When the first ball is hit with ferocity to kickstart the Mayoral Charity Golf Day 2018 at the Wanderers Golf Club tomorrow, 31 August 2018, a lot of people in Soweto will be clapping in appreciation.
This is because tomorrow’s Mayoral Charity Golf Day aims to raise more funds for the continuation of the Soweto Country Club’s upgrade, which is a Joburg Open Legacy Project.
The format entails a four-ball alliance with a total of 128 golf players. In the evening, a prize-giving dinner will take place to acknowledge the contribution of various stakeholders and sponsors and hopefully the R1 million target will be reached.
The refurbishment of the golf course, which started in February from designs by golfing legend Gary Player, forms part of the overall Soweto Country Club upgrade project.
Work is expected to be completed by December 2018 and the club will host all PRO-AM tournaments for the Joburg Open.
The country’s only 18-hole golf course in a township, the Soweto Country Club is expected to be on par with the rest of major courses in the country.
“The course will be right up there with the rest of other top golf courses in the country. It didn’t have bunkers before, but now it will have lots more bunkers to make the game more exciting,” says City of Joburg Director of Event Bongi Mokaba.
Caddies who haven’t had work as a result of the extensive refurbishments, which include creating a dam, pump station, wetland to bring back bird life and a driving range, have been absorbed as the workforce to carry out the major reconstruction work.
The Soweto Country Club has already been refurbished with a new clubhouse, practice facility, conference centre and halfway house.
“The refurbishment will benefit the residents of Soweto, as well as the people from surrounding areas and will go a long way towards creating business and job opportunities, as it has the potential to increase access to major sporting codes and other major tournaments,” says Mokaba.
Former caddy Sibusiso Ngcobo has had a steady source of income since February. “When I joined, I learnt to lay green from scratch and T-boxes. We are currently planting greens and putting fertilisers under cover.”
Mokaba says the events side of the Soweto Country Club will complement activities at the club house. The facility can hosts weddings and functions for Soweto residents and those from outside of the township.
“Tourists who always drive around the township need to come in have lunch, maybe play a round of golf and ultimately see Soweto in its fullest context,” says Mokaba.
