Newsletter | October 2023

For those of you who don’t know, Judy and I were on holiday, and I would like to thank Management & Committee for looking after our club in my absence.

Our journey started from Cape Town to Instanbul to Barcelona to Almeria to Mojácar. It was a long, long journey taking 36 hours. Reason for Spain was to attend a wedding of a friend’s daughter.

Disaster struck when collecting baggage – no suitcase for Judy – As we were attending the wedding the following day – No Clothes to wear! As Mojácar is mainly a small beach type village it was near impossible to find suitable attire to attend a wedding in Spain.

I didn’t help me by saying that I had my case.

Things got better when we arrived in Dublin. We stayed at Portmarnock Golf Estate. The accommodation at the hotel was superb and the course looked even greater.

A few years ago, we took Chris and Jenny Wilson to visit Portmarnock. Chris purchased a whole bunch of memorabilia only to find out after that we were at the “New” Portmarnock course and not the renowned Portmarnock old course!!

We were hosted by two of our friends at Royal Dublin golf course where Leonard Owens was Pro for 40 years. You will have met Leonard as he has played many times with us at Milnerton and was Judy’s caddy in the Club Championship.

Our journey went from Dublin to Carlingford one of the most beautiful little towns nestled on the border of North and Southern Ireland with lots of beautiful pubs and restaurants. From there we went to Belfast and went to the Titanic Museum, what an interesting story. From there to the famous or not so famous Falls Road then back to Carlingford for a few pints of Guinness.

From Carlingford to my home County Wexford. We played golf at Rosslare a real links course and the course won.  It was much too tough for us.  We decided to take on Mount Juliet where they hosted the Irish Open in 2021 and 2022. There we fared a bit better. We stayed the night in the Manor House and what a treat it was.

Tee marker at Mount Juliet

Most of our stay in Wexford was visiting friends and drinking Guinness. We also spent a day with Niall Keller’s brothers Mark & Maurice, but after doing my very best to match their drinking it was like my golf at Rosslare, I failed miserably.

So, on we go back to the North of Ireland to stay with our friends Peter and Paula Carren. That afternoon, they took us to visit the famous Giants Causeway. For those of you who have never heard of it, it’s worth looking up. The rock formation is breath taking.

Giant Causeway

You wouldn’t believe our luck, but the ISPS HANDA WORLD GOLF was being hosted at the Galgorm Castle Golf Course, where Peter Carren is a member and 5min walk from his house.  we went on Monday and Tuesday to watch them practise. Ernie was down to play, we didn’t see him, but we had the great privilege of meeting Leona McGuire and her sister who caddies for her. We also met a few of the other players and watched them practice.

Leona McGuire and her sister

We couldn’t stay and watch the tournament as we were flying out to Turkey on Wednesday 16/8 The best part of our visit to the north was visiting Rory’s home course Hollywood and what a great reception we got, we were allowed to have our photos taken with all his trophies.

Hollywood golf club and Rory’s trophies

It was our first visit to Turkey and were we surprised!! 15 million people in one city and 40+ degrees. I was led to believe that women had to be covered top to bottom, well let me tell you that it is far from the truth. There was lots of flesh shown. I was also led to believe that women were not allowed at prayer well they are not allowed in the mosque, but they turn up to pray outside the mosque.

One of the other things we were told to experience was to have a traditional Turkish bath. Believing it would be an experience that you will never forget. My vision was having a beautiful young lady scrub and massage me. That was far from the truth, I was greeted by 2 men that had muscles in places I cannot describe. One told me to take my clothes off and gave me a towel, told me to sit in the steam room. Then they took me out and put me on a marble slab and after been battered and bruised for 20 minutes it felt like I had been in the ring with Tyson Fury certainly not what I expected!

As always it is great to be back home.

You will see lots of activity all over the course and with the growing season hopefully all our construction areas will all be looking great soon.

Regards

Billy O’Brien
Captain

We welcome the following new members

Riaan Strydom Dylan Cross Jacobus Nel

Jonathan Fonseca David Fonseca Raoul Gordon

Monthly Golf Fixtures & Results

Lady Captain’s Corner

Weather wreaks havoc

Well, ladies, let’s get straight to the point—September wasn’t exactly a golfer’s paradise. All our Tuesday competitions except one, decided to follow their own set of rules and got rained out.

Navigating this year’s golf competitions has been like taking a rollercoaster ride. I must confess, it’s gifted me a few extra white hairs for my troubles! And let’s not forget the weather app screenshots and conversations in the background that add to the drama!! How do you explain Mother Nature’s whims to a group of golfers whose happiness (okay, not always) depends on perfect weather?

If I had the power, I’d decree that every Tuesday be blessed with golf-perfect weather. Heck, I’d even throw in ideal conditions for all our golf days and competitions, just for good measure.

Despite the cancellation of our competition yesterday (26^th) due to some flooding on the 9^th  & 10^th, a brave handful of us decided it was time to take matters into our own hands and summon spring with a sprinkle of flowers.

So, ladies, let’s cross our fingers for some sunnier sies ahead!

Some Golf Did Take Place

We did manage to sneak in one Tuesday competition where we hosted a beautiful and successful friendly against the Atlantic Beach ladies on the 12^th. What a turnout! Our course was an absolute stunner, and the views, well, they never disappoint.

Hats off to Ros Howard and Tanya Williams for their fantastic 1^st place win. Our visitors snatched up both 2^nd and 3^rd places, and we owe a big thank you to Leapfrog Properties for sponsoring the amazing prizes.

Ah, so while we may not have been out on the course much, our golfing brains were still in full swing with a bit of “Bogey Plus” theory (LOL)! Even when the golf clubs are resting, our minds are in action, dissecting the mysteries of the game with lively discussions and a few good-natured debates. After all, when it comes to golf, there’s always something new to learn and discuss, rain or shine!

Ladies Open

I’m still recovering from the Ladies Open we hosted on the 22^nd. Oh buoy, what a blast! (pardon the pun.) The wind just wouldn’t let up all day, but that didn’t dampen our spirits one bit. We had a full field, and the ladies fully embraced the nautical theme with their outfits and decorations.

Let’s give a round of applause to the winners:

• Ros Howard (Milnerton, the swinging sensation), Annelise Smit and Erika van Niekerk (from Moorreesberg), and Jo Elves (Milnerton).
• In 2^nd place, we had Ntsoti Morojele, Lorette Hegie, Judy Teixeira (all Milnerton) and Maureen Weimar (Westlake).
• In 3^rd place, it was Meryl Muller, Sonja Weakley (both Milnerton), Marguerite McCleland and Calet Villet (both Durbanville) and
• in 4^th – Nicolene Mans, Andrea Kritzinger (both Paarl), Sanelle Posthumus (Worcester) and Nadya Ritchsewald (Milnerton).

Congratulations to all the winners for sailing through this fantastic event!

The event was an absolute splash, and the pictures are proof! Please go on to the Club’s Facebook page to check out all the fantastic moments that were captured. Don’t forget to like, comment and share to spread the joy!

We’d like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our main sponsors, Pam Golding Properties Western Seaboard and associates, for their invaluable support. It’s your dedication that truly helps make our event shine.

And of course, a big thank you to the many individuals who lent a hand and contributed to making this event a resounding success.

Hello October

As we bid adieu to September’s rain, let’s welcome October with open arms and a pocketful of sunshine. Keep those swings smooth, your spirits high and your golf bags ready. Looking forward to seeing you on the greens in October!

Sending sunny smiles and warm wishes.

Cheers,

Ntsoti Morojele
Lady Captain 2023

Seniors’ Corner

Greetings all.

Another month and summer still seems out of reach. Makes one think of the song “The September of our years” or perhaps more apply “The winter of our discontent”. Of course, there are many theories about this. There is the heating of the atmosphere which will raise the ocean levels. (Beware the clubhouse) or you could reason like I do that the heating of the atmosphere will bring more rain and that rain will cool the earth. Eventually everything will go back to normal, and we will be able to play golf again.

Speaking about the clubhouse. Up to now nothing concrete about the reinforcement of the beach erosion that endangers the clubhouse has been forthcoming. We as seniors should be asking questions as to what the committee plans to do.

Congratulations to the monthly winners.

• 4  Sept. 2023 – J. Mbambane, E. Adams, G. Adams, C. Classen
• 11 Sept. 2023 – J. Whittal, D. Arnold, J. Dranscield, G. Odendaal
• 18 Sept. 2023 – A. Odendaal, A. Erwin, J. Foster, G. Odendaal
• 25 Sept. 2023 – Competition cancelled due to storm. No money and no cake.

The storm must have been bad because even Bokkie stayed in bed.

I had the opportunity to play St Andrews some time ago. Played with a Scot. Being such an illustrious course, I was nervous and shaky on the first tee. I swung at the ball and missed. Lined up again and hit it down the fairway. I turned. “That my mulligan for the day, what would you call it.” He looked a bit disgusted when he answered casually. “We call that three.”

Rumours have it that Callie and Walter had their ball retrievers regripped.

See you on the course,
Arie

Golf Course Report

Hi all members,

Happy to announce that our seeding on the course is germinating quite nicely and with the growing season upon us, we are hoping for more growth. Unhappy to report the loss of our dunes all along the 2nd hole, I’m sure you have all heard of the devastation the new full blue moon and I suspect the earthquake out in the Indian Ocean has caused all along the Western Cape seaboard.

The club has had to construct a new green right of the 2^nd green incase our 2^nd green ends up in the ocean, as I’m writing this, we only have 4 Meters of land left between the ocean and the second green, we also going to move the fairway more to the right on the 2^nd hole as the original fairway has taken a hammering from the erosion and the wind. We are also closing the grass bunkers on the right as we feel it’s very unfair on the golfer that goes in there. The new 2^nd green will be incorporated into the old 2^nd green in time, we are not able to do it as of now as we have a major pipeline running through the middle of the two greens, we will be shaving the rough to green height, so it appears to be one big green.

As for the rest of the course goes we are quite happy with the way it’s playing and our new tee boxes are coming on quite well and hopefully it will all germinate at a higher rate with spring and some sunshine. Once more I ask all users of golf cars to please drive in the rough around the greens, it does help the surrounds from becoming too compact.

The bad areas left of the 11^th and 12^th greens have also been repaired and we will be cutting the 12^th fairway on the right further up the dune because the sods we planted have recovered nicely.

Happy golfing till I bore you all with another report.

Cheers
Shaun Buchanan

From the Range

With the season upon us but being held back with a stubborn winter. The grass is finally growing again, and the birds are starting to chirp.

Arno would like to encourage the members who have not yet visited the range in the past year to swing by and hit a couple of balls. Currently less than 10% of the members are making use of the range.

The range has come a long way in the past year and will look stunning for the season. The range is open from 7:30 and last buckets are sold at 5:30 in season time. Arno also offers lessons for members for R350 for 30min and R700 for 1hr. Visitors will pay R450 for 30min and R900 for 1hr, please do not hesitate to contact Franci or Arno at the range for packages or other rates.

The greater the support the better the facility will become!

Kind regards
Arno Marais

Functions

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