memberships.
Senior claimed organisers had implemented the right system after having his second taste of the game’s answer to cricket’s Big Bash at Glenelg on Sunday.
The winner of 34 professional titles, his first being the South Australian Open at Glenelg, made his debut appearance in Blitz Golf at Hope Island on Thursday and described it as very, very good.
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“I was amazed how much interaction there was between everybody with the junior clinics and everything else,” Senior said.
“We have got to get the younger brigade involved and that is why membership at clubs has been so bad in recent years. They are quite happy playing once a month and paying their monthly subs.
“Blitz Golf is a good way to educate young people and get them interested in the game.”
Blitz Golf involves a nine-hole opening round with 24 of the field of 40 at Glenelg advancing to a six-hole second-round. Another 12 players are eliminated for the three-hole third-round contest. The top four players then have a one-hole shootout.
“It is totally different and guys are all for something different,” Senior said. “Whenever we had matchplay tournaments everybody has been excited.
“This is another version of the game and I think they have got it right. I think it has legs and can continue to grow.”
Promoter Simon Zybek, adamant the Glenelg event was a huge success, is ambitious and has visions of Blitz Golf being taken overseas.
He believes it provides another pathway for Australian golfers and is optimistic the circuit can extend beyond the current three events. Perth is already on the agenda for the future.
“I’m super confident we have got the product right and now we are gunning for TV coverage,” he said. “This cut-throat format can be built into a two-hour package which would be appealing.
“It won’t grow without sponsors though. At the moment I am bankrolling a lot of it, but you have got to back your ideas in.”
Originally published as Veteran Queenslander Peter Senior has backed Blitz Golf as a concept to bring young people to the game