Innehållsförteckning för June 2024 från Compleat Golfer

We’re back on track for the Paris Olympics, which will be the third in a row after a break of 112 years. The two gold medallists in the men's individual competition were Justin Rose [Brit] and Xander Schauffele [USA], The women's gold medallists have been Inbee Park (Korea) and Nelly Korda (USA). The top-15 world-ranked players will be eligible for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from any one country. Beyond the top 15, players will be eligible based on the World Ranking, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15. The USA has four qualified golfers. As the fifth-ranked American, Open champion Brian Harman is currently set to miss out, despite having…

T o look forward to the 2024 US Open, we need to first rewind 10 years to 2014. That's when the US Open, the second oldest of all the Majors, was last played at the No 2 Course at the Pinehurst Resort in North California. A quick refresh: Germany's Martin Kaymer was crowned champion, but his performance was something of an outlier. US Opens aren't known for their kindness in terms of course set-up, although, the past, couple of years have been more sympathetic. Since 2012, three US Opens have been won with a score of one over par, with the last being Brooks Koepka’s 281 at Shinnecock Hills in 2018. Last year Wyndham Clark, who has subsequently reached No 3 in the World Ranking, went round Los Angeles CC in…

REINARD KILIAN RULES The Sunshine Tour teed off its 2024-25 season with a new tournament in the Waterfall City Tournament of Champions powered by Attacq, and which featured a unique format on the Tour. Using a composite course over nine holes of the East Course at Royal Johannesburg, players played 18 holes for each round by playing each hole twice. Although the players played from the same teeing area to the same green for each of the nines, as they turned the cups were changed so that in effect, the pin for the 1st hole and the 10th hole would be in different locations. On most nine-hole courses in the country you would be playing to the same green and flag but from a different teeing area for each nine.…

ELS FOR AUTISM The Ernie Els Charities South Africa Golf Days made their first-ever stop at Dainfern Golf Estate in Johannesburg at the end of April in what was a tremendous success for a new host venue. With the Chanties Golf Days coming thick and fast and the Els for Autism Foundation well into its groove for the year, an amazing Gauteng morning greeted a massive group of 120 players at Dainfern. Nestled in the north-western side of Greater Johannesburg, Dainfern certainly provides a bit of a different and unique challenge than some of the other courses in the Highveld. Having hosted a number of pro events in the past, the course was set to treat golfers, giving them an awesome day of golf with great weather. ‘For our first…

BOOK EXTRACT The 2022 Joburg Open The players had a choice as to where to play the first week back out: Joburg or Queensland. If it had been up to me, I'd have opted for the 22-hour wallet-draining trip down to Australia, mainly on the basis that the two courses down there are just way better. Especially Kingston Heath, which, is in my top three favourite courses in the world. But my preferences count for nothing, and even if they had, he chose Joburg anyway. Basically because we get to play three weeks in a row without any real travelling in between, and the third week is at Leopard Creek which is everyone's favourite stop on Tour. So as usual at this time of year, I'm back at Heathrow for…

REPLAY Thirty years ago, Ernie Els survived a three-man US Open playoff to claim his first Major title, also his first PGA Tour victory. Els, Loren Roberts and Colin Montgomerie all tied at 279 in regulation, so played an 18-hole playoff. Montgomerie finished at 78. But Els and Roberts were still tied at 74, so they continued to sudden death. And Els finally won it on the second extra hole — the 20th playoff hole overall — with a par to Roberts’ bogey. This was the first of five times Colin Montgomerie finished second at a Major without ever winning one. In a tournament that was as much about survival as shot-making, Els’ victory over Roberts and Montgomerie might not have been pretty to watch. But it was definitely something…

From the minute Louis Oosthuizen put his signature on a LIV Golf contract, he had a bigger plan in mind. And it began with a big green and gold 'S'. Through the formation of the Stinger GC brand as one of the LIV teams, Oosthuizen saw the potential to do something new in professional golf. 'It was something we spoke about right from the start, namely how we could build the Stingers brand and make it South Africa’s professional golf team,’ he says. That vision was the driving force behind the specific green and gold colours Oosthuizen selected for the team. And it remains at the core of why he's determined that the Stingers team remains a fully South African team in LIV Golf. 'We definitely want the Stingers to…

The area is rich in history with certain historic buildings dating back to 1838 still present on the land. The current estate dates back to 1995 when the three farmers originally owning the land decided to build a golf course. It was then that well-known course architect Peter Matkovich was contracted for the design and construction got under way in 1996. In November 2000, Spier Country Club opened its doors for the first time to the public. The name was taken from the Spier Group, which owned the neighbouring wine farm and had invested in the property that included the golf course. In 2003, when the newly completed clubhouse opened, the name was changed to De Zalze Golf Club in line with the newly launched De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate…

COLIN NEL S ometimes, professional golfers drop off the radar. And, sometimes, it's only when one reappears that we wonder whatever happened to them. So it is with Colin Nel. When 40-year-old Nel - who won on the Sunshine Tour in 2014 and was perhaps even better known for breaking 60 three times - once in a professional tournament turned up at the Tour's Qualifying School Final Stage at Heron Banks in Sasolburg in April, it was clearly time to find out. ‘Score one for the oldies, score one for experience,’ laughed Nel as he won back his playing rights on the Sunshine Tour with a share of 12th at six under par - together with another veteran, Brandon Pieters. ‘I turned pro in 2010, so it's been a way of…

ROLAND SCHOEMAN Three-time Olympic medallist Roland Schoeman, who represented Team South Africa at four Olympic Games over a decorated professional swimming career, is an avid golf fan. But his attempts to qualify for Paris 2024 coupled with his profession as a real estate agent has significantly limited his playing time on the greens in Phoenix, Arizona. However, having failed to attain a qualifying time at South Africa’s National Championships, which doubled as Olympic trials at the Newton Park Swimming Pool in Gqeberha in April, the 43-year-old is set to tee up more regularly as he appears to have said goodbye to a swimming career which peaked at the 2004 Olympics. Schoeman was part of the ‘Awesome Foursome’ that claimed gold in the 4×100m freestyle relay. ‘Back in high school we…

ANDY CAPOSTAGNO COLUMN A CORNER DEDICATED TO GOLF’S TRIERS The Secret Tour Caddy is a book that came across my desk at Cover2Cover recently and I thought I’d share my thoughts on it with you. An edited extract has appeared in Compleat Golfer but I think an overall view helps to understand it, too. The author operates on the DP World Tour and is anonymous because he doesn’t want to compromise his chances of future employment. He does offer a few clues to his identity, though, admitting that he is English, has been on the Tour for 20-plus years and handles the bag of a middle-ability player, ie one who doesn’t have too much trouble keeping his Tour card but also doesn’t feature in the winner’s enclosure very often. The…

BRANDON STONE COLUMN The Asian swing of the schedule came to an end at the beginning of May in Shenzhen, China. The continent of Asia, as many know, is not ‘around the corner’ when it comes to travelling from South Africa – or many other places for that matter. Long-haul flights, foreign food and jet lag are the three experiences guaranteed to come your way. But it was a successful stint of events, both for the DP World Tour and myself. We started off in Singapore. The Laguna National Golf Resort Club was a truly challenging golf course with some of the most severely sloped greens I’ve come across in my time. That, combined with temperatures of close to 40°C made for a really challenging week. Unfortunately, I missed the…

It was in the shadow of the majestic Helderberg Mountain and on the fairways of Erinvale Country and Golf Estate that there was a definite sense of coming full circle in South African women’s golf. In a week in April, as the Investec South African Women's Open played itself out on these fairways, it also told the greater story of the women's professional game in this country. On the practice range, Sally Little was involved with a golf development clinic. In the clubhouse, Lee-Anne Pace was busy with her final preparations before teeing off for her first round. On the putting green, Nicole Garcia was refining her putting stroke. And elsewhere, Casandra Alexander, Danielle du Toit, Zethu Myeki, Cara Gorlei, Isabella van Rooyen and amateur Kyra van Kan were all…

Recovering from a poor start in a round of golf requires a combination of mental resilience, strategic adjustments and a positive mindset. Mike Tyson, former boxing champion, was quoted as saying: 'Everyone has a plan, until they are punched in the mouth', referring to how an early setback can disrupt your game plan and your headspace, by association. Golfers may agree with Tyson's assertion having possibly experienced what it feels like to start bleeding shots in a round at the start of a tournament in which they are expected to perform well. How do you not lose hope and keep grinding to the end? How do you recover from the frustration and go on to post a decent or even semi-decent score? Here are a few steps to help you…

SIGNATURE HOLE The par-four 13th at De Zalze Golf Club must be one of the most iconic par fours in South Africa. Not only for its playability but also the beauty of the hole as it meanders tantalisingly close to the water hazard from tee to green. It's a hole you can play a dozen times and still return to with great anticipation each time. Being the stroke 18 on the course, itisn't too tough and offers a carrot to every Level of golfer in its risk/reward nature From tee to green it covers 268m requiring a 150m carry to the main part of the fairway Placed higher than the other holes on the hack nine, it is exposed to any wind that may he up. The south-wester will help…

South Africa’s rich legacy at the All Africa Junior Teams Championships continued when both the boys and girls defended their titles in April, but golf was the biggest champion at the junior African flagship event at Benoni Country Club. The 17th edition was a groundbreaking one for the African continent with a record 16 nations participating for gold. In all, 15 boys teams and 11 girls sides took part. The South African boys team cruised to the title - their 17th in a row - thanks to a consolidated team effort across the four days. Team South Africa ended as the runaway leaders on 22 under par and, as the only nation to finish under par, showed just how good the upcoming talent in the country is. It was an…

JUNE PICK OF THE MONTH US OPEN 13-16 JUNE 2023 winner: American Wyndham Clark announced himself as golfs newest star with a gutsy US Open triumph at Los Angeles Country Club to claim his first Major title. Fhcing off against some of the game's biggest names in the shadow of Hollywood, Clark tuned out some late drama to clinch a one-shot victory over Rory Mcllroy. Clark wept tears of joy after he sank a short par putt on 18 to finish the championship on 10-under-par 270 behind an impressive display of power and precision. 'I feel like I belong on this stage,' said Clark, who collected the trophy and winner's purse of $3.6-million. ‘Even two, three years ago when people didn’t know who I was, I felt like I could…

RYAN CAIRNS COLUMN Now in its third year, the Leadbetter Golf Academy at Royal Harare has produced some incredible results, with two starlets shining brightly and flying the flag around the continent for Zimbabwean golfing talent on the rise. Primrose Chikwaya and Kudzai Mandava have a similar story in many ways. They are also close friends and have shared the dream of playing college golf on scholarships in the USA ever since I can remember. Primrose is the daughter of our greenkeeper at Royal Harare, and Kudzai's story would become one of the most inspiring documentaries in all sport. Hard work, combined with an unwavering dedication to improving daily, has paid off, as both Primrose and Kudzai have earned their scholarships for golfing excellence and will be attending the same…