Sanjin Radonja - Development in B&H, inspired in Switzerland

Football is by far the most popular sport in Bosnia and Herzegovina followed by athletics, basketball, boxing and Olympic handball. Golf has yet to gain significant traction amongst the 3 million population of the Balkan state, although Sanjin Radonja, who has acted as Head of Logistics for Bosnian international golf teams, has plans to change that.

"It is a pleasure to introduce ourselves in the online newsletter and I am grateful for that," says Sanjin as we reached out to hear about his pet project, Smreka, near Sarajevo.

"Smreka Pitch and Putt course was founded in 2014. At the beginning, three holes were made for practice, then six when we started organizing tournaments, and at the end of 2024, we added three more holes so that now we have nine demanding holes."

In building Smreka, Sanjin has already come under the influence of a FIPPA member. "As the founder, I play golf and I found the inspiration for Pitch and Putt in Switzerland, more precisely in the P&P club Rottal." (https://fippa.org/courses/rottal)

"Golf and Pitch and Putt are still in development and there are prejudices that it is a sport only for rich people. We are trying to break these prejudices," claims Sanjin. It is a perception that has been dispelled in other Pitch and Putt territories (most particularly and successfully in Catalonia) so we wish Sanjin and his team every success in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Sanjin's enthusiasm shines through. "Our mission and vision is the further popularization of this sport and we hope to soon form a Pitch and Putt association. Our Smreka Open tournament will bring together competitors from Bosnia and Herzegovina and some golfers from the region. I hope that in the future there will be cooperation between the associations and the organization of an eventual competition." FIPPA has supplied Sanjin with the rudiments of forming an association.

This year's European Team championship will probably come too soon for Sanjin and his cohorts. "At the moment, I do not see the possibility of a Bosnian team participating in July as we are lacking a dedicated Pitch and Putt association." However, Sanjin is interested in liaison with the international Pitch and Putt fraternity, seeking information on how P&P development is progressing in other Balkan countries (links with FIPPA member Slovenia and interested party Croatia seem feasible). "I hope for your (FIPPA's) help to improve our course as well as cooperation with the other Pitch and Putt associations" 

“In beautiful weather and on a well-maintained course, our annual Smreka Open was held in a great atmosphere. There was certainly a satisfactory response from golfers, especially juniors, which certainly makes us very happy. There was also no lack of competitive spirit, which is evident from the results achieved,” says Sanjin, as Club President and tournament host. No mean player himself, Sanjin finished second in the 2020 and 2023 renewals of an event that has been played every year since 2019.

Sanjin recently collaborated with Dejana Šarana in the design of another Pitch and Putt course at Vucja Planina, a mountain plain some 100km from Sarajevo. There is an adjacent ski resort and the course is likely to attract plenty of tourists and visitors.

Pitch and Putt is on the march in Bosnia and Herzegovina!