FIELDS OF DREAMS

Over 30 years ago when Peter Matkovich had just opened the San Lameer golf course my father called me and said: “Dale, please tell Peter to save money as there won’t be many more golf courses built in South Africa.”

Thank goodness my dad was wrong because Peter is still building golf courses in southern Africa!

He is working in Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Mauritius, with more projects planned for South Africa, Namibia, Mauritius and Zimbabwe. I’d love to see my father’s reaction!

Golf Data are just as active. They have just finished renovating Durban Country Club and people are raving about the improvements, and they are constructing the new Zimbali Lakes, also in KwaZulu-Natal.

Humewood (above) is and always has been a favourite. For this year’s Nelson Mandela Bay Championship, the Sunshine Tour tried to get the greens faster, but when the wind came, the balls kept moving on the greens! Listen to the locals, especially at the coast! I enjoy the variety of Humewood – the holes all veer in different directions, so unless it’s a very strong wind, the course is challenging but playable.

I’ve also visited Koro Creek, Euphoria and Zebula in the past few months, and more recently, the course and clubhouse of Skukuza (below), which has also undergone a revamp.

The clubhouse is stunning with a beautiful deck that overlooks the 9th/18th green and a lake where hippos and crocodiles reside. Only in Africa. The changes are good and the greens were in excellent condition. All these courses should be on your bucket list.

In Gauteng we visited a few other courses which, after some excellent rains, were looking lovely. Royal Johannesburg (above) is one of South Africa’s great clubs with two terrific courses and all the facilities a modern club needs. They have recently added padel courts, a kids’ play area and a top-class restaurant.

A club that doesn’t get the praise it deserves is Wingate Park Country Club (below) in Pretoria. It’s a fabulous layout and is always in excellent condition.

The area that has had the most action recently is KwaZulu-Natal. I cannot wait to see the results of the huge renovation job that was done at Durban Country Club. It has always been my favourite course, which I don’t understand because I never won a tournament there!

Zimbali Lakes will be another superb addition to the already large group of top-class courses in the area.

Not that far away in Nottingham Road, Gowrie Farm – our course feature this month – has extended its course from 12 to 18 holes. Guy Smith, who designed and built the original 12 holes, has added the new holes and has done a superb job of blending them in. Even though the new holes have only been open for two months, the golf course looks like it’s been there for a long time. Golfers playing the course will be in for a treat with a few unique and surprising features, and I’m sure everyone will go away loving Gowrie Farm and looking forward to their next trip.

Another eye-opener for me are the people I’ve met at the clubs. When I was young, the pros and managers at the clubs were names like Sid Brews (Houghton), Rod Dunn (Royal Johannesburg) and Don Ellmore (CMR). The pros then were top players like Graham Henning (Wanderers), David Black (Houghton), John Cook (Gary Player Country Club), Hugh Inggs (Durban Country Club) and Graham Roebert (Pretoria Country Club). Now we have a lot of young, vibrant club professionals and golf directors.

I do sometimes worry about the clubs that have outsourced their golf shops. The golf shop staff (and old club pro) were always the face of the club. They were loyal and knowledgeable about competitions and rules, knew the members by name and had the club’s interests at heart. I think more clubs should go in this direction to benefit in the long run.