Support measures against the background of the covid lockdown in 2020 have shown their effectiveness. Recall that as part of emergency assistance to those in need, the GolfRSA Foundation issued more than 17 thousand vouchers that were received by caddies and casual workers of sports zones. In total, this is about 4.5 million rand.

For 5 months, during which golf club employees were unable to work and thus feed their families, food stamps were issued. This measure made it possible to support more than 4,000 families in dire need of support during the pandemic.

The fund was able to raise the necessary support funds through voluntary pay cuts for a number of workers. In addition, there were operating savings, we managed to organize several collections of donations, auctions in support of citizens. Due to the huge role of social events and the response from those who are not indifferent, the foundation expresses its deep gratitude to everyone who took part in supporting the initiative! This has not only provided people with a livelihood during these challenging times, but also saved valuable caddies for the future when restrictions due to the lockdown become less pronounced.

Unfortunately, after 5 months, the support measures had to be stopped. However, the club’s management emphasizes that the pandemic has clearly shown that a huge number of citizens in the country are below the poverty line. Taking into account the sports specifics of clubs, it is necessary to introduce measures of collective support for their employees.

However, this does not mean that the matter has stopped. In fact, he was taken over by a successful businessman and he is busy looking for new sources of funding. There are a number of formed proposals to business representatives who may show interest in the framework of common activities. In the near future we will provide information and options for cooperation to interested parties, by the way, some market representatives have already demonstrated a desire to cooperate.

We express our deep gratitude to everyone who donated money and things to the fund, as well as to the committee members who found some truly unique items for auctions. To all the media people who spent their time and money on such generous support, to everyone who was with us during this time, thank you! Special thanks to the players, past and present, who somehow supported our caddies.

In the spring, another million was saved on operating expenses, in addition, there was a voluntary pay cut on behalf of some club employees. Support measures will provide a livelihood for workers in the industry who have been hardest hit by the closure of clubs across the country. This was the result of measures introduced by the government to curb the spread of the pandemic in the state.

A few more ideas were implemented to support the project:

• Online auction;

• iTickets SA – lotteries;

• The budget for the national team was slightly cut.

Previously taken similar measures have shown their effectiveness. It is planned to continue the program, but already now there is an urgent need for new sources of funding.

Among the one-time measures are half a million rand, which were saved by the national team’s flight bans. Players are forbidden to fly to the UK this year, several tours that were scheduled for meetings of different teams failed at once. Thus, the affected players unwittingly helped lower-ranking employees.

Recall that in the year 16 GolfRSA began to work as part of the men’s and women’s teams. The national team has demonstrated its viability as a school that will produce talented athletes. This will allow regular local competitions, as well as start playing for the country at the world level. It is worth noting that all this became possible thanks to the financial investments of businessman Johan Rupert. The total amount of injections amounted to about 15 million rand, which could not but affect the success of the teams.

The club is extremely grateful to Mr. Rupert for his constant help, which made it possible to form teams, give them everything they need to play and constantly improve their skills. Thanks to this money, the company develops, in particular, relies on the younger generation and talented players. For this reason, the composition for the coming year is predominantly young and promising. There are already guys who have moved into the professional ranks of the game.

Part of these funds were also directed to support those in need in connection with the covid lockdown.

Within the teams, however, there is a surge of fresh energy, despite the restrictions, young athletes demonstrate dexterity and a good level, which makes the game exciting. All this was achieved thanks to the well-coordinated work of the foundation, clubs, union, coaching and teaching staff, which is steadily creating and looking for future champions.

At the moment, the group includes 27 promising golfers, who are 16 years old on average. The most experienced of the squad is Jovan Rebula, who has been part of the national team since its inception.

In the case of the competent operation of the entire system, the players should receive everything necessary for the development of abilities. This list includes funding, theoretical support, regular gatherings to hone skills in a sports environment, physical and psychological support. This also includes food, equipment and the ability to perform on a national and global scale.

During the pandemic, everyone is experiencing difficulties, including athletes, as they do not have the opportunity to calmly compete in competitions. However, work will continue to maintain their physical and moral shape. For these purposes, online conferences will be launched, based on which methods and an individual approach to the players will be developed.

Eight South Africans have qualified for the 2015 Open Championship!  They are Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Thomas Aiken, Branden Grace, George Coetzee, Retief Goosen and Jaco Van Zyl.  As I write this the 2nd round has yet again been suspended early this morning, due to high winds.  But at this point Branden Grace – after a great first day – sits in 25th position on -3, Retief Goosen and Charl Swartzel are tied 9th on 6 and Louis Oosthuizen is tied 4th on -7.

‘King Louis’ as he is affectionately known, hails from Mosselbay, on the Garden Route, best known for the Pinnacle Point golf course.  He was runner-up in the 2012 Masters Tournament and the 2015 U.S. Open.  But he is here to defend his 2010 Open Championship.  Will he be able to hold the Claret Jug again this year?

Charl Schwartzel is currently playing on the PGA Tour, European Tour, and the Sunshine Tour.  He has won one major title which was the Masters in 2011.  He was born in Johannesburg, and when he is not playing on the tours, he resides in Pretoria, in the commercial heart of our country.  Most of our visitors land in neighboring Johannesburg, only to catch their next flight to the coast, or to get into their rental vehicle and move away from the Big City to visit the Big Five.  But actually Gauteng has some nice golfing experiences on offer as well….

Retief Goosen who was in the top ten in the Official World Golf Ranking for over 250 weeks between 2001 and 2007. Must admit, I did not know this either, but came across this ‘fun fact’ about ‘the Goose’ when surfing the next.  He was born in the Limpopo province, and although that is known by most visitors because of the Kruger National Park, again there are some fabulous golf courses in this part of the country! The Legend Golf & Safari Resort – with its famous ‘Extreme 19th’ – is probably the most well-known, alongside the Leopard Creek Golf Course, which for years has been the No. 1 golf course in South Africa.

Last but not least I want to mention Branden Grace.  He was born in Pretoria, but spent a lot of time on the Garden Route, where his parents still reside.  He was selected and later on graduated at the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation, which recognizes and helps nurture the careers of young golfers. He is still being sponsored by Fancourt, which is home to The Links at Fancourt, the current No.1 golf course in South Africa. Branden plays on both the European Tour and Sunshine Tour and in 2012 he became the first player in the history of the European Tour to win his first four European Tour events in the same year.

We wish all ‘our’ gents the best of luck! And fly that South African flag high!

Today would have been Nelson Mandela’s 97th birthday.  Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, or ‘Madiba’ as he is affectionately known, may not be here anymore in person, but it is heartwarming to see how he lives on in everybody’s lives.

To commemorate the 67 years Mandela has fought for social justice, Mandela Day is actually a global call to action to recognize that each individual has the power to change the world into a better place, the ability to make an impact. The Mandela Day campaign message is: “Nelson Mandela has fought for social justice for 67 years. We’re asking you to start with 67 minutes.”

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived.  It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead” – Nelson Mandela

Mandela Day was recognized in a declaration by the United Nations General Assembly.

If you go to Mandela Day’s website (www.mandeladay.com) there is an overview of things you could do, activities you could join, or just general ideas of what you can do to make this world a better place.

If you happen to be in New York City this month, you can join in the festivities for the whole month!  New York is celebrating the birth of Nelson Mandela with a series of volunteer opportunities in New York City during the month of July which are jointly being coordinated by South African Tourism and the South African Consulate General.

Mandela will be commemorated with a schedule of events created in the spirit of Mandela’s leadership in inspiring community service and initiatives for positive change.

Now should you – literally – wish to follow in Mandela’s footsteps and visit South Africa, you may want to familiarize yourself with some iconic places which either had a big influence in Mandela’s life, or which commemorate to this date the great man that Mandela was.  There is a – what we here would call – ‘lekker’ app available in both the App Store as well as on Google Play: it is called Madiba’s Journey and takes you to Madiba-inspired tourist attractions and points-of-interest across South Africa.  Interesting to read and listen to before you get here, or handy to have available once you are here.

One of our latest posts on the Platinum Golf, Tours & Accommodation Google Plus page had the link to a virtual tour of Robben Island.  Again, well worth a visit and most realistic – should you not be able to visit in person…

Now let’s all go out and make this world a better place!  Let’s make every day a Mandela Day!

Platinum Golf, Tours & Accommodation is has been awarded ‘Africa’s Best Golf Tour Operator 2015’ for the 2nd consecutive year in the World Golf Awards.

The award ceremony was held in the Algarve, Portugal last Saturday, and saw international leaders in golf hospitality taking the stage to accept their awards.  Categories included Best Golf Resort, Best Golf Course, Best Golf Tour Operator, and Best New Golf Course, divided per country and continent.

It is the 2nd year that the World Golf Awards have been held, with the aim to recognize service excellence and outstanding performance in the golf (tourism) industry.  World Golf Awards is a niche award run parallel to the World Travel Awards, which has been running for over 20 years.  Like with the World Travel Awards votes for the World Golf Awards were made by professionals working within the golf travel and tourism industry – senior executives, travel buyers, tour operators, agents and media professionals.  The public (golf tourism consumers) were also invited to vote.

Africa’s Best Golf Course and Africa’s Best Golf Hotel were swept away by the legendary Gary Player Country Club at Sun City and Legend Golf & Safari Resort in the Limpopo respectively.  Ernie Els Design was awarded World’s Golf Course Designer of the Year.

Euphoria Golf Estate & Hydro based in Limpopo has been purchased out of liquidation on the 15th April by Sampada Private Equity. Euphoria becomes the first and currently only black owned golf estate in South Africa.  Through its development, Euphoria will play a meaningful role in directly uplifting and changing the lives of people in Mookgophong and the greater Limpopo.

A further twenty million rand will be immediately invested into the Estate for general upgrades and maintenance. The main operations and estate will thus be closed for three months from the 1st June until the end of August. These refurbishments will take place on the clubhouse, the lodge rooms and all restaurants during this phase. The condition of the golf course will be significantly improved and will remain open for play with a limited half way house service.

The word Euphoria will remain in the name of the Estate although the full name and corporate identity will change. The re-launch is due to take place on the 1st September.

Bafedile Mafologele, CEO of Sampada Private Equity based in Johannesburg, was born and raised in Limpopo and is extremely excited about the purchase. “We see the huge potential in Euphoria growing and developing into one of the best estates in the country.  Through its growth, we are able to directly influence the lives of people, such as securing a bright future for the 30 current staff members at Euphoria.  As we develop and succeed, the Estate will create more and more opportunities and employment for the people of Limpopo and contribute towards uplifting our society.

Our firm targets investments with strong socio-economic benefits while generating sufficient returns for our investors and Euphoria fits perfectly into our investment model!”

Ian Leach, former CEO of Royal JHB & Kensington Golf Club and Euphoria Golf Estate & Hydro, will return as General Manager at Euphoria on the 1st May. Leach will work together with Kea Makoea who is Portfolio Manager at Sampada and recently elected as CEO of Euphoria Golf Estate & Hydro.