Different kinds of “hops” for golfers at Ladysmith Country Club
All the meanings of "hop" have some sort of connection to golf, with the hop being what the golfer does when he just misses a putt
The Easter weekend got off to a hopping good start with the members popping in for the ‘100 Club’ draw and to enjoy a lovely fish and chips evening.
There was more excitement than kids on an Easter egg hunt as the members and friends waited for the president to draw the numbers.
The winner of the big basket of golden eggs was Lynn Beaton, while Graham Smith won the basket of lesser eggs.
The word “hop” has various meanings, one of which is to move by jumping on one foot or in the case of animals, to move on two or all of their feet.
Hop can also mean a short trip, ie he hopped a train, as well as a rebound in that the ball took a bad hop.
To most, the most important hop of all is the one that gives beer its bitter taste.
A golfer takes a lot of short trips between shots, and hops onto his golf cart to get there.
Every golfer, some a lot more than others, has had a bad bounce or hop of the ball on the course.
Then there is, of course, the intake (in some cases more than others) of the golden, bitter and hops-infused taste of beer after the game.
With the weather looking rather ominous on Saturday morning, a few golfers phoned to see if the Easter Bunny had visited the club and left some prizes for the competition.
Once confirmed that he had indeed been seen, the golfers decided it was worth playing.
So with a hop in their step, the players started to arrive and gear themselves up for the big hunt.
Some started searching for the bunny and the eggs he had left, but only found our local resident rooster and, as we all know, he doesn’t lay eggs.
With the rain thankfully going elsewhere and after a resounding Sharks win (for a change), the determined field set off to try and emulate the feats of the rugby team.
This they did with some scrappy, rudderless, defenceless and at times some breathtakingly attacking play.
The Easter hunt, for some, was a bit like the Looney Tunes (more looney than tunes) Elmer Fudd, bounding about the rough in search of that “wascally wabbit” Bugs Bunny.
We all know that he never shoots Bugs, but much like some of the field, he shoots plenty and inevitably ends up injuring only himself, his ego and score.
For Thokozane Dladla and Pitso Moelefe, they found the course in superb condition and shot a solid 47 points to run out victors over Jolanda Ceronio and Ryan Seele.
Ryan shot the round of the day and his career best, with a net 62.
Willie Erasmus and Dolf Pollard won the count-out from a number of teams on 44 points to take third spot.
The ‘nearest the pin’ winners were Ryan at the 11th and Rory Sanders on the 12th.
There were five two-club winners, being Thokozane, Murray Hume, Corné Stevens (2), Vernon and Rory Sanders.
It was fantastic to see so many visitors out on the course, playing with family and friends, and we hope to see you all at the club again soon.
The course is probably in its best condition since it opened nearly 50 years ago.
To celebrate this grand occasion, a two-day golf competition has been organised on the anniversary date of Friday, April 27.
The Gee Jays will be back to entertain on that evening, with a limited number of tickets for sale – so book from the club early.
The Gee Jays have been performing all round the country for over 30 years and they will be performing their latest musical revue.
The club will have a cash bar available for the thirsty and will be doing a large chicken, chips, rolls and sauces to feed four for R160 or you can bring your own, ala Barnyard Theatre.
Follow the Gazette and our Facebook page for more details.
Well done to all the winners and to Ettienne, Wayne and Steve for sponsoring the prizes.
It is with deep sadness that we learnt that one of our old golfing members and stalwart of the club, “J.O.” Singh, passed away over the weekend.
Our condolences, thoughts and best wishes go out to his family and friends at this time.
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