Page 6 - Landscape SA 96

FEATURE

The African Turf Academy building

AFRICAN TURF ACADEMY

Situated at the Silver Lakes Golf Estate in Pretoria, the African Turf Academy (ATA) offers
a greenkeeping programme which targets aspiring professional golfers who are keen to
understand how to manage a golf course.

he ATA offers an international was a professional golfer until 2002 and performance side of golf. This is still the
greenkeeping qualification, a two after ending his playing career, started case, however we now also do training
Tyear full time programme of study coaching the game. In 2008 he moved to in golf course management without the
running in conjunction with a Tour Player South Africa and was awarded the contract golf performance side, so ATA is now a
Development Programme. On successful to run the Silver Lakes Golf Academy in golf course management programme
completion of the programme, students 2010. “My background is the performance and my academy is called the McKenna
receive an internationally recognised side of golf but I wanted an education Performance Academy. Both are hosted
National Certificate in Greenkeeping from component to the academy and felt that at Silver Lakes. It has been an amazing
Elmwood College, St Andrews, in Scotland. not enough good golfers were becoming journey and not even close to where I
golf course managers. I therefore saw a want it to be yet. We are accredited with
Scottish born Andrew McKenna is the gap that I wanted to fill, with the aim of the South African education bodies so
CEO and founder of the academy. He having an educational component to the we can assist with BEE skills development

4 Landscape SA • Issue 96 2020