Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2020 i Compleat Golfer

1. Which player won the opening PGA Tour event for 2020? 2. The last PGA Tour event before the Covid-19 lockdown was The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. It was called off after one round. Who was leading at the time? 3. The first PGA Tour event after the Covid-19 lockdown lifting was the Charles Schwab Challenge. Who won it? 4. Three South African players won on the European Tour in 2020. Who were they? 5. One South African made a hole-in-one on the European Tour this year. Who was he? 6. There were six playoffs required on the European Tour in 2020 and three of them featured South Africans. Who were these golfers involved in playoffs? Clue: they were all beaten. 7. What was the lowest score recorded on…

The 85-year-old South African takes up the story, I was practising in a bunker in Texas and this good old boy with a big hat stopped to watch. The first shot he saw me hit went in the hole. He said. “You got 50 bucks if you knock the next one in.” I holed the next one. Then he says. “You got $100 if you hole the next one.” In it went for three in a row. As he peeled off the bills he said, “Boy. I’ve never seen anyone so lucky in my life.’ And I shot back, “Well, the harder I practise, the luckier 1 get” That’s where the quote originated” In the buildup to The Masters we were reminded just how much the elite players practise to…

Although 2020 has been an annus horribilis, given the Covid-19 pandemic that swept the globe, the subsequent lockdowns and decimated economy, Christmas is always open for business. It brings out the child in everyone and what better way to celebrate the end of the year and look forward to 2021 than by opening a few gifts. Yes, we’d all be looking for a new set of golf clubs, perhaps even a push cart, or why not go the whole way and ask Santa for a motorised golf car. But that can wait for next year. This is all about gifts that can be wrapped and put under the lit-up tree in the lounge. ‘As a kid, I remember my first set of irons,’ former world No 1 Luke Donald says.…

Gary Todd will take you to the back of the 13th green at Leopard Creek and drop you in the Crocodile River if you so much as hint at the fact he’s quite a sentimental man. So I walk around the question like I’m looking at a slippery downhill three-foot putt for par when I ask the new operations director of the Sunshine Tour what golf has meant to him. ‘Well,’ he says, ‘when you look back on it all, what are you left with? It’s your school friends and your golf friends, isn’t it? They’re always with you.’ ‘Toddles’ has had quite a remarkable journey since he walked out of the gates of Pretoria Boys High School and started a career in golf that has seen him work in…

There’s only one way to describe Durban Country Club: iconic. There are very few golf clubs in the world that can claim to have the history this club has. It’s the St Andrews of South Africa. Truly timeless. One only has to mention the tournaments that have been played there, none more than the SA Open, which has been hosted 17 times at the course. If I were to discuss how many of golf’s elite have walked those fairways I’d run out of space in this column. But it would be wrong for me to not mention South Africa’s golfing icons, a certain Gary Player and Ernie Els, who lifted that illustrious SA Open trophy above their heads on the 18th green. Once you look past the history, you can…

A forward-thinking property development firm had a bold vision in the mid-1980s, when some of the country’s finest architects designed distinctive homes at Dainfern, and South Africa’s greatest golfing son, Gary Player, provided his signature to the course that would live as the heart of the estate. What does this mean for a golfer today? Well, it all translates into a golfing experience that is very much an escape from everyday life. Back in the day when golfers were still swinging a persimmon and trying to find their balatas in the rough, the Fourways Golf Course stood on the northern outskirts of Johannesburg. Meandering around the Jukskei River, the course had some wonderful natural attributes, but a storied golfing destination it was not. Gary Player and Phil Jacobs took to…

Five amateurs have been invited to play at the 110th South African Open at the Gary Player Country Club from 3-6 December and while they won’t be eligible for any part of the R19.5-million in prize money, they will gain valuable experience. Reigning SA Amateur champion and No 1 Casey Jarvis will spearhead the group, which includes fellow Golf RSA National Squad members Kyle de Beer, Yurav Premlall [above), Sam Simpson and Christo Lamprecht. Jarvis automatically qualified as the SA Amateur champion and the selection committee chose the remaining four players from the Open Amateur rankings. ‘As the custodians of the SA Open, we are proud and honoured to offer our top talents this opportunity to test themselves in a championship of this stature,’ said SAGA acting president Martin Saaiman.…

In the weeks between my last column and writing this I have been very happy with my steady and consistent play. After my near-win at the Gambia Portland Classic I had a week off to reflect on what I did well and what I could improve on I’ve started doing daily stats from my tournament rounds using a system called Around the Ball It was created by Santiago Carranza, who is the boyfriend of fellow LPGA Tour player Gaby Lopez. I’ve never been big into stats, nor have I felt the need to over-analyse things, but what 1 do like is the tournament summary which works out what you did well and what you can improve on. Heading into the Shoprite LPGA Classic in October, for example, my stats from…

Daniel van Tender is native to the industrial town of Sasolburg, the petrochemical centre where oil is famously produced from coal; which is perhaps a fitting metaphor for how the 29-year-old has been turning a much-derided swing into pure gold for the past year. The Sunshine Tour has seldom been dominated to the same extent as Van Tender has managed in Covid-blighted 2020: his victory at the Royal Swazi Open at Gary Player Country Club, Sun City, at the end of October was his fourth this year and he wen three of the five Rise-Up Series events that marked the return of professional golf. He had a run of 14 consecutive top-10 finishes going back more than a year, showing phenomenal consistency. And his approach, the secret of his success,…

No names mentioned, but one of the brightest minds in the South African golfing industry shared this very short tale with me one day, at a work lunch. He went on to say that ‘Wiifm’, or ‘What’s in it tor me? is at the core of almost every decision we make as a customer of any business. It took me a couple of minutes to move beyond what felt like a veiled insult, but then I realised he was actually correct Like most people. I love a good deal I also really enjoy being treated to exceptionally crafted customer experiences. Both these points place me firmly in the land of ‘Wiifm’, but have also opened my eyes to ask the right questions about our own customers, members and guests in…

What do sportspeople do when they have a bit of extra time on their hands? Some take to social media and reach out to their followers. Erik van Rooyen, the No 2-ranked player in South Africa, did just that recently, posting on Twitter: ‘30 mins to kill... Q&A time! Send your questions.’ Here is some of the interaction. Does your wife play golf? If yes, what’s her handicap? No she does not, and it’s a good thing! I want to spend time at home after tournaments. Will you wear a hoodie? Absolutely. So you’ll wear a hoodie on Tour. If so, when and where? I mean I’m not exactly sitting here planning my outfits weeks in advance. I’m surprised about that coz u ain’t shy looking good so I’m not…

This is probably the most sensitive topic I’ve addressed as playing editor. Namely, how golf committees have a tendency to slow down the progression of a golf club. Let’s be clear, I’m not saying all golf committees are bad. I simply feel the role of a committee and the relationship with its members has become blurred or open to interpretation. And that isn’t right. At the end of the day, golf clubs are businesses. They have large overheads and staff members have to work tirelessly to cover these expenses. So when I hear stories of how committees make extra demands on their staff members, it makes me cringe. I’ve heard it all: from how committees demand certain pin placements on particular days, to how they ask the greenkeeping staff not…

Here we go again, tima for that chat. It’s one of the most unfair labels in golf, mainly because it picks the scabs off wounds that should have healed. When Sergio Garcia won the 2017 Masters he pulled on the Green Jacket and at the same time passed on the mantle of ‘Best golfer not to win a Major to Lee Westwood. It was a case of 74th time lucky at the Majors for the Spaniard, who has gone on to win another nine times on the PGA Tour, three more times on the European Tour and once on each of the Japan and Asian Tours. Now about to celebrate his 41st birthday, it seems as though Garcia has been around forever. He has 36 wins globally, including twice at…

Hole No 7.410m, par four The mark of a true signature hole is that it announces itself as you get on to the tee. Tins is very much the case when you walk up the path to the elevated tee box at the 7th hole at Dainfern It’s a standout par four that is as stunning as it is challenging, particularly in the summer months with a potentially raging Jukskei River as a major feature. Dainfern’s director of golf operations, Timothy Steynberg. shares his views on playing the hole. Playing as the stroke one, the 7th is very much the signature hole here at Dainfern. It represents some of Gary Players best design features, with well-positioned bunkers adding to the natural challenges of the terrain ‘A good drive is imperative…

MEN OPEN 1 (1) Casey Jarvis (State Mines CC) 2 (2) Martin Vorster (Pinnacle Point GC) 3 (3) Kyle de Beer (Port Elizabeth GC) 4 (4) Yurav Premlall (Glendower GC) 5 (6) Christo Lamprecht (Pinnacle Point GC) 6 (5) Samuel Simpson (Royal Cape GC) 7 (10) Werner Deyzel (Woodhill CC) 8 (9) Ryan van Velzen (Benoni CC) 9 (8) Christiaan Maas (Pretoria CC) 10 (7) Jordan Duminy (Pinnacle Point GC) 11 (11) Christiaan Burke (Potchefstroom GC) 12 (12) Aneurin Gounden (Glendower GC) 13 (14) Francois van der Walt (Centurion CC) 14 (16) Kieron van Wyk (Ruimsig CC) 15 (19) Nikhil Gopal (Victoria CC] 16 (18) Jonothan Broomhead (Durban CC) 17 (17) Jordan Burnard (Ebotse GC) 18 (-) Liam van Deventer (Magaliespark CC) 19 (20) Gregg Gilson (Centurion CC) 20 (-)…

PICK OF THE MONTH DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES 10-13 DECEMBER 2019 winner: Spain’s Jon Rahm conjured up wise words from Jack Nicklaus before emulating compatriot Seve Ballesteros by winning the DP World Tour Championship and the European Tour’s season-long Race to Dubai. In an exciting finish to a season that visited 31 countries, Rahm faltered in the final round before coming through at the end to secure a one-shot victory over Englishman Tommy Fleetwood. Rahm opened up a six-shot advantage after seven holes at Jumeirah Golf Estates before Fleetwood made a late charge, finishing with a 65 to set the clubhouse target at 18 under. Needing a birdie at the par-five final hole to beat Fleetwood’s mark, Rahm produced a sublime bunker shot to within three feet…