Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2024 i Compleat Golfer

Jon Rahm could not turn his back on a carrot offered by LIV Golf and the former world No 1, two-time Major champion and Masters champion crossed the divide. His defection to the Saudi-backed circuit was not one for celebration. Indeed, any time there is a split in the sport it doesn't grow the game, as the original LIV party line was whenever a player moved across. It's now about the money, and that's OK too – and Rahm hasn't made any bones about that. However, the sport's factions can co-exist, as Dean Burmester and Louis Oosthuizen showed at the end of 2023 when they won four DP World Tour events. It helped take South Africa's return of wins on that circuit to eight, the most since 2012. In this…

We're back on track for the Paris Olympics, which will be the third in a raw after a break of 112 years. The sport returned to the Rio Games in 2016 and also featured at Tokyo 2020, a showpiece that was staged in 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The two gold medallists in the men's individual competition were Justin Rose (GBR) and Xander Schauffele (USA). And did you recall that Slovakia's Rory Sabbatini won the silver medal in Tokyo? The women's gold medallists have been Inbee Park (KOR) and Nelly Korda (USA). South Africa's men's representatives in Rio were Brandon Stone and Jaco van Wyk, and in Tokyo they were Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Garrick Higgo. The women were Paula Reto and Ashleigh Buhai. There were no South African women…

SIGNATURE HOLE 8th hole, par five, 509m The tee complexes on the 8th are one of the most attractive and memorable features of this stunning hole. For starters, this is one of the longest holes at sea level in South Africa With a long path winding along the side of the hill, linking the various teeing grounds with clever switchbacks, it is your drive that determines your score on this par five Controlling your tear is haw you play this hole for the first time A 3-wood or longiron to the right side of the U-shaped gap in the trees is the target for your first shot Watching the ball run right to left down the hill towards the levelled slopes is the best outcome Your second shot will again…

SIMON BORCHARDT COLUMN Having begun their 2023-24 European Challenge Cup campaign with an impressive win against Perpignan in France, the Lions would have hoped for a good crowd for their first home match of the tournament against the Newcastle Falcons. Instead, the teams played in an almost empty Ellis Park, with the official attendance of 2500 no doubt including the suite holders. Yes, the rain would have kept some fans away. Many Joburgers would also have been on their way to the coast for the December holidays, but the fact there was a capacity crowd of 30 000 for the one-day international between the Proteas and India at the Wanderers the next day suggests there were other reasons why rugby fans (many of whom would have attended the cricket) stayed…

2023 winner: Oliver Bekker won his first European Challenge Tour title courtesy of a second victory at the Dimension Data Pro-Am after a memorable final day at Fancourt Golf Estate. The South African carried a fivestroke advantage into the final round and kept his cool throughout the day to post a four-under-par round of 68 on the Montagu course and finish on 22 under, four clear of Sweden's Adam Blommé. The 38-year-old's single birdie on the front nine meant he made the turn at one under par, before closing out victory in style with four birdies and a single bogey coming home. Bekker won the Dimension Data Pro-Am in 2012 before it was co-sanctioned between the Challenge Tour and Sunshine Tour, and he was delighted to seal his second triumph…

Golf courses: Legend – par 72, 6 045m (championship tees), Links – par 71, 5 942m (championship tees) Designers: Legend – Hugh Baiocchi (opened 1994). Links – Rodney Wright and Peter Alliss (opened 2002) Golf director: Sebastien Pilot Greenfees: Complimentary for guests of Constance Belle Mare Plage and Constance Le Prince Maurice resorts CONTACT Contact details: Visit Belle Mare Plage website Likes: Service levels impeccable, as expected from five-star resorts. Both courses in great condition, challenging yet enjoyable for all levels of golfers. Water comes into play on all but one hole on the Legend course, so accuracy is paramount.…

ANDY CAPOSTAGNO COLUMN A CORNER DEDICATED TO GOLF'S TRIERS The humble golf course I call home has a membership that is collectively somewhat long in the tooth. To put it into perspective, my club's WhatsApp group doubles as an obituary column, while in the clubhouse, the talk is never about the latest equipment, unless it concerns advances in battery technology to power a golf cart. The rollback of the golf ball does not affect us, because we already need three shots to reach the stroke one and it is certainly not unusual for the ages in one of our fourballs to add up to 300 or more; the winner is the one who can remember his score. I played with a chap recently who, in his day, had been a…

Bob ‘Golf’ Ball @BobBallPdx Over the last year, I've seen all the ridiculous arguments defending the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), There's a much more accurate ranking out there now and everyone should he using it (more on that below). The OWGR board has used the old ‘but, but, it's the rules’ bureaucratic mumbo jumbo to justify LIV players not getting points. Data Golf @DataGolf From this week's newsletter: the DP: World Tour'S share of the top 100 golfers in the world went from a peak of 25% in 2010, to just 8% in 2023, BGG Golf Hornet @BGG_Hornet The #OWGR is. the last bastion Of old boys club. It's redundant, ernbarrassing and highhilghts the vredibility level of the people behind it. PGA TOUR @PGATOUR 332 yards later … What…

SOUTH AFRICA'S DP WORLD TOUR WINNERS 28 Ernie Els 1994 Dubai Desert Classic. US Ouen 1995 SA PGA Championship 1997 Johnnie Walker Classic. US Ooen 1998 SA Ouen 1999 Alfred Dunhill PGA Champs 2000 Standard Life Loch Lomond 2002 Heineken Classic. Dubai Desert Classic. The Open Championship 2003 Heineken Classic. Johnnie Walker Classic. Scottish Onen. Eurooean Masters 2004 Heineken Classic, WGC American Express Championship, HSBC World Match Play 2005 Dubai Desert Classic, Qatar Masters, Asian upen 2006 Dunhill Championship 2007 SA Open. HSBC World Match Play 2010 WGC-CA Championship 2011 SA Open 2012 The Onen Championship 2013 BMW International Open 14 Retief Goosen 1996 Northumberland Challenge 1997 French Open 1999 French Onen 2000 Trochee Lancombe 2001 Scottish Open, Madrid Open, US Open 2002 Johnnie Walker Classic 2003 Troohee Lancombe 2004…

GARY LEMKE COLUMN Anyone who has even a passing interest in darts will know that the teenager Luke Littler became an overnight sporting sensation when he reached the final of the 2024 World Championships in London. Chants of you've got school in the morning’ filled the Alexandra Palace arena in London whenever he made his entrance and he had 7.8-million social media views of opening a Christmas present from his parents His Instagram following went from 400 to 4800 in a fortnight and he was promised ‘kebabs for a year’ if he went all the way. Not that Littler looks like an elite athlete. But if you believe that darts is a sport then he is one. At the age of 16 in fact, he's one of the world's best…

ELS FOR AUTISM A brand new year means a brand new calendar as the 2024 season of the Ernie Els Charities South Africa gears up for another epic series of golf events. After taking the Els for Autism Foundation to new heights in 2023, the goal is to develop further growth with golf events and clinics across South Africa this year. And there is one specific new addition to the schedule that will certainly catch the eye of golfers with the now worldfamous Skukuza Golf Club set to host its first event in July. The course, situated in the heart of the Kruger National Park and just outside the Skukuza Rest Camp, has become a symbol of wild golf and has captured the attention of golf lovers all around the…

Shaun Bartlett might be a footballing legend, but he has never stopped trying to get better at whatever he does. In a 17-year career from 1992 to 2009, he pulled on the jerseys of Cape Town Spurs, Colorado Rapids, Metro Stars, FC Zurich, Charlton Athletic, Kaizer Chiefs and Bloemfontein Celtic. He was also famously part of the finest team South Africa has ever produced, the Bafana Bafana vintage under coach Clive Barker that won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations. Perhaps equally famously, he achieved global fame in 2001 when his goal for Charlton against Leicester was voted the best goal of the 2000-01 season. That goal, among the 17 he scored for the London club in 105 appearances, was also voted by Charlton fans as one of the top…

Standing on the edge of the 17th green during the final round of the 1994 Open at Turnberry, Nick Price was barely clinging to a glimmer of hope of lifting the trophy he craved most in this world. Having been denied by Tom Watson at Troon in 1982 and by Seve Ballesteros at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 1988, Price knew he needed something special to catch Jesper Parnevik over the closing stretch. The Swede, having built up a two-shot lead, was playing the final hole and looked a certainty to become the first Scandinavian to claim a Major title. ‘We haven't made a long putt all week,’ Price mentioned to his caddie, Jeff ‘Squeaky’ Medlin. ‘We've got to hope Parnevik hnoevs 18’ Both wishes came true as first…

Before you stand on the tee and grip it and rip it, give yourself a chance. There are so many golf balls on the market and it can be quite intimidating going into the local golf course pro shop and deciding what's best to use. However, choosing the right ball and staying loyal – at least for a decent amount of time – to that ball can have so many positives when it comes to your ball striking. Golf is tough enough, so make sure the easiest part of the sport – playing with the right ball – is taken care of. And, don't worry about the USGA reducing the distances the balls travel. The good news is that even once implemented, it's unlikely to make a significant difference to…

When Bobby Locke was just 17, he achieved a remarkable double by winning the 1935 South African Amateur at Parkview, then the professional SA Open on the same course the next week. This confirmed the South African public's view that this slimly built teenager was indeed a rare talent. The Rand Daily Mail ran a banner headline, posing the question ‘Bobby a Bradman of South African golf?’ in which the paper's correspondent compared the youngster's rich sporting talent to that of Australia cricketing great Sir Donald Bradman. In 1936 and 1937 Locke – in between heading to Britain to gain tournament experience – cleaned up at amateur and professional events at home, and this included winning the 1937 SA Open at East London GC while still an amateur. When he…