Newsletter | August 2023

Despite all the rain, our Course is holding up and is in great playing conditions. It’s great when we get compliments from all our visitors, both local and from abroad, on how they enjoyed our course. Well done to all our staff and I wish I could say the same about our members. Repairing pitch marks, filling in divots and racking bunkers seems to be a thing of the past!!! I ask, would you abuse your own lawn or garden the same? Please remember it’s your Course – so help look after it.

The 7th dam tiding up around the edges is going well and we have seeded some of the area we have also started filling up the dam with water that we are receiving from Pots dam. There are many small projects been done around our course too many to mention but I hope you are taking note. We have levelled out the sand on the right of the 8th fairway and it’s our intension to make this a nursery for repairs on the course.

Billy’s road is nearing completion and is looking good. The wall along the 1st is in the hands of the God’s on when we can restart. I will keep you posted.

There are new projects we are looking at, some to mention:

• toilets between the 6th and 7th holes;
• water treatment plant;
• upgrade of cart pathway on the 7th hole;
• speedbumps along new road and
• building new Tee Boxes on the 7th and 13th holes.

We have received permission to demolish the old bowling club. Now the dilemma – what exactly to do?!?

Congratulations to Milnerton – runners up to Bellville in the Winter League. Represented by: Ryan Stopford, Geno Belfiore, Cameron Johnston & Jack Buchanan.

Well done to the following on their achievements:

• Jack Buchanan – Nomads Coastal National Order of Merit Champion at St Francis Links Golf Club
• Justin De Allende – Club Champion 2023 B Div Match play winner
• Geno Belfiore – WP Erinvale Mid-Am Winner

Also well done to Milnerton Golf Club for hosting the Junior Championships. Congratulations to all who participated and to the winners.

Driving Range

As the season of golf is approaching, the Driving range is preparing for a busy one that provides a quality experience to the members and their guests. The Range has been improved with an additional tee box, accurate distances, a club cleaning station, a general tidy up.

With the improvements, there has also been questions about safety and how we can be more courteous towards our fellow golfers. The Range is now limited to a Max distance which is displayed on the new Max distance board.

Arno Would also like to request that players teeing off the 3rd and 17th shout “Fore right” to possibly prevent injury for the players using the driving range and them picking up balls. Please also note that even though the Driving range has become a No Entry zone, we still have plenty golfers entering the range.

Interesting History on our Golf Club:

Golf was first played here in 1913, but due to the start of the First World War it came to a stop. The Club was officially opened in 1925. 

Regards

Billy O’Brien
Captain

We welcome the following new members

Monthly Golf Fixtures & Results

Lady Captain’s Corner

Dear wonderful ladies of our golfing community,

Survey questionnaire

We recently sent out a short online survey to gather your valuable feedback and insights on how we can enhance participation and enjoyment at our club. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all who took the time to respond. Your input is incredibly valuable to us!

While we hoped for a higher response rate, we truly appreciate the thoughtful feedback we received. It appears that the majority of those that responded prefer playing on Tuesdays, and it warms our hearts to see that many are content with the current setup. However, we’d like to add even more fun-filled days to our schedule to make your golfing experience even more delightful. The Ladies Committee is here to ensure your time on the greens is filled with joy – come rain or shine☺.

Let’s take a moment to celebrate and welcome Jenny Whittal and Barbara Schwartz to our golfing family. We’re thrilled to have you both join us for our Tuesday competitions. Despite the challenging weather conditions during the Windhoek Pairs event, you both showed incredible spirit, and we know you’ll have a blast here.

Windhoek International Pairs

Speaking of the Windhoek International Pairs, we held our very own exclusive competition on July 18^th. Congratulations to Michelle Taylor-Rebel and Sonja Weakley for their impressive victory, even amidst the challenging weather. They will be going through to the Regionals in August, and we couldn’t be prouder. Go out there, ladies and shine!

Sonja Weakley (L) and Michelle Taylor-Rebel (R)

League

As we gear up for the final matches on August 22^nd, let’s give a big cheer and support to our League teams. This season has had its challenges, and we recognize the need to grow our pool and nurture commitment for next year. So, if you’re interested in joining the teams next year, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or Ros Howard, our League Manager. Let’s come back stronger and more united!

West Coast Challenge

The 1^st leg of the competition was in Malmesbury on July 16^th and we were represented by Ros Howard, Tanya Williams, Denise Liang and Lorette Hegie.

We’re gearing up for the second leg, which will take place at home on August 13^th.

Monthly Competition Maestros

Lastly, let’s applaud the winners of our Monthly Competition

Keep up the fantastic work ladies!

Let’s continue to create unforgettable memories on and off the greens.

Sending sunny smiles and warm wishes.

Cheers,

Ntsoti Morojele
Lady Captain 2023

Seniors’ Corner

We’ve reached the end of an icy windy month. The golf has been rated as a version of “The golfer who came from the cold.” With apologies to John le Carre.

Congratulations to the following winners:

• 3 June 23: Dave Riley, Bill Grantham, John Dransfield and Arie Meulman. 92 points.
• 10 June 23: Results unknown.
• 17 June 23: Only the brave and patient played 18 holes. All were winners.
• 24 July 23: Johnny de Lange, Hugh Neeson, Walter Stertzel and Herman Kuhn. 91 points.

We all wish Eddy and Beth a great time in Italy.

Prepare the pink ball is coming.

Tip

The wind will blow. When it does tee it low and swing slow.  

See you on the course.
Arie

Golf Course Report

Hi all members,

Not much to report this month as the rain and winter is making things tough as far as shaping the 4th fairway is concerned, we have though concentrated on getting all our bunkers the same, you will maybe have noticed we have been firming up the surrounds inside the bunker and making the middle of the bunkers fluffy , this should help getting less balls being buried in the face of the bunkers which has been happening often.

Besides the new tees on the 7th and 13th, we also planning to build two new tees on the 2nd and the 3rd, both these tees will give us more options so we not playing the same shape every time.

We have started seeding on the left of 13th, we will probably seed all the new areas by the end of August in time for the growing season. The good news is by the time you peruse this report the road will be complete, and we will be concentrating all our efforts to get the course back to where it should be. Staff are still resodding most of our bad areas on the fairways and green surrounds, hopefully one day I won’t have to comment on this. Once again, I ask if we all keep to the rough around the greens it will help tremendously in the recovery of the sodded areas. All in all, I think our course has come through this winter without too much damage and look forward to trying to get it in an even better condition than what it is now.

Happy golfing.

Cheers
Shaun Buchanan

As the season of golf is approaching, the Driving range is preparing for a busy one that provides a quality experience to the members and their guests. The Range has been improved with an additional tee box, accurate distances, a club cleaning station, a general tidy up.

With the improvements, there has also been questions about safety and how we can be more courteous towards our fellow golfers. The Range is now limited to a Max distance which is displayed on the new Max distance board.

Arno would also like to request that players teeing off the 3rd and 17th shout “Fore right” to possibly prevent injury for the players using the driving range and them picking up balls. Please also note that even though the Driving range has become a No Entry zone, we still have plenty golfers entering the range.

Functions