IF one travels down the length of the South Coast and visits all the golf courses, it will be extremely evident that Amanzimtoti is a rather flat course.
The greens are not all elevated, so the undulations of the course do not offer much assistance when it comes to stopping the ball on the greens. All the clubs, however, desperately need rain and anybody trying to pitch a golf ball from any decent distance out from the green will have been rewarded by seeing their ball scuttle off the back of the green. The faint-hearted players who habitually use their putters from hundreds of feet out, rather than tempt fate with an elevated club, are rubbing their hands in glee. That said the Amanzimtoti golf course is playing beautifully, thanks to the hard work of Errol Woods and his team.
The bridge work is nearly over, apart from needing several wooden poles to replace those on the seventh that are beyond repair. If anybody reading this column is able to assist by donating poles, contact the club.
Results from last Wednesday’s IPS competition, Martin Rumbelow first on 42 points, followed by Mike Lawrence on 41, with Buff Berry winning the count out for third place on 39 points.
The Friday meat competition was contested by 42 players and won with a fine 22 points by Devon Govender, with Vishnu Kistasamy coming second on 21 points.
On Saturday the men played a fourball alliance, three scores to count all round. The winning fourball was made up of Greg Veldtman, Grant Harris, Ian Bender and Mark Brodie on 132 points, a clear six points ahead of the second placed fourball comprising Willie Boucher, Andy Walters, Nigel Johnson and Ralph Clarke. Nearest the pins on the fourth and 15th holes respectively were Hu Turnbull and Pierre Gengan. Nobody managed to hit the jackpot.
The women played betterball medal, with the pairing of Ina de Boer and Lynette Roodt proving way too strong for the rest of the field and winning with 61 nett. This was a clear three shots ahead of the second placed team of Liz Donald and Lass Davis. Nearest the pin on the fourth went to Cheryl Flutter.
On Sunday the Sanlam Cancer Challenge regional finals were held at Royal Durban. At the time of going to press only the women's results were available, and the best placed Amanzimtoti woman was Charmain Stone who finished second in her division with a solid 39 points. Sue Boucher and Wladzia Olivier didn’t fare as well, but at least they got to play in the regionals on a stunning course in superb weather.
Fixture for the week ahead:
The men play ‘hate-your-mate’, also known as multiple stableford, while the women will stay friends with their playing companions and contest an individual stableford points competition.
On a closing note, it was gratifying to see the letter sent in to the Golf Digest magazine by Wladzia Olivier’s daughter, raising the question whether Wladzia’s hole-in-one makes her the oldest woman in South Africa to achieve this remarkable feat. It will be interesting to see whether this is indeed fact.
All visitors are welcome to play at Amanzimtoti. Call the pro shop on 031-902-1166 for infomation.
