3 minute read
Whatever happened to?... Des Terblanche
Whatever happened to?... Des Terblanche
When we decided to do this series, one of the first names that came to mind was Des Terblanche. A larger-than-life character on the South African golfing scene for a long period of time, Des is well known for his prodigious golfing talent and for his prowess at partying hard afterwards!
Getting hold of him required a bit of effort but with assistance from Sunshine Tour player Andre Cruse (someone who we will interview in a future edition) we managed to track him down in Kathu in the Northern Cape.
Des was born in the North West. When his mom and dad moved from their farm to Vryburg and started playing golf regularly, Des would follow them around hitting a ball behind them until eventually he was hitting it past them, he then started playing with them.
His dad was the club captain at Vryburg Golf Club, and he would organise junior tournaments. By the age of 12 Des had started playing provincial junior tournaments and by the age of 13 he represented Free state/Northern Cape under 19’s.
Des was a Junior Springbok from 1980 to 1983, he was Junior World Champion in 1983 (the Tournament was held at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego in America). He played for SA under-23’s in 1985.
Des Terblanche and Sean Pappas
Des and Nico van Rensburg played golf together in the army and they both turned professional in 1987.
Highlights of his professional career include rookie of the year in 1988, winning seventeen tournaments in South Africa, winning the Sharp Winter Tour Final Order of Merit in 1991, winning three tournaments in Asia (Sabah Masters, Volvo Asian Matchplay and the Thailand Open) and finishing top 100 on the European Tour Order of Merit in 2000.
Interestingly he held four tour cards in 2001: Australian, European, Asian and South African.
So, what is Des Terblanche up to these days?
“I live on a small holding in Kathu where I am trying my hand at intensive sheep farming. I learn every day and hope to do this on a bigger scale, because I enjoy working with animals”.
“I play at Sishen Golf course every now and then when my family comes to visit, but not a lot. I have always loved fishing, hunting and target shooting competitions and I try to do all three as often as possible”.
Des ends off by saying with a wry smile “Looking back, I guess I could have practiced more and partied less”.
