Today (Sunday), the Gaborone Golf Club offers two Sunday Standard readers a Father’s Day treat of a voucher that admits two for a round of golf at the historic greens situated near the town centre.
The country’s oldest golf course has a history dating back to 1963. Botswana’s first golfers, a small group of 39, played a nine-hole course, which ran across the Gaborone airstrip.
The ‘green’ consisted of oiled sand! And teeing areas were set on concrete blocks topped with rubber mats, which were supplied by the local prisons department.
When air traffic increased, the course had to be moved. In 1967 the Gaborone Golf Club was formally established on the grounds that it occupies today. Since then, members have been transforming the area through personal efforts.
General Manager, Trevor Burnett, proudly states: “The club is a members club and not for profit organization; all the income is directly invested in the improvement of the course and the facilities for the players.”
The thatched clubhouse has had expansions added to it over the years, and the grass is now really green instead of brown.
Lush acacias, mature palm trees, cactus and tranquil ponds surround the fairways. They give the visitor the feeling of being in a sumptuous garden with wide-open spaces, while various predator birds circle above their heads. Paved paths for carts are absent, only sandy paths lead to the nest tee. All holes have shaded benches at the teeing areas.
The club is the home of the Botswana Golf Union, Botswana’s governing body of golf, and is known for its tournaments, some of them being annual events, such as the Botswana Amateur Open (April), the Standard Chartered Independence Trophy (September) and the Nomads National Tournament (September).
The Nomads, a prominent golfers’ association originating from South Africa, organises the latter one.
Ninety percent of the members reside in Gaborone; only ten percent come from outside the city or abroad. Non-members and non-experienced golfers are welcome; the club has three teaching professionals available to familiarise new players with the game.
To enter the competition, please send the answer to the following question to: [email protected]
What year did the Gaborone Golf Club move to the grounds it occupies?
Please do not forget to include your full name and phone numbers. The closing date for entrees is Thursday, June 25, 2009.