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Since my last report we’ve visited the states of Alabama, Texas, Iowa and Wisconsin for a run of tournaments on the PGA Champions Tour schedule.  

At the time of writing, we’ve had five top-10s in the last six starts. That’s some solid play, although not quite the level we want to be at. Saying that, I feel like all aspects of my game are in good shape. Coming up soon is a big run of tournaments, including three major championships in the space of four weeks – the US Senior Open Championship in Wisconsin, The Open Championship at Hoylake and The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. Some seriously good golf courses in that little stretch and obviously a lot to look forward to. Let’s see how we go. 

There’s plenty going on away from the tournament scene, too. Not least, the team at Ernie Els Wines has received good news in the form of accolades and high scores for some of the wines in its portfolio. The undoubted highlight in recent weeks is a gold medal and an impressive 95-point rating for our Signature 2017 vintage (pictured below) at the Decanter World Wine Awards, the largest and most influential wine competition in the world. Huge congrats to head winemaker Louis Strydom and the rest of the team at the winery. This 2017 vintage was made available to purchase online only this week and we’re anticipating high demand, so don’t delay your order for too long! Shop online here.

On the golf course design front, our firm’s senior design associate Greg Letsche has been interviewed for a really good feature in the latest issue of the American Society of Golf Course Architect’s magazine By Design. It focuses on unusual sites for golf courses and how it’s possible, in many case desirable, to utilise existing landmarks and features in the design of a new layout. It is something that Greg and I are always mindful of whenever we view a potential new site; it really can add a sense of authenticity and geographical context to a new design. Click here to read the full article.

Meanwhile, it’s pleasing to hear that we’re getting wonderful turnouts for our series of Els for Autism fundraising golf tournaments in the US and Canada and South Africa. Both series are now at or around the halfway mark, which means there are still plenty of opportunities to take part in 2023. The schedules are available online, with all the details of how to enter. If you’re able to take part, it’ll be great to have you on board, thank you. 

Click here for The Golf Challenge in the US.

Click here for the Ernie Els Charity Series in South Africa.

Finally, for anyone interested in the finer details of all the equipment that I’m using at the moment, here’s what we have in the bag right now…

Driver: XXIO 12 Driver, 8.7 degrees
3-wood: XXIO X 3-wood, 14 degrees, EvenFlow Blue 6.5 85x shaft
Irons 2-5: Srixon ZX Mk II utility irons with KBS S-taper 130X shaft
Irons 6-9: Srixon ZX7 Mk II irons with KBS S-taper 130X shaft
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack wedges 52MB, 56MB, 60LB with KBS S taper 130X
Golf Ball: Srixon Z Star XV (yellow)
Glove: Srixon
Putter: Bloodline
Shoes: Puma IGNITE PWRADAPT Caged
Apparel: Bobby Jones & Sunice Sports

Thanks as always to my sponsors for the continued support.

Okay that’s it for now. Don’t forget to follow me on social media. All the links you need are at the bottom of this page.