Caddies show off their amazing skills at annual challenge

The golf caddie is an important, sometimes overlooked job.

He, or she, is there to help provide assistance to the golfer and serve their needs.

They have many different responsibilities that go beyond carrying the golfer’s clubs and keeping score, two of which is knowing the game and knowing the course.

Inevitably, if they lay their hands on a golf club, there is sure to be magic.

This rang true when the 13-year-old tradition to give back to loyal caddies at Mbombela Golf Club continued last week.

The Lowveld Nomads introduced the Caddie Challenge to give back to the loyal caddies of the golf club and hope to make it a national event.

The caddies, who know each hole of the course like the back of their hands, had the opportunity to test their own golf skills when they played the full course in a Stableford format.

Nearly 40 caddies were divided into nine teams that consisted of four players a team.  Each team represented a sponsor for the day.

Outfits, equipment, prizes and lunch were given to the players to show appreciation for their hard work, aiding golfers who played at the golf club through the year.

The caddie champion of the day was Lawrence Mdluli who scored 31 points and was also closest to the pin on hole 17, with Foreman Mathebula the runner-up scoring, also scoring 31 points. Henry Madalane, who was awarded third place with his score of 30 points, had the longest drive on the 9th hole.

Mdudu Mnyambo was closest to the pin on hole five and Madala Mdluli ended the day with the longest drive on hole 18.

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“We organise this yearly event for the caddies, with the help of stakeholders and sponsors, to show them that they are important to the golf club. We are grateful for all their hard work helping all golf players who play here,” said Darren Plumb, CEO of Mbombela Golf Club.

Each caddie walked away with a big food parcel that was provided by the sponsors to end a long day of playing golf on the course they know so well.

The Caddie Challenge happens early in December every year and the club hopes to get more caddies from other clubs involved to attend the day of appreciation.

The idea behind the format of Stableford is very simple. Below is a clear and straightforward list to explain how Stableford scoring works:

Six points if you played four strokes under par, five points if you are three strokes under, four points for two strokes under, three points for one stroke under, two points when you are on par, one point if you are one stroke over and zero points when you are two or more strokes over.

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