THE HISTORY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOLF FOUNDATION

The South African Golf Foundation was formed at the Royal Johannesburg Golf Club on 18 October 1960, initially to promote junior golf in the Transvaal. The movement was started on the strength of a R500 donation received from the “Follow the Sun Nomads” with Messrs. Basil Keartland and Harry Oppenheimer as its first Chairman and President respectively.

Mr Keartland forecast the “…playing of Junior Inter-Team, Junior Inter-Provincial and perhaps even International matches…” These words were prophetic, because all these thoughts expressed by him have become fact over the years.

In September 1962 it was decided to form South African Foundation National Council. A meeting was held at Bloemfontein Golf Club on 1 November 1962 with Mr Keartland in the chair. The main object was to get the Foundation started in every Province witch made up the South African Golf Union. Noteworthy was that a meeting in Bloemfontein on the 23 November 1962 was attended by representatives of all Provinces, and it was decided that Boys and Girls Championships would be held. Age limit was subsequently changed to 18 to comply with international standards. The South African Boys Championship still exists as the South African Junior Championship and the girls compete in the Rose Bowl.

The Foundation continued under the chairmanship of Mr Keartland until October 1967, when all the monies, investment, etc. were handed over to the South African Golf Union. On March 1968 a special meeting of the Foundation was held at the Bloemfontein Golf Club, which was attended by all Divisions of the Foundation as constituted today. The reason for the meeting was to elect a National council to handle the affairs of the South African Golf Foundation. The Annual General Meeting followed and the first National Executive of the Foundation was elected. An Inter Provincial policy was arranged for the staging the South African Junior Inter Provincial Tournament and since then all Foundation affairs became the responsibility of the newly formed National Executive. The Inter-Provincial format was changed in December 1987 to fall in line with the South African Golf Union’s foursome matches as well as singles matchplay.

Today the South African Golf Foundation is well disciplined, financially sound and well controlled golfing body, which has earned respect and recognition from all South African golf authorities and golfing bodies abroad. The Foundation’s aim is to produce good golfers, as well as young golfers who appreciate the rules and etiquette of golf and true sportsmanship. The founders of the Foundation can be well satisfied with the fruit of their labour.

The Foundation is justified in the belief that we produce super junior golfers who become super senior golfers. The amateur and professional ranks sport many names of previous Foundation members who become very successful. Everybody knows names like Hugh Baiocchi, John Bland, Bobby Cole, André Cruse, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Ben Fouche, David Frost, Etienne Groenewald, Jeff Hawkes, Dale Hayes, Justin Hobday, Ian Hutching, Derek and Neil James, Philip Jonas, Richard Kaplan, Rory Sabbatini, Tim Clark, Trevor Lagerway, Gavin Levenson, Sally Little, Robbie Meier, Andries Oosthuizen, David and Kevin Suddards, Desmond Terblance, Peter Todt, Peter van der Riet, Dean van Staden, Wilhelm Winsness, Mark Wiltshire, Manny Zerman, the Pappas Brothers Craigen, Shaun, Dean Brendon, Trevor Immelman and many more who are still Provincial players, or on golf scholarship in the USA, etc. Truly a success story due to the high standards set by our founders and to this day maintained by the National Executive, Divisional Executive, our juniors golfers, our sponsors and all our supporters.

“Play golf…the game of a lifetime.”