Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2024 i Compleat Golfer

BRANDON STONE COLUMN The struggles of South Africa's Old Lady, Durban Country Club, have been well documented over the past decade. Financial woes and a deteriorating golf course had left many unsatisfied with their golfing experience. However that is all about to change. A year ago, Durban Country Club was shut for renovations. At first I found myself somewhat uncertain about it all. I always thought the Old Lady just needed some real love and attention. You know, what they call ‘TLC’. The course design was somewhat sacred and revered within the golfing fraternity. So I was worried what the ‘renovated’ course could look like. Would it be recognisable? Would she retain her identity? Would the heritage and prestige be lost forever? Well … I can say this: my concerns…

THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP For almost four decades, there really was only one answer when it came to the question of The Open's most iconic head-to-head battle. Ths captivating contest between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry in 1977 quickly became known as the Duel in the Sun and set the bar for final-round showdowns, the pair streaking clear of their rivals with performances of the highest quality. However, a similarly brilliant face-off would unfold 39 years later, just up the coastline from Turnberry at Royal Troon, as Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson provided a Sunday to savour. Watson himself later argued that his and Nicklaus' efforts in 1977 had been eclipsed by Stenson and Mickelson's outstanding performances at Troon. If it seemed like only two people were truly in…

REINARD KILIAN RULES The Rules of Golf are there to help players when they get into difficult situations, and to the casual observer it may look like the professionals on Tour get more favourable rulings than the average club golfer. The big difference is that on the major Tours there is often a lot of additional infrastructure and equipment on the course that is installed for the event. A prime example of this is the massive hospitality units you see on TV, and the TV camera platforms around most greens. On the PGA Tour they have additional equipment running their ShotLink system, which means even more camera installations, especially around the green complexes. A ShotLink camera is not big and stands alone on a tripod, and while every effort is…

2023 wtnnar: American Biian Harman romped to a sixstroke victmv at The Open as he held a chasing pack at bay on the greatest da:v of h1s career at rain-drenched Royal Liverpool The 36-year-old. PGA lbW' stalwart, an avid hunter back heme in Georgia offered hope for those wanting a thrilling conclusion to the 151st Championship with a few early errors. But the left-hander turned the final day into a procession as he plotted his way around the bunker-laden layout with a one-under 70 for a 13-under total of 271. Rarely has an Open been concluded in such appalling weather conditions but Harman didn't care as he spurned the offer at an umbrella to be presented with the Claret Jug. ‘I'm looking at the forecast and then get out there…

RYAN CAIRNS COLUMN Most Sunshine Tour players will agree (beyond my personal bias) that the Zimbabwe Open is their favourite event of the season. This tournament, much like its homeland, is a testament to resilience, an emblem of hope, and, above all, a celebration of the sport in its most authentic form. The history of the Zimbabwe Open is as layered and vibrant as the landscape it calls home. First teeing off in 1984, during an era of burgeoning national identity and optimism, the tournament quickly established itself as a significant stop on the Sunshine Tour. It was more than just a competition; it was a statement. For Zimbabwe, still finding its footing post-independence, the Open was a shining symbol of potential and progress. Winners included Nick Price, Tony Johnstone,…

FORMER VENUES Prestwick The original venue for The Open and home to the first 12, Prestwick has hosted The Open Championship on 24 occasions. Prince's The Open was held here just once, in 1932, where Gene Sarazen lapped the field to win by five. Royal Cinque Ports The course in south-east England hosted The Open on just two occasions, in 1909 and 1920. Musselburgh Hosted The Open six times, the last being in 1899. CURRENT VENUES Royal Troon Host of this year's Open, Scotland's Royal Troon features a classic links layout of nine holes out and nine holes back in. The prevailing wind is at the backs of the players as they head out, meaning that they need to take advantage of the downwind holes before turning back into the…

The Olympic rankings for Paris 2024 have been finalised and South Africa will be sending four golfers to the Games. South Africa's two men's golfers heading for Paris are Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Erik van Rooyen, and Ashleigh Buhai and Paula Reto are the country's two women's contenders. Bezuidenhout will be attending his second Olympics, having partnered with Garrick Higgo in Tokyo, as will the two ladies golfers from 2016, Buhai and Reto. The Paris Olympics will be the third in a row after a break of 112 years. The two gold medallists in the men's individual competition have been Justin Rose (Brit) and Xander Schauffele (USA). The women's gold medal winners are Inbee Park (Korea) and Nelly Korda (USA). The top-15 world-ranked players were eligible for the Olympics, with a…

152ND OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 3 There have been three Open Championships that didn't have a prize fund. 4 Most competitors in a single playoff, which was at Muirfield in 2002. Stuart Appleby and Steve Elkington were eliminated after four extra holes and the tournament went to sudden death between Ernie Els and Thomas Levet. The Big Easy parred the first hole (the 18th) to win his third Major. 6 The most victories at The Open Championship – by Harry Vardon –who also invented the overlapping grip. 8 The number of wire-to-wire winners, the last of which was American Jordan Spieth at Royal Birkdale in 2017, when he shot rounds of 65, 69, 65 and 69 to beat Matt Kuchar by three strokes. 8 The number of golfers who played the inaugural…

BARTH MILNE FITNESS Golf has certainly gained popularity as a sport for juniors and there has been a sincere focus on junior development in the game of golf. As pointed out previously, children must master the fundamental movement skills that make us human as well as any fundamental sport skills that make up their chosen sport, or sports. At our golf academies we believe in unearthing the true ‘athlete’ in each child as this will help them become the best golfer that they can be. It is easier to turn an athlete into a player, than a player into an athlete. Long Term Athletic Development [LTAD] is an approach that focuses on having children perform age-appropriate skillacquisition drills to maximise their athletic potential. It gets more complicated and more sophisticated…

COURSE OF THE MONTH The entire operation is slick and effortless. Entering the estate is seamless, which is often the downfall of numerous high-end estates across our country. Nothing like arriving and chomping at the bit for a bucket-list course. Entering the estate becomes a meal in itself. A short drive from entrance to course will confirm the estate's quality and course itself. Gardens immaculately kept, everything clean and well-maintained and if one really concentrates, you can hear the hustle and bustle of the clubhouse from the car park. At face value the facilities may be reminiscent of an old-school era as one meanders through the large clubhouse with all facilities imaginable. The interior spills out into a patio area beside the putting green and the course beyond. The views…

Eleven-Test Springbok winger Akona Ndungane, who won the 2007 Rugby World Cup with South Africa in France, has seen his golf game steadily improve. Having been an 11-handicap in 2018, his dedication to the game has paid off and he is now playing off a 5. It was on a 2008 Super Rugby tour to New Zealand when roommate Bryan Habana introduced him to the game of golf. Habana said to Ndungane, ‘Let's go play a round of golf,’ and while Ndungane thought to himself: I don't even know how to pick up a club, he had seen enough of Queenstown and felt he had nothing to lose giving golf a crack. While the 43-year-old's first attempt at golf was ‘horrendous’, in his own words, he managed to hit one…

ANDY CAPOSTAGNO COLUMN A CORNER DEDICATED TO GOLF'S TRIERS My father-in-law wasn't a golfer, but I'm going to tell you about him anyway. He was a rugby player, an eighthman, good enough to play nine times for England. He played in Frik du Preez's Test debut at Twickenham in 1961. The Boks won 5-3, but the old man had his revenge, scoring the opening try when the Barbarians beat the Boks 6-0 in Cardiff, the only game Avril Malan's men lost in four months on tour. In all other respects, he wasn't a natural sportsman. He got sent off in a game of mixed hockey at college for picking up a lady opponent with a fireman's lift. Cricket was an eternal mystery to him and when he came to South…

2024 US OPEN One of sport's truisims is that no one remembers who came second. Think About it. Who came second when Usain Bolt ran 9.58sec? Who won silver behind Wayde van Niekerk at Rio 2016? Who did Rafa Nadal beat when winning his 14th French Open title? Who finished second to Tatjana Smith when she won gold at the 2020 Tokvo Olympics? It's only when there's a seismic sporting shock that the runner-up, or in sporting terms, the loser, is remembered. Who beat Mike Tyson? Easy. Buster Douglas. And there's not too many others. However, Rory McIlroy entered that conversation when he finished a shot behind Bryson DeChambeau at the US Open. He conspired to bogey three of the last four holes. His miss from inside three feet on…

LOUIS ALBERTSE Louis Albertse has never forgotten where he came from, and it's having a powerful effect on where the Sunshine Tour professional is going in his career. Raised in the small KwaZulu-Natal coalrning town of Dundee, where people like you for who you are and not what you are, Albertse has built himself a career and a team based on traditional values. It's this kind of focus that all came together in a watershed 2023-24 Sunshine Tour season. He won early in the season, claiming his second title at the Kit Kat Cash & Carry Pro-Am. It was a major boost to win that early in the season, but perhaps equally impressive was the kind of consistency he showed throught the rest of the season. With 10 top-10 finishes,…

A researcher at Stellenbosch University has been working for the past 10 years with his group on the impact of smartphones on human attention and performance. Over the past decade, smartphones have become our constant companions. We find ourselves permanently connected to streams of updates and notifications. This revolution in communication has also fostered a culture characterised by the expectation that everyone should always be available online, ready to respond to WhatsApp messages, emails and calls. Even when they find themselves one down with two holes to play. For many, the golf course used to be a place where one could disconnect and briefly escape from this pressure to be available. That no longer seems to be the case. A 2015 survey of 233 000 golfers indicated that, already back…

SIGNATURE HOLE The 8th at Centurion Country Club is a stunning little par three. Surrounded by water, it is truly unique and somewhat daunting for the average golfer. Adding to the ‘intimidation factor’ of the hole, the green is not that large and is protected by bunkering on its circumference. If you miss the water and the green you are left with a real knee-knocker of getting out of the bunker and not thinning it straight over the green into the water. That said, the hole is a mere 138m in length meaning an 8/9-iron for most. Thoughts on playing this hole are: keep it simple. Although short, this is not a hole to be messed with and finding the green is the objective. The green goes from rather broad…

REPLAY After years of challenges and multiple 18th-hole interventions from unseen forces, Branden Grace finally delivered the magic record number 62 at The Open Championship. Grace has contended at multiple Majors m his young career hut this was flawless from start to finish and the biggest moment of his career. Grace called it a 'special day' and he didn't even have to sweat it out on the 18th hole as we've seen on an almost annual basis with all the 63s over the years. Grace needed only a tap-in par to set the new record and post an eight-under 62 that tied him for second place at the 146th Open. The South African went out in 29 on the front nine at Royal Birkdale, which got the crowd property primed…