Ken Borland

CAPE ST FRANCIS, Eastern Cape – The Eastern Cape is a massive region, the second-largest province of South Africa at nearly 169 000km², and there are numerous world-class golf courses and a great passion for the game.

But it is also clear that there are many people who love the game and could contribute greatly to the entire golfing ecosystem, but who sorely need greater support and access to the sport.

The South African Golf Development Board does a great job in this respect, facilitating practice and playing opportunities for learners and talented players from underprivileged communities.

The Vodacom Origins of Golf series plays an important role in the work of the SAGDB by setting up clinics with the professionals playing in their events, and on Tuesday, 18 children from the Humansdorp, Arcadia, Asbekkies and Sea Vista areas enjoyed getting some coaching at the St Francis Links, where the latest Pro-Am in the series is being played.

Frans de Kock is the regional manager of the SAGDB for the Eastern Province and has been involved in golf development since 2007. He coached his own son, Allister de Kock, to Sunshine Tour professional level, and now he is ploughing that knowledge and passion back into the community.

“I’ve always loved golf since I grew up near the Wedgewood Golf Course in PE, I used to caddy and fell in love with the game from Day One,” De Kock senior says.

“After getting my son Allister to the level he’s at, I know what’s needed for youngsters to succeed and those methods will also work with these kids.

“I go to townships schools and we’re mostly introducing golf to these children. The challenges are that some think it’s an easy game and then drop off when they discover it’s not, but mostly we have social issues to contend with. I always say the kids are here to learn to play golf, but they must first learn all their schoolwork. They need to learn to be self-supporting.

“We have 146 youngsters in all in our programme and it’s always a challenge getting them on to golf courses. But Vodacom always provides us with good opportunities and I’m sure something good will come out of today’s clinic as well,” De Kock says.

Some of the local talent that might have been missed but has been nurtured by the SAGDB includes Johndre Ludick, who has just represented GolfRSA in the Italian U16 Championship and Devon Valentine, a member of the SAGDB national squad.

But the importance golf plays in shaping the careers of people off the course as well should not be overlooked.

St Francis Links PGA pros Christo Kugel and Norman Riley speak fondly of how their regular community development work is an avenue to enrich lives and not just produce golfers.

The proof of that is the youngster who was introduced to golf and ended up becoming a firefighter, or even Clyde Loggenberg, the club barman.

He was employed as a ball-spotter in the PGA Championship last year at St Francis Links, fell in love with the game and impressed everyone at the club so much that he is now working there full-time.

“I never looked at golf before that, I was more a rugby and soccer guy, but my love for golf has just grown. I meet so many golfers and learn from them, and now and then I can borrow clubs and actually get out and play.

“I used to work on the cruise ships in Europe, but this opportunity is one of the best things to ever happen to me, at one of the best golf clubs in the country,” the father of two from Humansdorp says.

The opening of The President’s Links, a golf estate of world-class quality, based on the principles of eco-friendly sustainability and durability, is very good news for the community of Walvis Bay as a whole.

Comprised of over 745 luxurious residential units in about 148 hectares, the estate offers comfort, safety and high-class leisure and commercial amenities. Chief among these is Namibia’s first signature golf course, designed by the legendary Peter Matkovich and leading South African golfer Louis Oosthuizen, who has finished the year ranked inside the top-10 of the world golf rankings.

Matkovich and Oosthuizen chose the specific location of the course, on the edge of the Dorob National Park and on the fringes of Walvis Bay town. The distinctive dunes surrounding the course will be an added attraction and The President’s Links are hopeful of attracting thousands of golfing tourists. Aiming to be on the top-100 list of global courses, they are also optimistic that they can attract the Sunshine Tour back to Namibia and possibly even stage a DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) event in the future.

Anyone investing in The President’s Links will automatically contribute to The Living Desert Fund. Twenty percent of every house sold will go into this sustainability fund, which will enable community development initiatives as well as maintaining the golf course and clubhouse.

The President’s Links will undoubtedly boost the local economy, creating jobs and adding to the sense that Walvis Bay is a centre of growth, especially since the construction of the new container terminal at the port which has a capacity of at least 750 000 standard 20-foot equivalent units per annum.

The estate is a big investment in Namibia as a whole and the Walvis Bay community will benefit through the presence of multinational technology retailers such as iStore, a new state-of-the-art hospital, a hotel and casino operated by an international group, and other retailers of global brands such as Starbucks.

In an extremely arid country like Namibia, water conservation is always a priority and The President’s Links will be using electrocoagulation technology to convert water that was formerly effluent exiting the Walvis Bay municipality into an odourless source of irrigation water for use out on the golf course. The municipality has granted the estate three million litres a day of water that is currently not fit for human consumption and cannot be purified to potable drinking water. All water not used on the estate will then be sent back to the surrounding community for their use.

The President’s Links is complying fully with the Edge (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) Certification system of the International Finance Corporation. Edge certification gives owners the assurance that their homes are built to be resource efficient. By focusing on energy and water saving initiatives, as well as ensuring the maximum use of raw materials in their most natural state, the estate has made a minimum of 20% savings across the board.

For the non-golfers, there will be plenty of other amenities for the amusement of residents, including pet-friendly recreational parks, a sports education centre, restaurants and coffee shops, gym, bowling alley, swimming pool, tennis courts, running and cycling tracks.

The President’s Links offer the ultimate in style and luxury and the ideal opportunity to live, work and retire in Walvis Bay. Investing in this eco-friendly, sustainable and yet modern and sophisticated estate includes free golf membership.

Set in the beauty of nature in its raw form, the President’s Links mixed development offers spacious living and incredible amenities.

1)      Their forwards can match anybody

While the backs stole much of the glory at Ellis Park, it was the hard workers up front who made the razzle-dazzle possible. The All Blacks had a tough time making much headway with ball-in-hand as their ball-carriers were suffocated by the physicality of the Springbok forwards. New Zealand captain Richie McCaw said after the game that the pressure exerted at close quarters by the South Africans caused many of the handling mistakes that robbed them of momentum.

The Springboks had a few problems in the lineouts in the second half, but that set-piece was generally solid and the scrum, which had been the focus of much concern earlier in the competition, ended the competition in impressive fashion by enjoying an edge over the All Blacks.

2)      They have two world-class, match-winning flyhalves

Flyhalf has been a position of almost perpetual uncertainty for coach Heyneke Meyer, but Handre Pollard and Pat Lambie were the heroes of their win over the All Blacks and have shown they have what it takes to perform against the best, under severe pressure.

Pollard has been touted as the next big thing ever since he was the player of the tournament as he led the South Africa U20s to the final of the IRB Junior World Cup in June, and he was given his first Test start at the end of that month against Scotland, playing with tremendous assurance in a 55-6 win for the Springboks.

Two more starts against Argentina followed, but with the forwards struggling, he did not set the world alight and Morne Steyn returned for the match against Australia in Perth. The veteran’s disastrous performance meant the number 10 jersey was given back to Pollard for the match against the All Blacks in Wellington, with the 20-year-old producing a composed display.

A solid outing against Australia in Cape Town followed, but this weekend at Ellis Park he was nothing sort of top-class.

A graceful runner with ball in hand, he is deceptively quick and very powerful, as he showed by scoring through McCaw.

A dangerous, direct runner, Pollard adds considerably to the Springbok attack, but his kicking is still a work in progress.

The presence on the bench of somebody as cool and composed under pressure as Lambie provides tremendous security for Meyer. The Sharks star played pivotal roles as a replacement in the wins over both Australia and New Zealand and, having spent many frustrating days injured and then waiting to get more game time, the 23-year-old can look forward to many more Test appearances.

The Steyn era may now have passed but the Springboks will be pleased to have his experience in the background, while the talents of Racing Metro flyhalf Johan Goosen are also on the radar.

3)      The midfield is gelling

The centre pairing for the Springboks has been the subject of much debate with Jan Serfontein moving to number 13 to partner Jean de Villiers. The critics have been calling for the more naturally attacking outside centre skills of a Juan de Jongh or a S’Bura Sithole, but the De Villiers/Serfontein partnership is certainly gelling judging by the ease with which they created space on the outside against the All Blacks. The marvellously quick hands of De Villiers were a major factor in this.

The goal will be for Serfontein to become totally defensively attuned to the number 13 position but the backs scoring three tries against the All Blacks suggests the attacking aspect is coming together.

4)      Confidence and belief will be sky-high

The Springboks will now believe that they can beat any other team in world rugby and that they can master a high-tempo, attacking brand of play, as well as a more forward-dominated, tighter strategy.

The pace at which they are able to perform – they have closed the gap on the All Blacks in this respect – will be a valuable weapon against Northern Hemisphere teams at the World Cup and there will no longer be the burden of a losing streak against a certain side.