June 2023 – John Collier Golf

SA Golf Trader: Gary Player CC Consistently Awarded Gold

By Alistair Collier | From SA Golf Trader From the John Collier Survey From the 10th to 13th of November, the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City will once again be hosting the Nedbank Golf Challenge, which celebrates its 40th anniversary as “Africa’s Major”. For many years, this event has featured the biggest names in world golf, and now as a DP World Tour event, hosts an elite field of 64 players, playing over 4 days, for a purse of $6 million. To add further excitement, the tournament is the penultimate event in which players are able to accrue qualifying points in the Race to Dubai. Over the years, what Sun International has achieved as host, in partnership with Nedbank as tournament sponsor, is to put on a world class sporting event deserving of its name as “Africa’s major”. The course is, as ever, an immaculately groomed layout, which has received rave reviews from the world’s top golfers, who agree that it is both demanding and fair.In addition, over the past number of years, the Gary Player Country Club has participated in independent third-party reviews of its environmental compliance and good governance processes, through the John Collier Annual Survey. In this regard, the course has been consistently awarded GOLD compliance accreditation for its reporting on issues such as sustainability, local procurement of resources and inclusivity within its local community. These awards do not happen without considerable planning and attention to detail, and special congratulations must go to Ken Payet and his club management team and green keeping staff for their efforts. The golden thread that holds together compliance of sustainability principles and good governance is transparency. The John Collier Survey provides clubs with the ideal tool to achieve this with minimal cost and enjoy the real benefits that come from their participation. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email ajcollier@telkomsa.net or visit the John Collier Golf website at www.johncolliergolf.com

SA Golf Trader: Nine Hole Golf Clubs are the Backbone of South African Golf

Golf Courses, Industry News, John Collier Survey, Media Article / By

By Alistair Collier | From SA Golf Trader media, these publications usually carry articles about top eighteen-hole golf courses hosting regular professional tour events. The exposure is there, continually, week in and week out, showcasing carefully manicured greens and fairways and beautiful views of blue lakes and green vegetation. In South Africa, taking into consideration our climatic conditions and the actual number of golfers playing the game, in reality the Augusta syndrome is beyond the reach of many golf clubs. From a media perspective it is important to maintain the narrative but in reality, more than 60% of golf courses in South Africa are nine-hole courses. Notwithstanding the hype, it is suggested that this is where the enthusiasm for the game starts and the place to grow the game. There are many advantages in playing a 9-hole course. For example, it saves time in that the average pace of play for nine holes is just under two and a half hours. It saves money in that many nine-hole rates are typically 50 percent ormore discounted from the full round rate. It is easier on your body as playing nine holes allows you to get great exercise without overdoing it. It is a great way to start because it is not necessarily as taxing mentally and physically for those who are still trying to master the basics. Most importantly your scores still count so you can still submit your -nine-hole scores if you are keeping a handicap. Furthermore, in terms of research carried out through the John Collier Survey many of the so-called big clubs could learn a great deal from these nine-hole courses in respect of environmental compliance and good governance. Good examples of these clubs include Hankey Golf Club in the Eastern Cape, Jagersfontein Golf Club in the Free State, Utrecht Country Club in Kwa Zulu Natal, Mooi Nooi Golf Club in the North West, Springbok in the Northern Cape and Chrome Golf Club in Mpumalanga. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email ajcollier@telkomsa.net or visit the John Collier Golf website at www.johncolliergolf.com

SA Golf Trader: John Collier Top Club Award (Leopard Creek)

Industry News, John Collier Survey, Media Article, Top Club Award / By

By Alistair Collier | From SA Golf Trader World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on 5 June each year and stimulates awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and public action. This day is the UN’s most important day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. Since its inception in 1974, it has grown to become. Above all, WED is the “people’s day” for doing something to take care of the Earth. That Al something”can have a local, national or global focus. Each WED is organized around a theme that focuses attention on .a particular environmental concern, the theme for 2021 is `ecosystem restoration. Each year those golf club’s data which was included in the 14th John Collier Annual Survey is assessed for environmental compliance and good governance excellence. The winner for 2020-21 is LEOPARD CREEK situated near to Malelane in Mpumulanga Province of South Africa and Special Mention Awards to Montagu Golf Club in the Western Cape and Zwartkop Golf Club in Gauteng. The reviewers were really impressed with the level of detail and standards set in terms of good gdvernance and environmental compliance by the LEOPARD CREEK team and it is fitting that on WED the club was appropriately recognised. 2020 was a year with multiple crises, including a global pandemic, but what LEOPARD CREEK has done well is to link the practical application of ecosystem restoration and focus on its relationship with nature, and then take specific steps to move from crisis to healing: and in so doing, recognize that the restoration of nature is imperative for the survival of our planet and the human race. LEOPARD CREEK’s initiatives have contributed to fight the climate crisis and will help to prevent the potential loss of many species. Their activities will also. help to enhance food security, water supply and • livelihoods while !jutting the club in a position to move towards a carbon neutral environment. LEOPARD CREEK’s winning this award cannot be achieved without the passion and commitment of many people who embrace the management benefits of sustainability, underpinned by good governance, environmental compliance and acknowledging the threats of climate change and the need to be on the road to zero carbon. Therefore, in making this award to LEOPARD CREEK we also offer special congratulations to the club’s CEO Johan Piek and Course Manager Derek Muggeridge and their respective teams. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email ajcollier@telkomsa.net or visit the John Collier Golf website at www.johncolliergolf.com