Tshwane Open leaving a legacy
Not only golfers, golf enthusiasts and businesses in Pretoria will benefit from the Tshwane Open next month, but young golf players from disadvantaged backgrounds will get the opportunity to rub shoulders with the best in the game.
Stephané Bothma
The hugely successful Tshwane Open golf tournament – which annually fills the coffers of the city to the tune of almost R40 million in direct spend and R55 million in economic spin-offs – will once again be a springboard for the development of golf.
At the introduction of this year’s tournament on Tuesday, Tshwane mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa said the Tshwane Open was creating a significant social legacy in the capital.
Through a joint project by the metro and the South African Golf Development Board, young golfers from disadvantaged backgrounds had an opportunity to take part in a sport traditionally regarded as the preserve of the wealthy, Ramokgopa said.
“Tshwane is looking forward to the day one of the developmental players becomes a South African golfing champion. Who knows, the next Ernie Els may come from Mabopane.”
Ramokgopa said with the helping hand of world-class professional players, young players were being guided through their practice shots at the Mabopane driving range.
“Every year, ahead of the Tshwane Open some of these young players spend a day with 10 of the European and Sunshine Tour professionals picking up tips on how to improve their game.”
According to the mayor, Pretoria was one of the most active golf development regions in the country with some 200 children from Klipgat, Soshanguve, Mabopane and Hillside taking up golf.
In its fourth year, statistics show that in addition to inspiring the youth of the city, the positive economic impact of the golf tournament had been growing each year since the metro’s bold decision to host the multimillion-rand event in 2012.
“In just three short years, the Tshwane Open has built a global reputation for itself, leading to the renewed commitments from the Tshwane council to hold the tournament for a further three years,” Ramokgopa said.
The staging of the tournament, with prize money of R18,5 million and which attracts 156 top local and international golfers to Pretoria, had initially been met with great skepticism, but organisers had proven detractors wrong.
The Tshwane Open will again be held at the historic Pretoria Country Club in Waterkloof from 11 to 14 February. But this year, other activities, including a night market at the club, had been included to cement the metro’s slogan for the tournaments as ‘more than just golf’.
The Tshwane Open was initially mooted to showcase Pretoria as a tourism destination of choice.
“Over the past three years the impact of hosting the tournament has been significant and has played a role in placing Tshwane on the world map,” Ramokgopa said.
Last year, the Tshwane Open reached more than 430 million households around the world.
“This means that the 2015 Tshwane Open received R122 million in media coverage alone with the metro and its brand receiving a further R13 million in media coverage.”
The event also brought in millions in revenue as golfers, their families and their fans booked into local accommodation, frequented local restaurants and enjoyed local entertainment.
An independent economic research report by Grant Thornton found that last year, the event had a total economic impact of about R55,2 million for the city and R99 million for the country as a whole. Direct spend – mostly by players and VIPs – was R39 million in Pretoria and R44,8 million in South Africa.
“Over the past three years the economic impact of the Tshwane Open has added R213,7 million to the city’s gross domestic product (GDP), R388,7 to the national GDP and R18,3 million to local contractors and suppliers,” the mayor said.
“From the start of the Tshwane Open our aim was to not only showcase our city to a greater international audience and promote our tourism potential but also to be a source of inspiration for the youth of this city,” Ramokgopa said.
According to Selwyn Nathan, executive director of the Sunshine Tour, the Open had been a perfect model of the value that a professional golf tournament could have for a city and its objectives.
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