EDITOR’S LETTER E RIP Germiston Golf Club
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G olf has become an increas- ingly expensive sport, not only for its participants but for clubs whose existence is under threat as a result. Our previous issue contained an article outlining how Cape Town city council is eager to shut down King David Mowbray and replace it with a “mixed-use develop- ment.” Now, another of our oldest clubs, Germiston, has had to admit financial defeat and close. It did so abruptly and without any fanfare early in March. See story on Page 110. Germiston was once a prosperous city, a manufacturing hub, and its sorry demise has contributed to the down- fall of the golf club and other sporting centres in the area, including Gosforth Park, the horse racing track which bor- dered the sixth hole before it fell victim to a changing economy years ago. In the previous century, Germiston was regarded as one of SA’s best cours- es. Bobby Locke won two of his 11 Trans- vaal Open titles there, the first as early as 1937, as did Gary Player in 1962. It was the home of the SA PGA Championship from 1966 to 1970 before it moved to the Wanderers and gained greater promi- nence as the Lexington PGA. The last Transvaal Open at Germiston was won by John Fourie in 1973. The parkland course was a golfing rarity in having a par-3 finishing hole with its green on the edge of Germis- ton Lake. The lake remains a popular aquatic centre and home to the Victoria Lake (its original name) Club, founded in 1909 which offers sailing, rowing,
and canoeing. The golf club started in 1897. Germiston was associated with the birth of the Nomads Golf Club in 1960 to “encourage and foster the develop- ment of life-long friendships” through golf. It was the early home of the Nomads, and to that effect a new dou- ble-storey clubhouse was built in the 1980s which became a white elephant. It’s an eyesore overlooking the 18th green, standing empty in recent years. Germiston’s greatest character was club professional Phil Simmons, the “Germiston Giant,” who drove the ball prodigious distances when he arrived on the Sunshine Tour in the mid-1970s. Simmons was a left-hander and with the persimmon woods and balata balls of his younger days could blast drives as far as the modern professional does today. Former Germiston member and SA Amateur champion Neville Clarke re- calls his first round with Simmons in the early 1970s. “He was a youngster like me, but a pro, and we played with club captain Terry Bloom. I didn’t know him. The club was looking for a new pro, and Andries Oosthuizen was favourite for the position. On the first hole Phil’s drive disappeared around the corner of the dogleg to the green. I had a 5-iron for my second and couldn’t believe how close Phil’s tee shot was to the green. After a few holes of this as- tonishing exhibition of long hitting Terry said to me, ‘Phil’s got the job. The members will love him.’ He was there for the next 30 years and the stories
about him are legendary.” Clarke was also a member at Kens- ington, another strong club which closed in the late 1990s to merge with Royal Johannesburg. It’s sad to lose these historic courses, yet this attrition is part of golf. Other clubs are slowly go- ing through their death throes as num- bers dwindle and costs rise. Germiston had become a shadow of its former self, in an industrial area which deterred possible investors, no longer attract- ing visiting golfers in midweek, even at R250 a round. Its membership was an elderly one, and a high average age is an issue today. The key to survival lies in a good location and younger wealthier members. Stuart McLean stuartm@morecorp.co.za
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EDITOR STUART MCLEAN DESIGN ELINORE DE LISLE MEDIA SALES DANIEL EGDES (daniele@morecorp.co.za) GOLF DIGEST USA
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