Summary of the trip to the Ozo Golf Club, Riga, Latvia

Competition: Latvia Open 3, rounds with Cut after the first 2 rounds.
Academy golfers who participated in this competition: David Hacham, Peleg Geffen, Yuval Sapan, Niv Rosenberg, Shay Ben David as well as Roy Steinberg - Academy graduate.
Accompanied by: Boaz Segev - Academy golf instructor

Trip Goals
1. To provide competitive experience to Academy golfers in the European rounds with top quality adult golfers
2. To provide playing experience in additional courses outside the only standard course in Israel.
3. To honorably represent Israeli golf overseas.
Travel Budget: $10,000, $1500 of which was contributed by the golfers.

Summary of the Trip
1. Flight and Lodgings: we flew on the night of 9.8.07 and arrived at the hotel in Riga in the afternoon of the same day. We returned on a night flight on 13.8.07, one day after the conclusion of the competition. The quality of the selected hotel (in the center of Riga) was excellent but distant from the golf course (approximately half an hour travel distance), which required the regular and expensive use of taxis. The first night flight caused the golfers to be extremely tired during the training round (the only one we had) that was held that day.

2. The Golf Course: the Ozo Golf Club is of international standards, with a high level of difficulty. Approximately two weeks before our arrival, the competition for the European Professional tournament was held there. The course includes rapidly inclined greens, narrow fairways with a high rough on the sides, numerous water and sand obstacles, and a design that requires a diversity of clubs and intelligent course management.

3. The Competition: 3 rounds with Cut following 2 initial rounds with 70 participants. Because we arrived only in the afternoon of the day before the competition, we had only one training round. Academy golfers arrived highly motivated and improved as the competition progressed. It should be remembered that this is an adult competition held from the Back Tees and our golfers are only between the ages of 12-15. In addition, the difficult course conditions (including strong winds) are unfamiliar to the golfers, and as such, they were required to demonstrate game creativity and intelligence.

4. Representation: I would like to emphasize this section before the achievements. All golfers behaved in an exemplary manner both on and off the course. They were appropriately dressed, played in compliance with the rules and demonstrated wonderful ethics. In particular, I would like to note that at the end of the competition, a local player who played with Yuval Sapan approached me and told me that he was deeply impressed with the Academy children, with their abilities and particularly with their behavior and integrity. Specifically, he mentioned that during the game, Yuval approached him on two separate occasions and told him that his ball moved and that he was imposing a penalty shot himself, although no one else saw this. This story filled me with tremendous pride, and was a perfect example of golf etiquette.
5. Achievements: I am proud that all of the golfers made the Cut and played on the last day. Despite the difficult conditions, they did not give up and achieved well, considering their age and taking into account that most of their competitors were familiar with the course. Roy Steinberg was within grasp of victory until the Back Nine on the last day, despite two Triple Bogies on the 17th hole on Days 1 and 2 but ended up finishing a respectable fourth.

Conclusions
1. Academy children should continue to be sent to competitions. Every competition contributes to their experience, mental strength, improves their self-confidence and makes them far better golfers.
2. Golfers should arrive at the competition site at least two days prior to the start of competition in order to prevent fatigue and to provide an additional practice round.
3. Golfers should be lodged as close as possible to the golf course in order to save time and money.
4. In terms of budget, golfers can be sent to less expensive competitions that are closer and less expenses, e.g. Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Slovania and Hungary.
On a personal note: I had the pleasure of staying with the young golfers for 5 days. Their behavior was exemplary and there were no disciplinary problems at all. In addition, these are very mature and responsible children who got along famously amongst themselves. Bravo!

Sincerely,
Boaz Segev