Competitive both on and off the course at Ladysmith Country Club
Over the 2-day tournament, they competed with the best in SA
An eager bunch of members and visitors enjoyed a round of nine holes last Saturday (September 21) in anticipation of the rugby and braai to follow. I thought you might like to know the origins of golf… Sometime after whisky was discovered, an insane Scotsman who had four and a half hours to spare developed a stick to club a ball into a hole in the distance – hence the word ‘club’ was formed. He invited a friend around to show his new game and explained that he must hit the ball into the hole on a lush piece of grass.
His friend said that’s a fairway to the green stuff and the terms ‘fairway’ and ‘green’ were founded. Just before they hit the first shot off a box-like outcrop, the wife bought them some tea and it became known to this day as the tee box. As it would happen, he ended up in the tough grass on the side and had such a rough time getting out that he nearly had a stroke – this led to the terms ‘rough’ and ‘stroke’.
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This took only 13 minutes to finish and he still had plenty of time left over, so he made 17 more holes and tee boxes around the countryside.
This left him with half an hour or so, so he built a house at the end to keep his clubs in and have a few whiskys after the game. He called it the clubhouse. The club winners of the Cape of Good Hope Series, Gary MacMaster and Luke Gibbons, went to Durban to play in the regional finals. They qualified to play in the finals last weekend at the exclusive and immaculate Leopard Creek, which overlooks the Crocodile River and the Kruger Park.
They were flown from Durban to JHB and then to Malelane to be treated like royalty by the staff at Leopard Creek. After a warm-up nine holes, the competition started the next day in earnest and over the two-day tournament, they competed with the best in the country. Although they didn’t win, they both were (according to organiser Paul Adams) competitive both on and off the course. They were a credit to Ladysmith Country Club and Ladysmith, and were a pleasure to host.
They finished sixth, just four shots off the winners, and both had an unforgettable, oncein-a-lifetime adventure. Well done, guys, we are proud of you!
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