The John Collier team visited the annual PGA Show in Orlando, Florida from January 22-24, 2025.
JCG reports that the experience is certainly worth the hype, and anyone who is serious about their role in the game is there, and ready to do business.
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
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
By Alistair Collier | From SA Golf Trader JOHN COLLIER SURVEY According to Wikipedia, the Garden Route is a 300-kilometre stretch of the south-eastern coast of South Africa which extends from Witsand in the Western Cape to the border of Tsitsikamma Storms River in the Eastern Cape. The name comes from the verdant and ecologically diverse vegetation encountered here with an oceanic climate, mild to warm summers, and mild to cool winters. With these favourable climatic conditions, it is not surprising that there are so many golfing facilities along this route. Recent research into good governance and environmental compliance into golf courses along the garden route indicate that the compliance levels for golf clubs in this area is above the national benchmark of 31%, and leading the way is the Kingswood Golf Estate achieving GOLD LEVEL status and a previous winner of the prestigious TOP CLUB AWARD in South Africa. 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
By Alistair Collier | From SA Golf Trader JOHN COLLIER SURVEY The 14th annual edition of the John Collier Annual Survey on Environmental Compliance and Good Governance of South Africa Golf Courses has been sent to golf clubs throughout South Africa. We trust that you will find this edition an interesting read, but moreover that you will derive some benefit from the findings. Notwithstanding the torrid time the golf industry has experienced during 2020, what is positive is that there was an increase in the number of clubs participating in the survey and there was a slight improvement in the national environmental compliance and good governance level of 31%. One of the findings from the survey is that a lot more attention needs to be focused on good governance compliance. The survey recommends that GolfRSA review th KingIVTM principles and apply them to their business processes as a matter of course, and then in their role as acting for and behalf of amateur golf in South Africa that these principles are made applicable through the representative associations (such as SAGA, WGSA), to the Provincial Unions and through them to the clubs. 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
By John Cockayne | Golf Business News | Destination Golf Travel For some months (with the advent of the first lockdown in South Africa in March 2020 in fact) a hippopotamus, known as Harpo, was spotted in our small town on the edges of the Hartbeespoort dam (Harties), having taken up residence in the adjacent waters, writes John Cockayne. While he has been very good both for morale, especially among animal lovers and as a talking point, both here and further south across the Northwest Province’s border with Gauteng, he has not been setting a good example in terms of the required health protocols. Curfews are of little concern to him, as he has been seen walking around our estate at night, long after he should have been tucked in bed at home and left footprints in our back flower bed, as evidence of these nocturnal transgressions. He never wears a mask and when the recent inter-provincial travel restrictions were in place, he had the temerity to sashay forth to the south across the border into Gauteng and take in the big city lights. On this excursion (it has been reported that he is now back at home in Harties and more large footprints in our flower beds suggest this to be true), he was spotted wandering about in the leafy and upmarket suburb of Bryanston. Having criticised Harpo’s disregard of the health protocols, to be fair he does observe the social distancing requirements. This positive aspect of his behaviour is probably due to his ramblings being in the cool of the night and the fact that the human residents, of the areas he frequents, are not overly keen to ‘associate’ too closely with a mammal that can weigh up to 7 000 lbs!! To give this a sense of scale; if you consider that most professional rugby union team’s scrums weigh in at around the 1800lbs mark – you will realise that Harpo is a seriously big fellow! So, for those of you worrying about foxes disturbing the bins in your suburb, spare a thought for me as I take my rubbish out at night, while never being quite sure of who might be ambling about nearby in the dark! If Harpo is a gargantuan task, then that faced by golf in its efforts to be seen to be environmentally friendly are much larger. This is not because golf does not care, but more because it has been slightly slow on the uptake and is historically poor in sharing its good news stories. The levels of communications have been so poor that many anti-golf ‘knockers’ still think that we use tap water to irrigate the greens and fairways! To be fair, there has been very little said to date to really dissuade them from this view, and other equally negative opinions and prejudices, as golf continues to keep quiet about what good it does do. Still on the subject of hippos, in May I visited the lowveld in Mpumalanga at the invite of Tsogo Sun’s Sabi River Sun Resort. This was on the occasion of the reopening of its golf course, after the greens had been rebuilt. The re-launch had been delayed by the activities of a cyclone, which had dumped a biblical quantity of rain in the area in February as the images show. For those not quite sure what a cyclone might look like – imagine something up to 2,000 kilometres in diameter, which acts like a large washing machine by sucking up water from the ocean in its path, circulating it in the air and then rinsing it out over everything that passes under it! A good time was had by all at the relaunch, the weather and the course were perfect and the family of hippos, who live in the large dam, adjacent to the 4th, 16th and 17th holes, were impeccably behaved throughout! The trip had a dual purpose, the second of which was to introduce Alistair Collier from the John Collier Golf Survey (JCS), and the mechanics of the programme to Sabi River Sun’s management team. There are several environmental programmes available to golf clubs in South Africa, such as Audubon, but what is particularly compelling about JCS’ proposition, especially in these difficult economic times, is that it is home grown and free of charge to the participating clubs. This makes the support tools, questionnaire and their related elements specific to the region and its particular challenges, both in environmental and governance terms. JCS takes the data from all the surveys received from clubs throughout South Africa and then this is published in the John Collier Annual Golf Survey. The JCS panel then re-visits the questionnaires, to ascertain which club had submitted the most comprehensive report each year. Notwithstanding a positive 44% response rate from golf clubs and a 30% national compliance level, it is inevitable that there are clubs that will stand out as exceptional. This survey was no different and despite there being several strong contenders, the panel’s conclusion was to give the TOP CLUB award to Leopard Creek, which will be known to all followers of European Tour events. In making their assessment of the data returned, the reviewers were particularly impressed with the level of detail and standards set, in terms of good governance and environmental compliance, by the Leopard Creek team and it was appropriate, that the club’s efforts should be recognised on World Environment Day. 2020 was a year with multiple crises, including the global COVID-19 pandemic, but all the participating clubs had stepped up to the plate in recognising their environmental responsibilities. In winning the JCS award, where Leopard Creek had been particularly effective was in linking the practical application of ecosystem restoration, its relationship with nature and then in taking the specific steps needed to move from crisis to healing. Leopard Creek’s initiatives are an example of what many clubs are doing to contribute to help fight the climate crisis. These activities, on a collective scale, will also
Board governance (in other words the management committee of a golf club) is fundamental to the success of non-profit sport organisation such as golf. The guidance of the board in setting direction, and ensuring the organisation maintains that direction in a fiscally responsible manner, is found in organisations ranging from national sport governing bodies to local sports clubs. In essence amateur golf in South Africa, with the exception of the employees of GolfRSA, by and large all other administrators representing amateur golf in South Africa, such as the South African Golf Association and other national representative bodies, the provincial unions and individual golf clubs carry out their functions in an unpaid capacity. In this regard the growth of golf in South Africa is inextricably intertwined with leadership and governance. Over the past few years there has been increasing research into understanding the mechanisms and impact of non-profit sport board performance. Much of this research is focusing on the need to understand the mechanisms that contribute to “teamwork” or dynamics of the volunteer board of directors, its members, and its leaders.
The fifteenth edition of the John Collier Annual Survey on Environmental Compliance and Good Governance for South African Golf Courses is due for publication shortly. Notwithstanding the COVID 19 pandemic impacting upon golf clubs in South Africa, many clubs found time to participate in the 2021 Survey.
Dear Club Managers, Directors of Golf, Course Superintendents, and golf enthusiasts, RECOGNITION OF LEADERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AND GOOD GOVERNANCE AHEAD OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT ON WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL DAY OF THE JOHN COLLIER TOP CLUB AWARD As the John Collier Annual Survey has done over the past number of years, once we have collated all the data from the John Collier Surveys received from clubs and through desktop research and interviews with people knowledgeable of golf courses throughout South Africa (caddies, green keepers and staff and members), and published the John Collier Annual Survey in March, we then re-visit the data on the golf clubs to ascertain which club has the most comprehensive report. Notwithstanding a 42% response rate from golf clubs throughout South Africa and a 30% national compliance level, there are always those clubs that stand out as being exceptional. In this regard, we acknowledge those clubs in each Golf Union Province as leaders in environmental compliance and good governance. BOLAND GOLF UNION Pearl Valley Review Comment: – “An excellent example of a club where attention to detail is everything, even to the smallest issue. The Club is part of a national project monitoring river water quality thereby building up a picture of water quality within the aquatic system and noting the different water quality tolerance levels for insects and larvae.” BORDER GOLF UNION East London Golf Club Review Comment: – “It is refreshing to see a club with its golf course data at its fingertips. It is a delicate balance of managing the fauna and flora on the course as well as having cognisance of the weather and how the sea influences day-to-day planning.” EASTERN CAPE GOLF UNION St Francis Links Review Comment: – “A previous John Collier TOP CLUB WINNER and continually maintaining high quality and exceptional standards. But it is not only managing the footprint of the facility but also reaching out to the a community such as assisting with the St Francis Bay Community Garden by making the garden an ideal spot to walkthrough and relax in the peaceful surroundings that the club rally makes an impression.” EKHURHULENI GOLF UNION State Mines Country Club Review Comment: – “A fundamental of any successful club is the quality of the management data available to assist in decision-making. This can be seen through the immaculate condition of the course and greens, friendly staff and quality food.”
World Environment Day (WED), is celebrated on the 5th of 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 since its inception in 1974, it has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated in over 100 countries. Above all, WED is the “people’s day” for doing something to take care of the Earth. That ‘something’ can have a local, national or global focus.Each WED is organised around a theme that focuses attention on a particularly pressing environmental concern. This year the campaign slogan is “Only One Earth”, with a focus on “Living Sustainably in Harmony with Nature”. The winner for 2021/22 is the SABI RIVER SUN GOLF CLUB in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa, while Special Mention Awards go to Umhlali Country Club in Kwa Zulu Natal, and George Golf Club in the Southern Cape. The SABI RIVER SUN GOLF CLUB has recorded outstanding levels of detail and standards in terms of good governance and environmental compliance, and it is tting that on WED the club should be appropriately recognised. Winning this award cannot be achieved without the passion and commitment of many people who embrace the management bene ts of sustainability, underpinned by good governance, environmental compliance, and who recognise and acknowledge the threats of climate change, and realise the need for a focus on living sustainably and in harmony with nature. Therefore, in making this award to SABI RIVER SUN GOLF CLUB, we also o er special congratulations to the club’s Chairman Tony Ridle, fellow board member Ray Ja ray, the golf club’s Captain Ryan McCain, the Sabi River Sun GM Malcolm Bone, Southern Sun and the course superintendent Mark Pain, and their respective teams.
