By FELIX MALUNGA –

THE Women’s Professional Golfers Association (WPGA) of South Africa has given Ndola Golf Club thumbs up ahead of the staging of the inaugural Zambia Professional Ladies Open Championship set for March.

While the general outlook of the golf course appeared superb, officials from the WPGA under the new Sunshine Ladies Tour raised some concerns on the driving range which they said was narrow.

WPGA board member, Jenny Germs said the Ndola golf course was in good condition and would provide a litmus test to the professional players who would descend on the par 72 lay-out.

Speaking in an interview after concluding the inspection of the course on Monday evening, Germs said she was optimistic the 2014 Zambia Professional Ladies Open tournament would be a resounding success.

She said WPGA was positive that Ndola was capable of organising a good event which would attract top professional women golfers on the Sunshine Tour.

She also said some suitable accommodation had already been identified in Ndola where the golfers would be staying during the duration of the tournament.

Another WPGA official, Barbara Pestana said they were impressed with the unity of purpose at Ndola and confident by working together the club was capable of putting up a good show.

Pestana, however, said the only missing link was the driving range which she claimed was narrow despite the length being fine.

She said if there was a big field of players, it would be difficult for them to be on the tee but that a patch behind the 11th on the course could help in solving the puzzle.

On WPGA sanctioning the first-ever Zambia Professional Ladies Golf Open, Germs and Pestana said they would present their findings to the board and that the matter would be subjected to a vote.

Zambia Ladies Golf Union (ZLGU) president, Moono Mwila said her team had given it the best shot and was confident Ndola would put up a memorable tournament.

Mwila said despite Ndola not being the capital city of Zambia, ZLGU would do everything possible to make the visiting golfers as comfortable as possible, giving them memorable experiences.

“We gave it our best shot. This is not the capital city of Zambia, so obviously they are a few things or logistics which are a bit tighter than if we were in a bigger city. But the homeliness of the place will do good to the players to experience, to get away from the hustle and bustle of a place like Lusaka.

“So we’re confident that what we can’t do better than this unless the hotels breakdown today and start rebuilding them. Yeah! But I think we will make it as comfortable as possible for our visitors and you know Zambia is one of the most hospitable places in the world. They will have the best experience like I keep saying it will be a great experience for anybody that is going to come through,” the ZLGU president said.

The Zambia Professional Ladies Golf Open, which will attract about 100 players, will run from March 28 to 30 and will be preceded by two Pro Ams.