Great to see this event taking place, again!

This weekend, St Francis Bay Golf Club will be hosting their 23rd addition of the Calamari Classic with a field limited to 208 players a day due to Covid.  In the past they have hosted as many as 280 players a day – Wow!   Justin Roux, our former Links PGA Head Professional and now GM at the Bay Club tells me the course is in superb condition and they are ready to present another great tournament. Our village will benefit from having the golfers in town and I am sure they will return to their homes as bigger ambassadors than ever. The forecast is a bit on the rough side but it would not be September nor the Calamari without some interference from Mother Nature. They have been required to put safety measures in place that will force them to keep the numbers down in the Club and on the deck – places that simply rock during the Calamari weekend.

Good Luck, Justin and the Bay Golf Club for a great weekend of golf!  

from the editor!

Sadly, the annual Calamari Bowls will not take place as Covid rules will not permit playing in fours. On the up side, we are also very busy this weekend with groups coming in from PE and the region. Please use the App (Clubmaster) to book your morning times!

Bryson played a different game and a different course than the rest and it all began with confidence and trust!

I watched and I was amazed…Tiger, Phil, Tommy, Colin, Justin Rose and Spieth, defending champion, Gary Woodland, Gracie (my pick) and so many other favorites didn’t even see the weekend and probably saved some long-term confidence for it. Others like Dustin +5 (11 shots behind), Rickie +17, Eric v Rooyen shot 70 on Sunday and was still 16 shots behind. Louis was our best, finishing 3rd over all at +2.

Winged Foot and the USGA will both take some time to digest what Bryson did. The course and the set-up could simply not succumb to 6-under par. Watch this space – the golf ball may finally be “softened” for professional play.

What’s a golfer now supposed to do, add 40 pounds and gain flexibility?  Read the comments below taken from GOLF Magazine.

1. It’s not about bulking-up

Ok. Specifically, yes, for Bryson it was about bulking up. But that’s not the lesson he wants people to learn from what he’s doing. Bryson started down this path simply trying to figure out how to improve, to win at Augusta, and contend regularly at majors.

That’s what led to him adopting a very intense bulk-up strategy, but he’s quick to point out it’s not one size fits all.

“I’m doing what I think is right for me and my body,” he said. “Some people may want to lose weight. Some people may want to get more flexible. I just want them to know anything is possible if you work hard.”

2. Build on a foundation of accuracy

An underrated part of Bryson’s bomb-and-gouge strategy is that the foundation of it all is accuracy. Bryson spent years working with his first coach, Mike Schy, honing his technique.

“I was a straight hitter in high school. I was a straight hitter in college,” he says.

And while Bryson’s current priority is speed, he’s doing it within what he calls an “end-range-of-motion” protocol. Translation: He wants more speed, but won’t change his technique in ways that he thinks will make his accuracy suffer.

“Think about all the range of motion you have in your wrists,” Bryson says. “I know I’m leaving some speed on the table, not using my wrists more. But it creates too much variability in the clubface.”

3. Swing faster

But Bryson-nomics is, primarily, about speed, predicated on the mindset that distance is the ultimate advantage in golf. It’s true at the pro level and all the way down to the recreational ranks. As long as you’re staying in-bounds, the closer you are to the hole, the more likely you are to hit your next shot into it. That’s it. That simple truth is the casino Bryson is trying to be.

If you’re trying to adopt a similar approach with your own game, one of the biggest things to remember is that speed isn’t only created on the downswing. It starts on the backswing — so if you want to swing faster, take a faster backswing, Bryson says.

“Speed accumulates,” he says. “That’s why I do my breathing when I’m trying to increase my [speed] threshold…I want my swing to get off to the fastest start possible and build from there.”

They should be in jail!

That was Paul Spencer’s comment on the Men’s Chat group when former Club Champion, Martin King, and his new-to-golf son, Jason, “walked” the Saturday Comp in 55pts – that equates to one better than 3’s for the day! Imagine what Geoff Garratt and Norman Dyer thought when they came second with a course record-breaking 52pts!

Dunstan Hogan probably had his best nett ever with 62, finishing third with Anthony Oswald on 47pts. For crying out loud, did Bryson have you all pumped up on something beyond protein shakes.

Last Wednesday, we had nearly 100 members, long-term tenants, nominated members and their partners for a “Meet your Neighbours” evening after the golf. Norman Pretorius had a big smile when he arrived because he won the comp earlier with 37 pts. Mike Bevan was second on 36pts and Deon Marais was counted in on 35pts for third.

The ladies played “real golf” on the morning – medal by division. Dr Lynn won Silver Division with a gross 84, Debbie McCracken won the nett on 77 and Lynn had the fewest putts with 34. In the Bronze Division, Jo Gobby won with 91 gross and Izzy Obray won the nett with 78. Sally Nienaber used her putter sparingly to 29 putts.

We look forward to our sponsored days with ITEC and Selective Lighting/The Fire Works and Pam Golding Properties and Village Square SuperSpar events.

4-5        Jan         The Pam Golding Annual, SFBGC Champions, Series tied 7 all

7-8        Jan          Men’s Member-Member Partnership, Roger Smith and  Charlie Gilmore, Champions

8          Jan            ITEC Open Wednesday, Dr  Danie Cronjé and Mel Maubec, winners on 51pts 

18         Jan           Windhoek Pairs qualifying, Geoff Garratt and Ernest Müller,  winners on 49pts 

29         Jan           Pam Golding/ Village Square SuperSpar Alliance, Gill, Hool, Garratt and Wilson-Jones on 87pts

12         Feb          ITEC Open Wednesday, Karl-Johann and Nyana Persson on 45pts

14          Feb           Valentine’s Day Dress-up Golf; Dinner with entertainment, The Gobby’s 45pts

26         Feb           Pam Golding/ Village Square SuperSpar Alliance,  Coesens, White, Gobby and Spangenberg 91 pts

12        Mar          ITEC Open Wednesday, TK and Percy Owen 51pts

22           Jul           ITEC Open Wednesday, Keith Simpson and Mark Ward 46pts

26-27   Jul             PGA Regional Finals (SFBGC and SFL) Canceled

29         Jul             Pam Golding/Village Square SuperSpar Alliance, The Gobby’s and the Nienaber’s 85pts

7          Aug             Selective Lighting / The Fireworks – 15h00 shotgun (postponed)

12        Aug             ITEC Wednesday – Izzy Obray and Madelaine Barry 

14        Aug             Greensomes   – Dr Lynn Slogrove and Sally Nienaber 42pts

26       Aug            Pam Golding/Village Square SuperSpar Alliance, Zietsman, Schoeman, Potas and Nel 93pts (C/I)

28        Aug            Foursomes  Maggie Langlands and Dave Hart, 40pts

 4        Sep             Selective Lighting / The Fireworks – 14h00 shotgun  Scott Keevy and Doug  Cornish 25pts  

5-6      Sep              EP Amateur Championships Kyle de Beer 32-38=70 Strokeplay

9          Sep             ITEC Open Wednesday Carol Boonzaier and Sally Nienaber, 46pts

12-13   Sep             EP Amateur Championships – Matchplay finals Kyle de Beer, Champion, Malan Potgieter, Plate

30        Sep             Pam Golding/Village Square SuperSpar Alliance

2         Oct             Selective Lighting / The Fireworks – 14h00 shotgun

3          Oct              Stulting Golf Day

14        Oct               ITEC Open Wednesday

17-18   Oct              LINKS CUP South Africa New date

24       Oct               Ladies’ Invitational new date!

28        Oct              Pam Golding/Village Square SuperSpar Alliance

5          Nov            Eastern Province SENIORS

6          Nov             Selective Lighting / The Fireworks – 14h00 shotgun

7-8       Nov            Men’s Invitational – new date

11         Nov             ITEC Open Wednesday

17         Nov            Men’s Muirfield Day (3rd Annual)

20-21   Nov            Ladies’ Club Championships – new date

22         Nov           “The Trophy” – St Francis Links sponsored Amateur Champs

25         Nov              Pam Golding/Village Square SuperSpar Alliance

25         Nov              Members’ Oscars

5           Dec             Ladies’ Member-Member

9           Dec              ITEC Open Wednesday

12         Dec              Ultimate Par-3 Championships

16         Dec              The Kromme-Enviro Trust Amazing Race

5-6       Jan             Men’s Member-Member Partnership

8-9       Jan              The Pam Golding Annual