There are some ‘good news’ stories are out there even if you have to look a little harder to find them.
A year ago, Port Elizabeth Golf Club featured as a Compleat Golfer Course of the Month; read that full length magazine feature here entitled ‘A Place to Call Home’.
The club changed a lot since then so too the entire golfing landscape in South Africa amidst the global economic and health crisis. Having left Port Elizabeth nearly a decade ago and my former home club – The Hill – with it, I’ve always had a soft spot for the layout and kept tabs on its progress; it’s the second oldest course in the country.
The club has weather its fair share of storms in recent years with drought, a number of management changes and the generally bleak economic picture all needing to be factored in.
Enter the coronavirus pandemic. And the harsh lockdown regulations which froze the industry and put jobs on the line from north to south and east to west.
Golf has been back for a little over a month and with it has come a few more smiles. Okay, many more smiles as avid golfers return to their playground. With the club’s members returning, so too have ‘retired’ golfers and those new to the game.
Golf around the country has benefitted from largely being the only sport allowed back to recreational play. While it’s not exactly been a time to ‘cash in’ because of heavy costs associated in keeping the courses playable during the level 5 lockdown and the loss in revenue with food and beverage streams still largely sidelined, there is still a reason to be positive.
With the golf offering in PE including Humewood and Wedgewood among others, the city’s stalwart club couldn’t have wished for more.
‘Definitely, we’re seeing the boom for the game here at PEGC,’ says Justin Smith, Golf and Membership Co-ordinator.
‘And we, as club staff, are enjoying it too. Golf is on the increase by about 50% I would say. It’s not just our members who are getting out in the winter sun for exercise and some fresh air – which is obviously a great plus for lifestyles during these Covid-19 times – but also visitors.
‘Our membership numbers are on the increase as a result. There is a sense of excitement for golf in the city again.
‘It’s been a good couple of months for us since the re-introduction of golf. Of course we are looking to repeat these good numbers for the next few months. We are getting more membership queries. The ‘feel good’ factor is back and it’s pleasing to see tee sheets filling up so quickly. We had 180 golfers – members, visitors and a few first timers – on Friday enjoying themselves which is a little bit of a throwback to times when we all had a lot less to worry about.
‘The weather has played its part, so we are hopeful our trend continues in such a positive note. PE has been very short of rain but the course is in good shape.’
If the pandemic has forced people to re-evaluate what they enjoy and would like to prioritise in life, it appears that a little over four hours on the golf course is right near the top of the list. With greens as good as they have been in a long time, it’s no wonder why the club’s booking systems are being sent into overdrive. Long may it continue.
