I just spent some time reading through the old newsletter which I wrote just before Easter.

The Super 14 Final has come and gone, and our beloved Stormers failed to make the grade. Hats off to a highly professional Bulls team, who seem to be making the competition their own. Excellent result for South Africa though, and it bodes well for the upcoming Tri-Nations Tournament. The national side’s test against the French was pleasing to say the least, but their first effort against Italy and the close win against Wales (with a second- string side) not so. Last weekends test against Italy again pointed to an improvement and I am hopeful we will again dominate in the Tri-Nations. I still struggle to understand some of “Snorre” de Villiers’ decisions and selections, and I shudder each time he brings on those loads of replacements at critical times in tests, but I have to admit he does come up with the goodies, and is proving to be a great success. 

The World Cup has lived up to every expectation we had, and even this cynical, non-soccer supporter has been watching avidly how the tournament has been progressing. I have always been perplexed by South Africans supporting English Club sides, and continue to be so (I mean, what on earth do they have to do with us?), but have always, and will always continue to support Bafana Bafana. They are our boys after all! I think they put up a great show, and the win against France was one of our greatest achievements. Talk about throwing your toys out of the cot – I think the French Trainer’s attitude was shocking after the defeat, and pointed at a malaise in French soccer which they are going to be hard put to set right.  

The English hiding against Germany was (for me) not such a surprise, because I firmly believe that when your country’s Premier league is built around clubs employing the best players in the world it must stifle your own budding talent. Italy’s departure was, however, a huge surprise, certainly for me, who remembers fondly being in Europe in 1982 when they won the World Cup and sharing the excitement with crowds in Rome and on a ferry between Italy and Greece when the entire ship became rip-roaringly drunk! The South Americans are really proving their worth and I think it can only be Germany, Netherlands or Spain who will come close to stopping Argentina or Brazil. Let’s hope the tournament builds up to a momentous final and brings further credit to our country.  

And let’s not forget Portugal or write off their chances! What a win over the North Koreans – I am sure there was not a singly Portuguese South African without a hangover the next day! (Do you agree, Pops, Davy, Johnny, Mario, Andre, Phillip and Leon?) The crowds of golfers from amongst visitors certainly did not materialize, much as I expected, but we had some Germans, a few Brits, a few Dutch, four very loud Yanks and a solitary Fin (?) who played here. The other clubs report the same, and it would seem that there was too much else going on in Cape Town for the visitors to come golfing, but I am sure our City has charmed the pants off each and every one of them, and I trust our excellent wines and cuisine has done us proud. Certainly, we can all attest to a surge of patriotism and national pride which has surprised us all.   On the golfing front Ernie continues to do well. Retief had a good result over the weekend, as did Charl Schwartzel, and Lee-Anne Pace is making a big name for herself. Our golfers are the ones who continue to put our name up there amongst the winners, and as a nation we can be very proud of our achievements. Watch for the British Open coming up – I think Retief and Ernie are in with a great chance, even though the young guns are breathing down their necks. 

While we are on sport – did anyone miss the tennis? I have never seen two players so evenly matched and so determined as the American and the Frenchman who slugged it out over three days (and over 11 hours) of grueling singles at Wimbledon. What a stage! What a setting! When my attention was first brought to the match (at about 24 all in the final set), I suspected some ping-pong world record attempt, but I was soon rapt and engrossed in the duel. They were playing great tennis and the overwhelming feeling at the end of it was sorrow for the fact that there had to be a loser. Here was one Frenchman keeping his country’s flag flying proudly.

MATTERS AT THE CLUB: 

We have started the alterations in the bottom section, and the new ceiling is in. The contractors today started on the air-conditioning in the half-way house and will soon start on the tiling and building the new bar. Please forgive us any inconvenience and accept the fact that we will have to make do with one bar for the next few weeks. Bear with the waiters and be patient – it will be worth your while and soon our club is going to look great. Think of how nice and cool it will be this coming summer! 

We will be replacing the furniture in the lounge and bar, and it has been decided to sell the existing tables and chairs to you, the members at an affordable price. Please watch the notice boards where I will be placing a list where you can put your names if you are interested in a matching table with four chairs, or some of the bar stools. 

The lights in the parking area have been replaced (and renewed), and should make security even better. You will have noticed an improvement at the gate, judging by the large number of members coming to the front desk, asking for stickers to place on your cars’ wind-screens. Take cognizance, those of you who haven’t been to the Club lately, this will facilitate entry without stopping, and also prevent altercations with an officious guard.  

The season has turned, and soon it will become lighter in the mornings, which means the Saturday morning field will again become on time and flowing smoothly. I do apologize for some of the late starts (especially when we had fog), and ask your forbearance should it happen again. 

Talking about the Saturday fields, I want you to put yourself in my or Gert or Noel’s shoes when the mist is too thick and the course still dark. Everyone is in a rush and starting to moan about not being able to go off. Eventually we get the field off, sometimes half an hour or more later than scheduled. The players can now relax and enjoy their round, but certainly not us! There is an afternoon field to think about, and more players becoming extremely rude and bothered when they have to wait to tee off later than their scheduled times. These guys do not want to hear about fog or rain – they want to play, and even ask me why I did not cancel the morning play? Sometimes you simply cannot win, irrespective of how much you try to accommodate all the members, but it is something we are used to, and I do apologize if we sound un-sympathetic when you complain. Just remember that we are not trying to inconvenience you on purpose, and are trying our best to cope with difficult situations.   

THE COURSE: 

What can I say? Is it beautiful or what? I know the course always looks its best this time of the year, but as I said in the last newsletter (just before Easter), the summer was a benign one, and we entered winter with a lot of growth and relatively little damage to the fairways. I certainly have in my almost eight years at the Club not seen the course looking this good, and the greens are magnificent. Just today, we had some Dutchmen playing, and they were more than complimentary about the state of the course. They were ecstatic about the dryness of the fairways (in comparison to Somerset-West and the Strand where they have also played), and loved the greens. They even called our course “beautiful”, and I fully concur. 

For those of you who still do not know, we parted ways with our Green-Keeper Hugo Joubert in mid April, and Roald Lassen has been standing in since then. He has been doing a great job and is on short-term contract until the Committee makes a decision on the future of the position. Roald has also been attending to a lot of the niggling manicure problems and is certainly putting in a strong bid for the job. 

COMPETITIONS AND THE OPEN:  

The results of the Parow Open held earlier this month is available elsewhere on this website, and all I can say is that it went extremely well. For the first time, the Western Province Golf Union became involved in our Open and we became part of the sponsored Open Tour Series involving the major clubs in the Western Province. The Open being held in mid-winter has its disadvantages however, and we could accommodate only 84 players, in comparison to the normal 106 in summer, but we were over-subscribed as usual, and kept up our proud record of offering some of the best prizes of any club at its Open. The WPGU also had prizes on offer and this meant that even more participants stayed for the prize-giving, doing full justice to the soup and bread-table that Susie and Leandra put up for them. Once again, Parow proved to be one of the most popular clubs as far as the quality and affordability of its halfway house is concerned, and we continue to attract accolades from all visitors, and envy from rival clubs. 

The course was set up for a roaring North Western (according to all the weather predictions), so it came as no surprise when the day dawned calm and sunny and it was spread out helpless against the onslaught of the Cape’s best golfers. Justin Turner of the Strand was one of 11 golfers to finish under par for the 36-hole event, and he won with a score of 137 – seven shots under par, and just one shot better than Aaron Russell of Westlake and two better than Louis Claasen and Ryan Strauss of Bellville and Mowbray respectively. Our very own le Riche Ehlers came next with a credible 4 under for the day. An interesting fact is that Stevie Basson, the Sunshine Tour pro playing out of Parow, also played with the youngsters, and proceeded to show them exactly how big the gap is between amateur and professional golf by shooting rounds of 66 and 68, finishing on 10 under par! 

Altogether a great day was had by all, and the Parow flag was certainly held high. 

Other great news is that in the Regional finals for the Old Mutual International Pairs Competition, our one pairing of Boebie Schloss (Mountview Chairperson) and Haroon Emandien (Course Marshal) won the day at Westlake and will now advance to the National Finals at Zebula in August. The other great news is that Jan Loubser (Past President and Life Member) and Ernest Snyman (our Honorary Auditor), who played at Worcester as sponsor’s invitees, won that day, and will also be going to Zebula. Two Parow pairings out of 24 couples – how’s that for a great chance that one or both of these couples go on to represent South Africa against the rest of the world in Scotland (at the Old Course “nogal”). Keep your thumbs crossed – I certainly am!  

Did you know that you can see each Wednesday and Saturday’s results here on the web-site the very next day after which it was played? I would once again like to thank Owen Engelbrecht (young Nathan’s Dad) for the wonderful (FREE) assistance he gives the Club by acting as web-master and putting all the news and snippets in to the site. This takes a great deal of his time and he has not once complained or told me to go take a running jump. Fortitude, fortitude…! Thanks Owen – we owe you big time.      

COMING EVENTS:  

Are you aware of the Xmas in July dinner/dance that the Ladies Section is putting on for members and guests on Saturday the 24^th of July?
This is a repeat of last year’s highly successful event and at only R110 per person (including a great three-course meal) it is a steal. Our Vice-Captain will be doing the music part and having personally heard and seen his vast collection, I am sure he is going to satisfy everyone. Please contact the ladies and book your places. There are posters on the notice boards but I am sure if you phone the Lady Captain, Carol Sandman at 0832996853 she will be able to help you or put you on the right track.  

Are you getting ready for the Festival Week in October? This year is going to be bigger and better than ever before, and our magnificent sponsor, Wayne Arendse of African Alliance has come to the party like never before. The format will be the same as last year, and we will kick off with a Junior Event on the Sunday morning, followed by the second round of the Mountview Classic in the afternoon (the first round having been played at Worcester on the Saturday of the same weekend). Monday morning will see the last round of the Mountview Classic followed by their lunch and prize-giving. Tuesday sees the advent of the popular Golden Oldies day, which will AGAIN be personally sponsored by Wayne in that he will pay half of every-ones playing fee, and Wednesday is the big Club Day where members will have a memorable day of fun and great prizes. Thursday ends the week with the Ladies Open, which thanks to the great work by the Ladies Section is always a sell-out and hugely popular in the Cape. 

This year we intend getting far more publicity with Boebie Schloss promising us radio, TV and press cover, and Susie has promised exceptional meals at all the events. This is a celebration of a fantastic sponsorship by a wonderful man, and is aimed directly at you, the Parow members. If any of you members would like to get involved by advertising your businesses for any of the days mentioned by sponsoring extra prizes or wet-holes for the participants, please contact me directly. 

I personally feel there is scope for cross-selling at the Club, and would like nothing better for members than to become more involved with each other and to advertise their expertise through sponsoring events and days.  

This web-site is an example of just the thing I have in mind – how many of you have not seen the opportunity by advertising here? Speak to me; we can always work something out that will be mutually beneficial.     

HANDICAPS:  

You will by now have noticed or used the new swipe card computer in the foyer, and no doubt will agree that it is in fact easier to use than the old one. It is still in its phasing-in month and we trust that by the start of July all members will have just the one handicap reflected on their till slips and that the two systems will be reconciled. Remember the pay-point in the pro shop is using the NGN back-office system which used to reflect an un-captured round at the kiosk in the foyer immediately you paid for a game. This is no longer applicable and you have to register a round when you get to the club or record an old round once you have played one. Just ask at the office if struck by computer or technology paralysis – we will be glad to assist. Be patient with the new system and remember it is a country wide exercise being undertaken requiring a lot of work and assistance from the clubs themselves.  

Also remember Melinda (who normally deals with the computer side of the office) is on sick leave after major surgery, and we are doing our best to overcome the same technology paralysis that you suffer from. The phones between us and Johannesburg are being kept busy and we are constantly learning new tricks. And don’t read Dale Hayes’ newsletters. It will only serve to make you despondent. All the usual gripes and moans from golfers who have no real input or alternatives to offer, just displaying the normal fear of new technology and reluctance to accept change.  

Give SAGA a chance, let them do their thing at their own pace, and surely within the next month or two the new system will be working effectively: everyone will have their new handicap cards and we can all look back somewhat shamefaced at having been so negative and critical. A lot of highly competent people have been putting in a lot of time in to making the new system work, so let’s give them credit and be patient.   

Have a great June/July holiday and make use of the wonderful Cape Winter days when it does not rain. This time of the year the course is not as busy as in summer, so make use of the opportunity to come and play, and use the chance to bring guests and introduce them to our wonderful club.  

John Thomson

GENERAL MANAGER