Apologies for the delay since my last report. It has been a busy week here in Florida and we’ve had lots going on. It was Thanksgiving week in the US and it is rare that I am here for it.
For those of you reading overseas, Thanksgiving in the US is a time to give thanks and spend time with family and friends. There is usually a feast on the Thursday, with Turkey the tradition.
Anyway, I played some social golf with friends over the weekend, but am now back working hard in what is essentially our pre-season. I recently got the new Trackman unit so will be using that a lot in all of my practice sessions to keep tabs on some important data points. We get to see the Trackman data at tournaments on the range and with Shotlink on the PGA TOUR, but it is important to track some of the statistics during practice sessions. The mantra is very much to ‘practice with a purpose and set goals’.
Moving on I wanted to recap quickly on my final tournament appearance of 2016 in the RSM Classic at the beautiful Sea Island Resort in Georgia. When you notch-up nine birdies and two eagles in your first 36 holes, you know you’re doing a lot of things right. In particular, I played a nice back nine on Thursday to get the week started with a 66, my lowest first round score since the Quicken Loans National in June. Unfortunately, I had literally a few errant shots that really cost me. And even though I bounced right back with an eagle and a birdie in my final three holes, it wasn’t enough to get me on the right side of the cut-line in what was a fairly low-scoring week. Hats off though to our host that week, Davis Love III, and headline sponsor RSM, who are doing a great job with this tournament. I thought everything about it was absolutely first rate, especially the course and also the resort.
There has also been lots of other news that I’d like to bring to your attention here. The recent Els for Autism Golf Challenge Grand Finale was a huge success. As always, Liezl and I really enjoyed this annual event and there were many great moments, especially our 2016 Spectrum Award winner, Gloria Mendoza (pictured below) who embodies what this award is all about. Click here for the full story and photos.
Staying on the subject of Els for Autism, I send my thanks to our riders (Ernie’s Army, as they called themselves!) in this year’s 94.7 Cycle Challenge in South Africa. This is the third year that The Ernie Els Centre for Autism in South Africa has put forward a team in this superb charity-driven event and we had wonderful support again from our riders, which this year included my great friend and Springbok legend Victor Matfield, champion cyclist Jac-Louis van Wyk, top golf trick-shot artist Michael Scholz and Nico Van Rensburg of The Els Group. To find out more about the great work being done at our Centre in Joburg, visit the website: http://bit.ly/2fxLPPq.
And thanks again to Nico who also hosted the recent Drive to the SA Open final at Highland Gate. It is a course we designed and is about 2.5 hours from Johannesburg. It is a spectacular setting and the course was in great shape. Thanks to all the golfers and sponsors who supported us throughout the 2016 series! (click here for the full story). As I said in my previous report, this final was in effect a Tour Championship for the winners of 14 competitions held across the country. Every single golfer who took part helped us raise funds for The Ernie Els Centre for Autism in South Africa, for which we are truly grateful, and played hard to try to win a place in the 2017 SA Open pro am. Congrats to our winners Johan Van Staden and Wally Herbst who scored an impressive 91 stableford points. I look forward to seeing them both at Glendower in January.
Looking ahead, I send my best wishes to all my friends at Alfred Dunhill and at Leopard Creek where the European Tour’s 2017 Race to Dubai tees off this week. It’s a tournament that I’ve won before, and have great fondness for, and it’s bound to be another special week for everyone – whether playing or watching – on that spectacular golf course located on the southern edge of the Kruger National Park. There’s really nothing else like it; an amazing event in every regard.
This week I’ll also be taking a keen interest in the PGA TOUR’s Hero World Challenge at Albany in the Bahamas. Of course, probably the whole golfing world is also going to be taking a keen interest, as Tiger has chosen this week to make his return to competitive action. I wish him all the very best. Whatever the outcome for Tiger personally, he and his Foundation team can be very proud of what they’ve achieved here, with a truly world-class line-up of players teeing it up and the event also having raised tens of millions of dollars for youth charities since its inception in 1999.
Naturally, all of us at Ernie Els Design are extremely proud of the golf course that we created at Albany (pictured top) and the fact that it is hosting this prestigious tournament for a second year in succession. Click here for a tour of the course. Those of you who follow such things will know that five golf courses in our design portfolio (Albany, The Els Club Dubai, The Els Club Copperleaf, Anahita Four Seasons Golf Resort Mauritius and Wentworth’s renovated West Course) have now hosted professional Tour events, an accolade that we’re obviously very proud of, too. Anyway, having designed the course at Albany and having played there quite a bit myself, it’s interesting to observe the players’ strategies and how they cope with the ever-present and often changeable off-shore breezes. The course really shows it’s teeth in the wind and last year was very benign so hopefully there will be a little bit of breeze this year and we will see some great golf. It’s a really solid test and a spectacular setting. I know the players really enjoyed it last year and I’m sure they will again this week.
Finally, I want to give a mention for another of our golf courses, The Els Club Desaru Coast’s Ocean Course, where last weekend we welcomed His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim Ismail Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj as part of the official opening celebrations. In addition to the official launch, the Little Easy Young Athlete Scholarship Program was announced, designed to encourage local children to take up the game and benefit from the expertise at The Els Performance Golf Academy located on site there. The royal ‘seal of approval’ was a real honour for all of us at Ernie Els Design, so I want to personally extend my thanks to His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim and also congratulate the team at The Els Club Desaru Coast. Please click here for the full story on that.
Okay, that’s it. Thanks! Follow me on Twitter @TheBig_Easy.
