GOLF @ KINGSWOOD

Collaboration between regional tourism bureaux, local and district municipalities, and the Route’s best golf courses has enabled the hosting of the Home of Golf Africa Cup (HOGA Cup) over the next eight months.

Add to that a major sponsor and a fit provincial sports minister, and it’s clear there’s a success story in the making.

HOGA chairperson Charl Marais is not new to the business of promoting the region to a broad market. ‘Four years ago, when George Tourism called for input from local businesses, it led to the establishment of a Tourism Advisory Committee, with all members keen to contribute. ‘We gathered quarterly, and two ideas sprouted from those meetings: firstly, to cater for the large local trail community, which resulted in the rebranding of George Trails to return it to the public domain.

‘Municipalities often don’t have the capacity to handle commercial activities, so a private company (NPC) was formed and a three-year agreement signed, with a mandate to grow George Trails from a tourism perspective. An app to aid trailies will be launched soon.’

Secondly, says Marais, then-George mayor Leon van Wyk was leading the charge to focus on golf tourism. However, it became clear during these discussions that one couldn’t just market George as a one-town golfing destination. ‘We knew it was important to include the whole Garden Route as an umbrella brand to market the region.’

Sports-minded minister and social sundowners ‘At first there was some scepticism among golf estates accustomed to focusing on their own clubs, but it was quickly realised that working together would be a much better plan. We all need something to attract golfers to the region, and this meeting of minds resulted in the soft launch of last year’s multicourse competition.’

Marais says another stroke of luck came in the guise of Western Cape Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Ricardo Mackenzie, who opened doors to speak to the right people. The concept of teams playing 10 rounds of golf on 10 different golf courses was now a reality. ‘Minister Mackenzie also suggested that a golf day be added to last year’s George Sports Festival (GSF), held annually during mid-December. With very little time on our side, we quickly roped in Kingswood and George Golf Club for the purpose.’

Dubbed the ‘Sundowner Challenge’, nine holes were played on each of these courses on 13 December, with the minister as part of the field. Mackenzie is lauded for promoting school sports, sport development, and cultural initiatives, notably leading the Active Western Cape initiative. ‘He even did the GSF fun run,’ smiles Marais.

The game is on!

When clicking on www.homeofgolf.africa you’ll find not only competition rules but also a slew of information on accommodation, activities, eateries and drawcards such as the Big Five for visiting golfers. These attractions span not only the Garden Route but also Klein Karoo gems like Oudtshoorn. In a nutshell, competition mechanics, dates and venues are as follows: The series is played in a two-ball format, and each ticket covers one round for two players; a minimum of three rounds must be played to qualify for the overall leaderboard.

The first round was played at Pinnacle Point on 21 March, and the second round at Kingswood on 10 April. These dates are now open for bookings: 3. Pezula, 2 May; 4. Outeniqua, 22 May; 5. Simola, 12 June; 6. Mossel Bay, 3 July; 7. George, 24 July; 8. Oubaai, 14 August; 9. Knysna, 4 September; and 10. Montagu, 2 October.

The final will be held at Oubaai on 30 and 31 October. Marais explains: ‘The top 12 teams will play at our expense with HOGA sponsoring their accommodation, breakfast and dinner, a practice round and final-round prizegiving; 25% of your score will count towards final positions.’ Proving the interest generated so far, bookings are going very well, says Marais, with 50% of overall bookings already attained by mid-March (Pinnacle Point was sold out weeks in advance). Fields are limited to 60 players, but courses are open to the public.

Local golfers are invited to participate at any of these courses and support their own clubs, and visitors from the Mother City, Gqeberha, Gauteng, and beyond are encouraged to make a long weekend of it. Two of the 10 competitions are played on a Saturday, but the rest on Fridays so that outof-towners can explore the Garden Route.

Promoting the brand

‘We planted the flagstick and called it Home of Golf Africa, because we believe this is the best golf tourism destination in Africa. But when a brand is being created from scratch, funds are required to keep it alive.

So we are grateful to have signed a three-year agreement with the Heineken Group, promoting their premier Windhoek brand.’ HOGA also invested in drone footage of the entire region to add to its existing promotional materials, making a visual tour of Garden Route treasures more accessible to an international market of travel-hungry golfers.

Although we’re dealing with an exceptional tourism product, and the unique situation of three bureaux working together to form an overarching organisation, funding will always be a challenge.’ The HOGA website features long lists of strategic, accommodation and activity partners – click on the ‘commercial partners’ tab if you would like to get involved. ‘It’s important to point out that this is a collaboration, not a case of event organisers coining it.

There are no shareholders, and all funds generated are reinvested to attract national and international tourists. Our local courses are busy, but costs escalate over time. If 60–70% of players are members, shortfalls come into play and, ultimately, those members will lose out.’

Focus on fun

Marais says that the lucky-draw system introduced during the pilot phase will again be included this year, along with bragging rights for podium positions and lots of other prizes – among these, custom-made golf bag tags.

‘You can hang this on your bag to prove your participation. Everyone can be a winner, even if you’ve played a terrible round. ‘We want to combine the fun with a competitive element and, in the process, generate income that will be reinvested into marketing and branding. During the first year we were finding our feet, but now we’re in full swing!’

Marais encourages local golfers to come and enjoy the various courses and fair rates and, as a longtime Kingswood resident, reminds local members to support their own club when HOGA’s second round takes place on 10 April. Go to www.homeofgolf.africa and book one or multiple rounds