The IGF manages all World Golf Championships for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the development could see a stronger Haitian golfing presence in future major tournaments, starting with the 2016 event in Mexico.

Haiti has now joined 132 other IGF national members, which incorporates more than 60 million golfers.

DJ Nérée, Commissioner of the FGH, will work with the Haitian Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Civic Action and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour in an attempt to integrate Haiti into the worldwide family of golf.

There is one small nine-hole golf course in Haiti, located on the outskirts of the capital Port-au-Prince.

The development comes after IOC President Thomas Bach opened a Sport for Hope Centre in the Caribbean country last July in an attempt to rebuild the country's sporting infrastructure following the devastating earthquake in 2010.

Between 100,000 and 160,000 people lost their lives in the disaster, and the Centre was opened with a view to improving the Olympic performance of Haiti, as well as practicing 14 Olympic sports and teaching the population the values of Olympism.

Judoka Linouse Desravine carries the Haitian flag during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games ©Getty Images



Haiti had a single home-grown representative at London 2012 - 21-year old judoka Linouse Desravine - as well as four United States-based athletes.

That in itself represented a growing sporting trend in a country which has struggled to produce top class athletes as thousands were left homeless as a result of the earthquake.

Haiti made its debut in the Olympics at Paris in 1900.

They won their first medal at Paris 1924 when they claimed a bronze in the free rifle competition.

Four years later in Amsterdam, Silvio Cator won a silver medal in the long jump.

Football is the most popular sport in Haiti and the national team currently sit in 72nd place in the FIFA World Rankings - ahead of the likes of Jamaica, Paraguay and Morocco - with basketball also enjoying a growth in participation.

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July 2014: Sport for Hope Centre in Haiti opened by IOC President in latest example of sport boosting wider development