Besides golf, the other commonality was these were people who’d made their money. The Chi- cago lawyer who started his own accounting firm while putting himself through night school and building a real estate empire asked a version of the same rhetorical question aloud almost daily: “What am I going to do, leave even more money to my kids?” He’d grown up without a father. One vicarious trope of “Succession,” the TV show about a media mogul’s ethically challenged offspring and feuding corporate hangers-on, is a fleet of black Mercedes vans always appearing on cue to ensure the smoothest of transitions. Well, take it from me, it takes only a few days to get benumbed. Always expect a cold face towelette, never board a van that’s more than half full, and know that the attendant (there to offer local co- lour, bottled water and act as intermediary with the driver) will politely stay quiet upon request. “Do you want peaceful or high energy?” is how you might hear their service described when English is a second or fifth language. Never tip because everything has already been taken care of. If you venture outside the hotel for dinner, yet another
tres sure need a lot of transistors!” This was Tex and his wife’s second Kalos Golf trip, and they were booked for six more. It was the exploration of world cultures long coming to her; he’d already visited both Singapore and Dubai multiple times on single-night business trips to see manufactur- ers. “Those people just love to meet in person!” He could laugh about it now. If half the crowd were repeat customers excited to kick off another decadent journey of the very best life has to offer, in the comparative dining quietude of the other half lurked the question, Will this really be worth it? During dessert, the wry announcement from expedition leader Jill Peacock that THC/CBD products could not be brought on “the jet” fetched some titters. I liked Jill. Highly organised yet laid back, she had travelled the world as a penniless backpacker until she aged out of the hostel scene. Ironically, this hard-scrabble sense for navigat- ing less-beaten paths now informed how she ar- ranged travel for one-percenters. Once everybody started mingling on the golf course, she assured me, strong bonds among the group would form.
BOATS, CARTS AND CAMELS (clockwise from top left) Approaching a Thai fishing village built entirely on stilts for lunch. A camel ride through a Bedouin camp in Dubai. Travel bags in sharp order at Valderrama. Cocktail cruising in Sydney Harbour.
124 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
MAY 2026
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