I learned a couple of important lessons, after teeing it up at the FBC Zimbabwe Open in May to kickstart my 17th season on the Sunshine Tour.
The first being that practice and preparation has never been more important than it is now out on the Tour. The young guys are jacked-up, uber-focused and ready to rip any course apart.
The second lesson was simply resigning myself to the fact that I am now officially a madala (old man). So much so, that the likes of rookie Ricky Hendler even walked by and called me that on the range, as he smiled back at me. It didn’t help that I was holding my phone up to my face while typing a WhatsApp message using only my right index finger at the time either. Not cool. Especially to Ricky, a die-hard member of generation-thumb.
Once again, the Zim Open delivered on every possible front. From the thousands of spectators to the golf course preparation (with greens rolling at 13 on the Stimp), to the dozens of sponsor marquee tents surrounding the 18th green and running all the way back down the fairway to the 100m marker. The atmosphere was electric.
The two points which came up in almost every conversation, whether it be with a Tour veteran or a rookie, were how fast and pure the greens are at Royal Harare each year for the Zim Open and the 5,000-strong crowd and the number of sponsor hospitality tents lining the 18th.
The latter point had most of the players asking why there would be thousands of spectators in a modest golfing nation such as Zimbabwe, while South Africa attracts crowds only in the hundreds at any given tournament?
I would be really interested to hear your thoughts, because it is strange that every tournament outside South Africa seems to attract thousands more fans, whether it be in Zimbabwe, Zambia or Kenya.
Following on from the fanfare side of things would be to ask whether your own company has ever considered being involved as a title or supporting sponsor of a professional golf tournament, as part of its annual marketing and client engagement strategy?
With the Sunshine Tour proving to be the No 1 hotbed of talent to break through on the biggest Tours in the world, now is the best time to buy a ticket or reach out to the Tour itself on how best to go about becoming a sponsor.
I will happily help with complimentary Players’ Guest passes to any tournament I’m playing in your area or even put you in touch with the right person if you’d like to host a tournament.
In the meantime, share your feedback on email to [email protected].
– This column first appeared in the June 2023 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine.
