Indoor golf team centre opened at Tallink Tennis Centre
In the largest sports centre in Estonia, the Tallink Tennis Centre in Tallinn’s Lasnamäe, an indoor golf team centre was opened on Friday, which, with the help of various state-of-the-art technologies, now allows members of golf teams to practice all year round.
In his opening remarks, Ain Hanschmidt, President of the Estonian Golf Association, thanked the members of the golf team supporters’ club, whose contribution helped to establish the centre. “This is a centre created entirely with private capital – the investment in the furnishings amounted to nearly 200 000 euros, with Tallink and Infortar also contributing with premises. We purchased the latest equipment, which is used by some of the best players in the world, and hopefully we will continue to build additional facilities at the indoor centre in the future. The equipment we have will allow us to assist our national teams in any part of the world they are competing in all year round, as some of the equipment fits in a backpack and can be taken with them,” said Hanschmidt.
“As of today, no member of the golf team should have any problems with winter practice times, as the indoor centre will be able to train a sufficient number of players at the same time. Now it’s up to the players and their coaches to make the most of the facilities. The amount of the investment may seem large at first, but considering the experience of other countries, many federations have spent several millions of euros on similar centres,” said Kristo Raudam, Secretary General of the Estonian Golf Association.
“For example, we recently witnessed Europe’s largest indoor golf centre in Austria, which the local association spent millions to build. However, they only had one more hitting area for the Trackman and we also have a putting machine with slopes. The only difference is that they also have a larger area for close play and can accommodate larger training groups at the same time. Our neighbours Latvia and Finland are very interested in what we have set up, with a view to possibly creating a similar indoor centre,” said Raudam.
The NGO Estonian Golf Association is the umbrella organisation of Estonian golf, uniting Estonian golf clubs and enthusiasts. The aim of the Golf Association is to promote and coordinate the all-round development of golf in Estonia, to bring together and represent the interests of its members before the public and in relations with other Estonian and international (sports) organisations.
