Dudu Highlights History of Golfing in Ibadan at 30th Anniversary

Dudu Highlights History of Golfing in Ibadan at 30th Anniversary

Captain of the prestigious Ibadan Golf Club, Ola Ibironke Dudu has praised the efforts of the founding fathers of the club while tracing the history of how the sporting club has continued to blossom.

In his speech during the grand finale of the weeklong 30th anniversary of the club, Ibironke showed appreciation to the Governor of Oyo State, Oluseyi Makinde, FSE, who is a grand patron of the club, the Patron, GOC 2 Division Nigerian Army, the Trustees of Ibadan Golf Club, past Captains, past Lady Captains, the elders, executive committee members and fellow golfers that had contributed immensely to the growth of the club.

His words: “It has been a fantastic 30 years plus that the founders of this great club laid the first block of what we are celebrating today. I sincerely appreciate them and may the souls of the ones that have passed rest in perfect peace.

“30 years ago, we were told that a little misunderstanding between the main section of the Ibadan Recreation Club and the Golf section resulted in the birth of Ibadan Golf club. But sincerely, if we look at it spiritually, to me the fight was divine for the manifestation of the great Ibadan Golf Club which we are celebrating today.

He however recognised and thanked all the recipients of ‘IGC PEARL Award’ and described them as ‘Golf Icons’ for singularly founding golf courses and using their time and resources to make the game popular in Nigeria.
The IGC’s PEARL awardees include: Former Senate President David Mark, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo, the CEO of Elizade Motors and founder of Smokins’ Hills Golf Course in Ilara Mokin, Tunde Ponle, founder of MicCom Golf Course in Ada, Teju Ishola, founder of Hassabary Golf course in Shaki.

He added that “the success of this anniversary wouldn’t have come to be without the contributions of the IGC Diamond Awardees for sustaining the club with quality competitions over the years as we all know that competition is the bedrock of any golf club”.

The captain however thanked Heritage Bank Plc, who was the anniversary’s major sponsor for enlarging the club’s coast financially in order to make the anniversary elaborate and eventful.

“We are looking forward to the Heritage Bank annual Pro-Am Golf Competition. I cannot but appreciate all the lovers of Ibadan Golf Club for supporting generously. From the heart, I am very grateful most especially to Alhaji Awa Ibrahim whom I met for the first time having been following the Children’s Golf Competition he organizes on yearly basis.

“I must also place on record the unique contributions and total support of members of this great club, the sacrifice of the past captains and their executives for their ‘sacrificial’ endurance in the last 30 years. I am not unmindful of the periods where we have improvised construction and reconstruction processes both on and off the course yet you bore the same with admirable candour and together, we all navigated the various bends to have the IGC we have today. Posterity will always remember every one of you including myself for our steadfastness” Dudu Heritage noted.

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