South African rugby union legend and R&A Ambassador Bryan Habana lit up The R&A SwingZone at The Open with the example he set when encouraging young people to learn the value of resilience, focus and a positive attitude.
Bryan, 41, is an R&A Development Ambassador, and the winger who played 124 tests for his country and is adjudged one of the greatest players in history, is now helping to make the game of golf more inclusive and accessible for all.
The Golf Foundation is the nationally recognised charity and is present for the whole of Open week at Royal Troon, welcoming children and families to try the game with a range of fun activities, working in The R&A SwingZone alongside Scottish Golf, The PGA and EDGA.
For this week and every week of the year, the Foundation team encourages youngsters from all backgrounds to experience the game in schools, clubs and communities, and is making a major impact on positive wellbeing in schools through the ‘Unleash Your Drive’ programme, offering every school in the UK the chance to provide golf as an inclusive, enriching and fun activity that teaches mental toughness tools to build confidence and resilience on the golf course and also in wider life.
Bryan Habana, who scored the second highest return of tries in test matches (67), has built his career around such mental skills.
As he supported a session introducing local youngsters with a range of disabilities at The Open (visiting courtesy of EDGA and RSM), Bryan’s charisma and energy inspired all present during fun ‘Golfway’ games, which are all designed to make kids think about how to stay calm, think ahead and keep their concentration.
Taking on the group in a ’10-ball challenge’ Bryan found himself in second place to young Lewis who hit plenty of bullseyes in the pressure cooker challenge.
Bryan congratulated all the youngsters on their positive approach and underlined how important this is in everything. For the victor Lewis, who received deserved applause, a magnanimous Habana said: “Lewis, you were fantastic. You were behind in the scoring at one point but you didn’t panic and you never gave up. You knew you could come back and you stayed focused and won the game. You set an excellent example to us all.”
The revered South African recently joined fellow R&A Golf Development Ambassadors including Niall Horan, Gareth Bale, Michelle Wie West, Dani Hantuchova, Kevin Pietersen and Kathryn Newton to help take the sport to new audiences.
Bryan said recently: “I’m immensely honoured and humbled to have been approached by The R&A for this role and let people understand how incredible the game of golf is through the Development Ambassador programme.
“I want to promote how beneficial golf is on all levels and the avenues that exist to enjoy it. It’s not an old, structured game where you have to play 18 holes, it offers so much more. I’m privileged to be part of this incredible group of ambassadors to promote the sport and I hope I can encourage more people to play this beautiful game.”
Golf Foundation Head of Development Martin Crowder said: “Bryan’s visit with the Golf Foundation was a brilliant experience for all involved. He is an inspirational figure and his thoughts on looking to get the best out of yourself and embrace a challenge echo so much of our work to support the mental wellbeing of young people. We were all so impressed and grateful for Bryan’s support.”
