Campbell golf academy looks to unearth Tobago's next stars

DEXTER EDWARDS

After 20 years of teaching golf in Trinidad, professional player Ricky Campbell has started his own golf academy in Tobago.

The Ricky Campbell Golf Academy is based at the lush greens of the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort in Lowlands.

Campbell, 61, said his academy started in late July with 15 students and has increased to 35 members, ages four to 15, of multiple ethnicities and backgrounds.

He acknowledged that golf is still viewed as an elite sport in Tobago – a label he is hoping to change.

The former national coach said his aim is not limited to teaching golf and increasing the popularity of the sport in Tobago, but educating the students and parents about the incentives in golf while using himself as an example of what can be achieved.

The Bethel resident said although he did interviews about the academy with electronic media and advertised on social media, he was overwhelmed by the response to the programme. He said he was also unsure about how the covid19 pandemic would impact the programme.

Owing to the growth in membership, Campbell said extra training days were added to facilitate the varying levels of students.

Training is held on Mondays and Tuesdays from 3.30 pm to 5 pm for beginners, and on Wednesdays and Thursdays at the same time for more advanced students.

He is assisted by certified golf coaches Nicole Sobers Anthony and Chris Mc Millan.

The enthusiasm and excitement shown by the students, Campbell said, is very encouraging.

Darion Douglas, 11, of Pleasant Prospect, who started the programme on the first day, said he is enjoying the training and has never missed a session.

Campbell expressed his gratitude towards the management of the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort for allowing him to use the hotel golf club for his training sessions. He said the collaboration was made possible because of the good relationship he enjoyed with the hotel, where he managed its golf club until his retirement in 2020.

Campbell said he will be tapping into the network he has built over the years to pursue scholarship opportunities for members.

Discussing his coaching credentials, Campbell said his first opportunity as an assistant coach came at the St Andrew's Golf Club in Maraval, followed by stints at the Point-a-Pierre Golf Club and the Millennium Lakes Golf and Country Club in Trincity where he later became the head instructor.

He said one of the high points of his career was coaching the national team along with Chris Richards in 2011. when TT won the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships at the Millennium Lakes Golf and Country Club.

Campbell, who grew up with his grandmother, said he got involved in golf in 1972, when he worked as a caddie at age 12 at the Mt Irvine Hotel Club.

He said he did caddying as a means of earning money to purchase his school books and supplies.

Although he wanted to play the game, Campbell said at that time caddies were not allowed to play golf on the course.

He recalled that some caddies took the risk to play golf at nights when there was no moonlight, but if they were caught by the members they were suspended from the golf club.

In 1977 Campbell said he got the opportunity to play golf following the formation of the Leeward Golf Club which was also based at the Mt Irvine Hotel golf course.

He said the caddies had to negotiate with the members of the Mt Irvine Golf Club to clean and maintain the property in order to start the Leeward Golf Club.

Campbell said he began playing professionally after he earned his master's certification at the United States Golf Teachers Federation (USGTF) in Florida in 2006.

He noted that he was part of six Caribbean golfers from TT, St Lucia, Curacao and Puerto Rico who won the USGTF team title in Las Vegas in 2006.

Campbell said he has also played professional golf in China and is still enjoying the game. He will be travelling to the US next month to compete in the USGTF championship in Las Vegas.