Golf “Tours” – “Road Trips” – Camaraderie through Golf!
When it comes to choosing and playing the best golf courses in SA, you must factor in a number of critical things to ensure that it will become a trip for the memory book. Many South Africans have been travelling on “golf tour” with their mates for years. When putting the “tour” together, each group has different needs and wants, opportunities and constraints. Most “tours”, over the years, have experienced golf in every corner of the country, some in high-rand destinations and others that feature the hidden gems. Every “tour” has to have its own character, some travelling by car and others going first class! Every “tour” has a history filled with stories of brilliance on the course to embarrassment on and off. Almost every “tour” follows a planned golfing format with individual and team incentives. Usually duties on the tour are divided up among the participants – each with their own role. Everything is worked out (unless libation interferes with the plan, and sometimes that is part of the plan) from Transport to accommodation, meal planning to fine’s sessions, tee times to technical support and pairings for the day to planning for the night. Some golfers come strictly for the golf – others consider the golf only to be a part of the day! I love the names of the groups, the nicknames of the players, the matching clothing and the “honorary” attire usually associated with be the best or the worst.
On “Tour”… Check out the Horn!
On “Tour” – from the USA (all matching)
Big “Tour” – the Annual “Road Trip”
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Last week, we pulled out most all of the stops to give the Nob’s Tour a day to remember – Mother Nature decided to supply more than a test – how about gusts to 80Kms! When the boys arrived, the heads were hanging; one guy, still in his slops, insisted the clubs would not leave the car. Then I held a little “rally” in Jack’s Bar. We revamped the day’s format to take as much pressure off as possible. Then I gave the ‘usual’ – how to handle the ‘perky’ day speech (called upon on occasion) and finally, I made sure that they were accompanied around the course with a little ‘liquid confidence’ (yes, I read the Compleat Golfer story). Believe it or not, we turned a lemon into lemonade. One of the guys even said it the best day he’s had on the course!
Moral: “tours” are all about camaraderie through golf! It’s up to me and my team to see that its memorable – even when ‘nature’ is nature. When you are on “tour” don’t let anything spoil the memories – you do have a choice!
Click here for your next “tour” suggestion!
Upcoming GOLFING Events!
November 11th Woodland’s HOSPICE Golf Day (fully booked at 132)
November 18/20th Links CUP (all members welcome and encouraged to participate)
November 17th Standard Bank Private Client Day (Private function-other times available)
November 22nd SFL Staff Year-end function (Clubhouse closed PM)
November 23rd Wednesday School Party (open to Wed School players and their guests)
November 27th St Francis Links/Pam Golding MTB Challenge (start and finish at SFB)
December 9th Nico Malan Golf Day
December 10th The “Hundred Dollar” Challenge (in conjunction with the Nedbank Challenge)
December 15/16th The Pam Golding ANNUAL (Click Here)
December 20th NSRI Golf Day (special rates for all of the right reasons)
Click here to view the specials we are currently running at the club.
The "Mad Scientist"
Many people in St Francis Bay (and those associated with with the Village in some way) keep up with the local happenings by reading various local blogs, newsletters and publications, The Village News, The Chronicle and the Milkwood Speaks. At 6 am, daily (and on Saturday’s) The Daily Milkwood will keep you “in the know”. On weekends, Member, Hennie Jordaan, usually offers a cartoon and/or a story related. The following appeared on Saturday last…with these ‘spineless creatures’ out and about, I thought I’d share it...
PUFF ADDERS: SNAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL
With the arrival of spring all and sundry are outdoors to enjoy the warmer weather. No less so the snakes. Puff adders are especially abundant in our area at present. We see them as sadly flattened casualties on the roads, or they appear startlingly and unexpectedly in gardens and other open spaces.
The season induces a happy flow of hormones in most living things, puff adders included. This causes much restless roaming in the quest to find a suitable mate. The reproductive habits and characteristics of these snakes are quite intricate. Female puff adders waft pheromones into the air that attract males strongly to the source. Scores of males, thus beckoned, will pursue the female and vie for her favours by combat dancing and neck-wrestling. In this regard George Bernard Shaw’s remark comes to mind - “dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire”.
Residents of the Links Estate and elsewhere have witnessed brazen and boisterous couplings in public places following these dances. To the victor go the spoils, but the losers also seem to get their chances eventually - it is known that puffy females are blatantly promiscuous. Pregnancy is followed by the birth of large numbers of offspring.
Curiously, male snakes (and also geckos) possess a double set of reproductive organs. These sets are entirely separate and consist of testes, ducts and an extrudable hemipenes. The sets are carried internally on each side of the body. Only one hemipenis is everted and used per copulation; sets are used alternately in successive matings. Herpetologists have used the morphological features of these organs that are peculiar and unique to each species, in a system of classification. These studies are invariably performed on dead snakes. Attempts at classification of live specimens would not only be hazardous but somewhat perverse.
It is widely known that the puff adder (Bitis arietans) is responsible for most fatalities due to snakebite in Africa. This snake has long levered fangs and it produces a potent cytotoxic venom. A bite may kill the victim, or cause severe tissue damage, bleeding, swelling and intense pain. So watch your step in the tall grass!
Hennie Jordaan, aka - The “MAD SCIENTIST”
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Jeff
