GOLF ON THE
EAST RAND
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he East Rand (Ekurhuleni) is the urban eastern part of the Witwatersrand and extends from Germiston in the west to Springs in the east and south down to Nigel. The area includes the towns of Boksburg, Benoni, Brakpan, Kempton Park, Edenvale, and Bedfordview. The region has no less than 16 golf courses, and two of these, Glendower Golf Club and Serengeti Golf & Wildlife Estate have hosted the SA Open multiple times. Many notable golfers have come from this part of South Africa with Ernie Els (Germiston) and Ashleigh Buhai (Edenvale) perhaps being the most famous. Africa’s busiest airport, O.R. Tambo International is situated in Kempton Park, thus the area is the hub of Gauteng and a wonderful place to visit whether for business or pleasure.
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Benoni, known as the ‘city of lakes’ encourages picnics at no fewer than five lake sides, whilst the Rietvlei Zoo and Nature Reserve, just outside Alberton, and the Rondebult Bird Sanctuary - a rare wetland area with amazing bird hides and access to antelope, ostrich and zebra - both make wonderful day trips. Boksburg boasts numerous beautiful old heritage sites – the old law courts, the post office, St Michael and All Angels Anglican church, designed by Sir Herbert Baker. Often overlooked for their glitzier neighbours, the towns on the East Rand can certainly hold their own and the same can certainly be said about the many superb golf courses in the vicinity.
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STATE MINES’ RETURN TO
STATE OF THE ART
S
tate Mines Country Club has always enjoyed the justifiable reputation of being one of the very best golf courses on the East Rand.
The club’s reputation to provide outstanding facilities was validated by the Ekurhuleni Golf Union who awarded the hosting of the 2020 Ekurhuleni Strokeplay to the club.
When disaster struck and the greens were lost due to what is believed contaminated water, the team set to work bringing the course back to the exceptional level members and players expect.
Located in the Highveld region, with excellent weather, State Mines Country Club welcome players seven days a week.
Hindsight might declare the loss of the greens and the subsequent urgent need to resurface a blessing in disguise since the greens were worn out and required constant costly maintenance to remain playable. The time consuming and labour intensive work undertaken on the course culminated in excellent seed germination of 100% bentgrass. Club Captain, Pieter Heine, is superbly confident the playing surface of the course will reach peak tournament condition early 2020; culminating in the February 2020 hosting of the IGT and Sunshine Tour QC School tournaments.
The temporary greens have now grown in for the past two months and are smooth and playable.
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South Africa is quoted as saying “Kenneth has been a member of the PGA for many years and has been involved in a number of facets of the PGA of South Africa, making an invaluable contribution to the game”.
K
enneth Dube, the Golf Director at the Royal Oak Golf Club won last year’s PGA of South Africa Professional of the Year award and the grand prize of a Mercedes Benz C-180 for a year. Dube is the first Black South African professional to achieve this honour. Ivano Ficalbi, Chief Executive of the PGA of
November | December 2019
“He was a member of the PGA’s Board of Directors from 2003-2004 and has served for many years on the Gauteng Central PGA Committee. Kenneth is a very active member of the association, playing in every national and regional pro-am that he is able to and has been the winner of the national Order of Merit on a few occasions”. “He is also a past PGA National Champion and in addition to his Golf Director responsibilities at Royal Oak he opened the Kenneth Dube Golf Academy”.
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SPECIAL FEATURE - G o lf o n t h e E ast R a n d
H
e is one of South Africa’s favourite sons, a golfing legend who turned 50 in October. The winner of four Majors, two World Golf Championships, thirteen PGA Tour events and twenty two European Tour events. A campaigner for autism, a celebrated golf course designer, a global superstar!
always given a stern warning from ‘Oupa’ that no misbehaviour would be tolerated.
Yet it all began for Theodore Ernest Els at Kempton Park Golf Club where his grandfather Ernie Vermaak introduced him to the game. The story goes that he would regularly cart young Ernie and his brother Dirk to the golf course where they were then
The two continued to play golf and the bug bit and despite being an excellent junior tennis player (winning the Eastern Transvaal Junior Championship aged 13) Ernie Els pursued golf and continued to hone his game at Kempton Park Golf Club.
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On one occasion Dirk committed an indiscretion of some sort and was told by his grandfather that he was no longer permitted to play. Ernie cried all the way home, pleading with ‘Oupa’ to give him another chance, which of course he did.
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A rare picture of the Kempton Park Golf Club scratch league team. 13-year old Ernie Els is third from the right.
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amed after John Huddle, the then Mayor of Johannesburg, Huddle Park Golf Club opened its doors in 1939. The rationale was simple - provide a facility offering a world-class golfing experience for all who wished to play, at an affordable price.
During its heyday in the 1970s, Huddle Park’s three courses are estimated to have generated a profitable annual income from between 150 000 and 200 000 rounds of golf. Huddle Park was also home to the Johannesburg Municipals Sports Club, and its members played the Blue Course, which twice hosted the SA PGA Championship in 1971. On weekends the queue of golfers would stretch for hundreds of metres. It was first come, first off, no tee times for the Yellow and White courses. This is where many Johannesburg golfers learned to play the game at a time when private mem¬ber golf clubs were exactly that, exclusive preserves for their own members. Visitors weren’t welcome then as they are today, especially those who had no club affiliation.
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However tough times and a number of failed development plans saw the City of Johannesburg abandon the once magnificent site and the club closed its doors in the mid 90’s. To restore Huddle Park to its original glory and beyond took belief, commitment and serious investment from a partnership that could see past the dumped rubble, dilapidated clubhouse and neglected parkland terrain. David Bagg, Gordon Brews, the late Mike Kletz and a team of committed staff and management saw the dream and chased it and with investment of over R 30-million for the course revamp, club restoration and facilities upgrade, the dream has reached fruition. Huddle Park is now totally restored and is an out-and-out pleasure to visit whether for golf, a mountain bike ride, a spot of fishing, dog walking, fives futbol or ziplining in the trees. Huddle Park is proudly back on the map! So good are the practice and playing facilities, that Michael Balderstone chose Huddle Park as home for The Golf School of Excellence and Balderstone Sports Institute. All of their students are fortunate to practice and play at world-class facilities, have access to state-of-the-art technology and be coached and mentored by leading SA and international coaches.
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JOHN COLLIER 2019
ANNUAL SURVEY ON
South African Golf Courses SUSTAINABLE GOLF In little over 18 months’ time the Nigel Golf Club will celebrate its centenary. The history of Nigel Golf Club is delicately woven into the history of the gold mining industry on the Witwatersrand, especially the Gold Fields of South Africa mine, Sub Nigel. Today one still sees a gold mine headgear looming in the distance, but gold mining in the Nigel area has declined over the years directly impacting on courses such as the Nigel Golf club. Notwithstanding valiant efforts by the management committees the small country town golf courses are under extreme pressure. Information to hand indicates over the last ten years, South African golf has seen the closure of at least 1 golf club per year, a steady decline of registered golfers, a steady increase in the age demographic of regular golfers, and a decline in members at golf clubs. This is translating into a decline in the national compliance level of golf courses for good governance and environmental compliance which stands at 27% and interestingly during the past year some 40 golf courses throughout South Africa have had their post returned due to non-renewal of their post office box facility. The situation facing golf in South Africa is not critical at this stage, but the tipping point is coming. A meaningful debate between all parties, not the least being the governing bodies of golf but also at Municipal, Provincial and National level is required. But meaningful debate cannot progress unless it is underpinned by reliable research and statistics. Invitations have been sent out to golf clubs throughout South Africa inviting clubs to participate or update their John Collier Questionnaire. Just recently the Nigel Golf Club participated in the John Collier Questionnaire, and we hope your club will participate in this year’s Questionnaire. If you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at ajcollier@telkomsa.net.
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