Together with Jarryd Uys of Ernie Els Wines, we presented perfectly paired food produced by our chef Jonathan Hodder and his team last night! And, Oh what a night!
Attended by almost 70 Links members and guests, Eugenie and her team ably served 5 courses (and poured and poured). The wines were excellent and many a domestic wine rack will gain some delicious wines. As a guest on the night I had the opportunity to experience some excellent pairings. I have asked Chef Jon to explain his process for matching the flavours – fortunatety, it all started with tasting the wine!
It starts with presentation!
Duck Rillete with duck ham and pineapple/ Big Easy Chenin– for a kick start, this crisp and rich Chenin married perfectly with the soft Rillete, whilst the duck ham teased the butterscotch notes in the wine, coriander and pineapple with a hint of star anise is fitting for a Chenin, especially this one.
Oysters and apples/ Ernie Els Sauvignon Blanc– with the light, tropical and crisp Sauvignon Blanc it seemed only fitting to match this with seafood, so oysters was the top choice.
The apples retained the crisp flavour in the wine whilst the freshness and ocean spray flavour of the oysters brought through the well-rounded fruity notes
Finished with vanilla and lemon buchu perfumed bubbles to represent to the ocean squall.
Venison Carpaccio / Ernie Cabernet Sauvignon deep and dark fruit flavours with forest floor notes in this wine was a perfect match with the smoky venison.
The Liqourice gel allowed the wine to show off its gentle tannin levels whilst the dark fruit puree and beetroot lifted the earthy notes.
Forest floor was the inspiration in this Dish
Slow and low blade of Beef/ Proprietors Blend– with this Bordeaux blend (cabernet sauvignon dominant in my opinion) was the inspiration for this dish
The beef was braised for 4 hours in a red wine braising liquid( brasage) to inspire richness, comfort, and indulgence.
This was Finished with smoked onion puree to compliment the well roundness of the wine, and buttery potato mousseline and rich red wine sauce with
this dish gave everyone a big hug at the table!
Chocolate Fondant, Peanut butter ice cream and spiced cherries/ Big Easy Sweet Spot– this sweet and candy like wine reminded me of a rich port
Without the tanins, cherry and spice and all things nice!, upon tasting this wine, 3 ingredients jumped out and hit me, Chocolate, Cherry and Peanut
For me these flavours ticked all the boxes, spiced cherries boasting vanilla,pink peppercorn and star anise allowed the wine to show off its
Perfume, whilst the chocolate assisted with richness, all mellowed down with the peanut butter ice cream.. just perfect!
Chef Jon, Machinie, Brenden (got in there) and Frans, our newest member of the Team!
We can’t wait for the next one! Watch this space! Well done team!
Are the Azaleas in bloom?
Next week is the Masters – my favourite golfing week in LIFE!
Let’s start the week the way they do – with the Par-3 Tournament – Join us
Club Champs – May 5 and 6
Selective clearing of overgrown areas – Explanation
Jack Nicklaus explained to the press and our members and guests at the opening of St Francis Links that the course would evolve over time. When the course was constructed, great steps were taken to speed up that process by planting indigenous bush everywhere. In no time at all the Blombos, Slangbos and Bitou in particular, were coming up everywhere – behind the first and 10th, on the sides of many fairways and tees, as well as in all vacant stands on the estate. In most cases, the evolution has been amazing, adding to the beauty of the estate. There is more than double the coverage than there was before the course was constructed. We have even added signage to show our members and guests what the fynbos and other features have contributed to-health remedies and other purposes. The natural bush attracts birdlife and wildlife. Where the Bitou, Blombos and Slangbos have strangled other plant-life, we are opening places up to encourage other varieties of fynbos to thrive. Removal of the rapid growing varieties that have encroached in the course, has led to improved play-ability (as seen at 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 13) on the course. Removal of Bitou behind the 17th green has opened up views of the Village and the coastline. We cannot perform a controlled burn in drought conditions, so removal with chainsaws and clean-up with our chipper is happening. This is only taking place at specific targeted areas and in the near future, on overgrown vacant stands. We are proud of the estate and how we manage our environment. We will continue to encourage the health of our fynbos, increasing the footprint of the natural beautiful colours throughout.
Bitou everywhere Ahhhh, the view is back Lower-growing fynbos will now replace
1. The Rules Modernization Initiative
a. How the Rules of Golf are Revised
Ever since the first known written Rules of Golf in 1744, continuous revision and updating of the Rules has been one of the enduring traditions in golf. (See our background paper A Brief History of Revisions to the Rules of Golf: 1744 to 2016) The USGA and The R&A became the governing bodies for the Rules in the 1890s, and since 1952 we have together produced a single set of Rules for golfers everywhere. Our individual Rules of Golf Committees and our Joint Rules Committee meet several times each year to consider changes. We normally revise the Rules of Golf every four years and the Decisions on the Rules of Golf (our interpretive guidance) every two years. The 2016 editions of the Rules and Decisions are now in effect and will continue to be in effect until 31 December 2018.
These regular processes tend to focus on individual issues, but there also are times when we step back to look at the Rules from a broader perspective. Such fundamental reviews led to the first consolidated Rules code in 1899, a major Rules revision in 1934, the first unified R&A/USGA Rules code in 1952, and a full reorganization of the Rules in 1984. Each fundamental review had its own motivations and goals, but the common thread was that the time had come for a major review and revision of the Rules. This is such a time.
Click Here for the Overview article
Click Here for the New Rules of Golf as proposed
Have you booked for Barry Hilton! April 8 with lunch!
There’s MORE
W(HOA)…News from the Estate! Next Get-together is April 12
Our first Property Owner Forum was hosted by our homeowner Dirsctors, Tim Elliott, Norman Dyer and Chris Kelway on March 27. This was your opportunity to share ideas and concerns for the Board before their next meeting in early May. The meeting was very well attended and I will print the Directors review in next week’s column!
Club News centers on the growth of golf as experienced another record month on the links. Internationals from all over the world joined our members and locals, bringing nearly 2500 rounds in February. Thus number is up slightly on last year. Golfers came from Austraila, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Sweden, Switzerland, USA and Zimbabwe. Oh, they also came from all of SA! That makes 22 countries that we know of! Wow, pretty cool, hey!
The Year Ahead – Your planner for 2018
Please take note of the dates and post them where you will see them and ENTER!
Links Majors and Special Events for 2018
Jan 2-3 The Pam Golding Annual (St Francis Bay wins – the overall is tied 6 games each)
Jan 5-6 Men’s Member/Member Partnership, Chris and Jandré Lessing, Champions
Jan 20 Windhoek Lager International Pairs (3rd Qualifying), Percy Owen and Norman Dyer
Jan 27-28 EP Champs (course closed) Altin VD Merwe, Strokeplay Medalist (74-68=142)
Feb 3-4 EP Champs (semi-finals and finals) Naldo Claassens, Champion; Hugo Maritz, Plate Winner
Feb 14 Couples/Mixed Golf – Valentine’s Dinner Ronnie and Sally Nienaber, best members
Mar 10 Greensomes over 18 holes Pete Maskew and John Wilson, Champions on 39pts
Apr 22-26 National Senior Inter-Provincials (90) (course closed)
May 6-7 Club Championships
May 13-16 Senior Women’s Nationals (SFL and SFBGC) (courses closed)
May 18-20 St Francis Bridge Invitational
May 20 Nomads Monthly Game (11am Shotgun)
May 24-25 Woodland’s Golf Days
May 26 Foursomes over 18 holes
June 2 Ladies’ Invitational
June 16 Quarterly Couples/Mixed – US Open
June 17 Father’s Day Golf and Lunch
June 21 EP Seniors
June 25-26 Nomads Coastal NOoM
July 7 The Inaugural Muirfield Day (foursomes and fourballs)
July 20 Oakley X-Over
July 20-22 Men’s Invitational
July 22-25 PGA Road Trip – Pards Cup
Aug 20 to
Sept 4 Spring Programme (Club Closed) FINAL DATES – PLEASE TAKE NOTE
Sep 28-29 Links Cup / Ryder Cup (Paris)
Oct 6 Quarterly Couples/Mixed Golf
Nov Pam Golding Ladies’ Open Weekend (date – TBD)
Dec 1 Ladies’ Member- Member Partnership
Dec 8 Par-3 Championships
Dec 14-15 Pam Golding Annual (SFBGC host)
Dec 17 Kromme Trust Amazing Race
Dec 20 Food and Wine Festival
Dec 22 Year-end Couples/Mixed – Pro Shop Sale
Jan 3-4 Men’s Member-Member Partnership
Important Note: We endeavour to keep our “Majors” on the same weekend each year to encourage the best participation. We are forced to move the Annual Club Championships back a week this year because we were the chosen course in the Eastern Cape to host the National Senior Inter-Provincials, a tournament featuring the country’s top golfers. It finished on Thursday the 26th, leaving no time for practice or course preparation. I apologize and the Champs will return to the last week in April in years to come.
http://www.Leadingcourses.com – Please rate St Francis Links
March Birthdays
1 – Eddie Vorster
3 – James Bredenkamp
8 – Victor Zwane
10 – Barry Davis, Russell Egan, Rudi Alberts
12 – Claire Beckley
13 – Willem Wolmarons
16 – Michelle Nel
17 – Andre Holder, Gerritt, Johannes, Fred Van Eyssen and Lukas Pretorius
20 – Lorraine Wilson, Matthys Ellis, Norman Dyer, Norman Rock
21 – David Joubert, John Barnes, Lizette Kruger
22 – Mike Morrison
23 Clemens Froehlich
24 – Darren Hammond, David Smith, Garry Wills
26 – Mzila Mthanjane
27 – Gail Martin
29 – Mark Apker
30 – Jacques Vermeulen, Leander DeWit
More to Come!
Itec are our sponsors for OPEN Wednesday (2nd Wednesday) with meat and added prizes. Invite your friends to enjoy SA’s best with special rates for golf, snacks after the game and great prizes – Hey, Curry Night follows – stay or take away!
Monday Roll-up! Pitch up and play (9 holes or 18 Par-3 from 2pm) let’s add you to the What’s app group
All day Saturdays: Morning and afternoon fields – the afternoon field will be booked from 12 noon backwards with emphasis on “ready golf”
Monday Men’s Book Club – 5pm in Jack’s Bar (no reading required)
Ladies’ Tea (and Coffee) – Every Tuesday at 10am on the Veranda
March 30 Good Friday
April 1 Easter Egg Hunt (sponsored by Village Square Super Spar)
April 1 Happy Easter – Lunch
April 4 Special Par-3 Competition in conjuction with Wednesday School (Kick off the Masters)
April 5-8 The Masters (televised daily)
April 11 ITEC Open Wednesday – special rates, prizes and snacks (R1500 in meat)
Check this out – 1-stop shopping!
Every Great shot starts with a SMILE!
Santa and the Links TEAM