Knysna Golf Course – Knysna

Along the Garden Route, just 500km from Cape Town and 250km from Port Elizabeth, Knysna is one of the Southern Cape Coast’s best known holiday attractions, situated between lush forests and the shores of the peaceful lagoon. It offers many activities and attractions of a wide variety, the most well known being the fabled “Knysna Heads” – two great sandstone cliffs guarding the mouth of the lagoon which connects the estuary with the sea.

BA flying to Cape Town for over 80 years

British Airlines is celebrating that it has been flying to the Mother City for over 80 years.  The first service from London to Cape Town landed on January 20, 1932. It was a biplane carrying mail and was operated by Imperial Airways, a predecessor to BA. Three months later, the first passengers flew between the two cities. Their journey was daunting and long. It took 10 days and included travelling on a Handley Page HP42 aircraft, on a train, on a Kent Flying Boat, an Armstrong Whitworth Argosy, on a Calcutta Flying Boat and finally on a De Havilland DH66 Hercules. In 1938 the service was increased to two flights a week and in 1939 the flight time was cut to just four-and-a-half days.

During World War II the direct route over Europe was cut and Imperial Airways’ successor, BOAC, began a weekly ‘Horseshoe’ route from Durban to Sydney via Cairo and Karachi. A few months later a flying boat service linked Poole and Lagos as part of the route across central Africa to Durban.

After the war, BOAC introduced the world’s first commercial passenger jet service in 1952 when a BOAC Comet flew from London to Johannesburg via Rome, Beirut, Khartoum and Livingstone. It did not continue to Cape Town but the 23-hour journey nearly halved the previous travel time.

The advent of jet services in the 70s brought long-haul leisure travel. BA started operating a direct Boeing 747 service to Cape Town in 1984 and increased these to two flights a week in 1990.

Post democracy, Cape Town really began to feature as an international tourist destination and the airline began an often frustrating campaign for more capacity to the Mother City, governed by the regular renegotiation of bilateral air services agreement between the UK and South Africa. In 2006 it was eventually awarded double-daily services to the city over the busy summer season. Today it operates two daily services offering nearly 5 000 seats a week each way and carrying more than 1300 people every day during the SA summer, reverting to a daily service in the SA winter when there is less demand.

Grace wins again – Volvo Golf at Fancourt

What a day it was!  After Branden Grace had only qualified for the Volvo Golf Champions a week before by winning the Johannesburg Open, he then steadily worked himself through the first three days, obviously feeling at home at The Links at Fancourt on the Garden Route, South Africa.

After Ernie Els earlier on in the day ended his tournament on a fantastic -12, Grace knew what to do when approaching the 18th with his direct opponent Nicolas Colsaerts from Belgium, who shot an amazing course record of nine-under 64 on the first day of the tournament. Both where 12 under after the 17th, and where Grace hit a perfect drive to the middle of the fairway, Colsaerts ended up in the rough on the left of the fairway. A strategic shot onto the nearby 1st fairway brought him onto the 18th green for 3, while Branden Grace hit a great 2nd shot onto the right hand side of the green, to put it close for 3. Colsaerts then putted close for 4 to finish the whole on a part, leaving him out of the play-offs at -11.

Grace then left what could have been his winning 4-foot putt wide and finished the hole with a birdie to enter the play-offs with his countrymen Ernie Els and Retief Goossen who also ended their rounds on a -12.

Branden Grace, favourite with the local crowd, then made up in the sudden death play-off by hitting his drive onto the the fairway, with Goosen lying equally beautiful in the middle of the fairway, while Els ended up on the left in the rough, putting him under pressure immediately. Els could only chip onto the fairway, but hit a fantastic 3rd shot, leaving him about 15 feet short of the hole. Goosen hit his second just right of the green, but saw his chances of winning the tournament disappear when his chip finished about 25 feet short of the hole.

Grace hit his 2nd shot onto the green and another great putt coming in from the right left him with a similar 4-fout putt which he then sank confidently as the crowd roared on. Amazing Grace did it again!

Knysna Country House

The Knysna Country House offers stylish yet comfortable 4-star accommodation in the peaceful and leafy suburb of Hunters Home in Knysna, along the splendid Garden Route, less than 2 minutes from the Knysna Golf Course and not even 5 minutes from the Pezula Championship Golf Course, while the Jack Nicklaus’ signature course of Simola is a mere 20min. drive away.

Oosthuizen wins Africa Open in East London

Louis Oosthuizen added another Open to his list of victories when he won the Africa Open in a three-man playoff at the East London Golf Club on Sunday. Oosthuizen birdied the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to beat England’s Chris
Wood and Spain’s Manuel Quiros to the title, which is his third on the European Tour.

“It’s a great way to start the season. This is my first European Tour title in South Africa and I’m quite ecstatic about that,” said Oosthuizen. The South African closed with a 70, Wood a 68 and Quiros a 69 to see them all tied on 16 under par.
Teeing off first in the playoff on the par-four 18th, Oosthuizen didn’t hit the best of tee shots and came close to out of bounds before it kicked right and rolled onto the fairway. “It was a terrible tee shot, but it worked out well because I had a flat lie and could hit a full sand wedge. So I knew with a bit of spin I could get it close,” said Oosthuizen, who went on to hit his second five metres from the hole.
Wood hit his approach to about 10 metres, while Quiros went just over the back of the green. Both Quiros and Wood parred the hole, leaving Oosthuizen to make his putt for birdie and the win. “The whole day was a struggle actually. It was one of those tournaments where the putter was very cold. But my caddie Zack told me to just be patient and the putts will drop,” said Oosthuizen.

That putt finally arrived on the par-five 15th green, where Oosthuizen holed out for eagle from about 12 metres to share the lead with Wood on 15 under. But he was denied the sole lead when his birdie putt on 16 lipped out. Quiros found his own putting form with three birdies in the final three holes to also make the playoff. But Wood was very disappointed not to have followed through with a maiden victory on the European Tour.

“I wasn’t expecting much having not practiced much with all the snow at home. But when you’re in a position to win, it’s disappointing not to do it. I didn’t do much wrong and can’t really fault myself, but it just didn’t happen for me.”
Charl Schwartzel put on a good show in defence of his title and posted a 70 to finish alongside Jaco van Zyl and Steven O’Hara on 15 under par.

Oosthuizen now leaves South Africa for a few tournaments on the European Tour before joining the PGA Tour, and admits he’s excited about this new chapter in his life. “I’m looking forward to the whole year, playing half in America and Europe. I’m looking forward to contending on both money lists.”