May 2008

Zimbabwe
Learning from our
northern neighbours

Also in this issue

• 5 Star Golf Experience
• Pretoria Country Club
• Junior Golf in Zimbabwe
• CMAA World Conference
• Spoken word vs written word
• More on the caddie predicament
• Superintendent’s contribution to course rankings

Volume 4 Issue 5
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CONTENTS ZIMBABWE

We’ve a lot to learn

LEAD STORY
Golf in Zimbabwe  3

5 Star Golf Experience!

from our northern

How to improve the golf experience
at your club 8

JUNIOR GOLF IN ZIMBABWE

neighbours
Out of little acorns big oak trees grow 11

COURSE MANAGEMENT
The superintendent’s contribution
to golf course rankings 13

CLUB PROFILE
Pretoria Country Club 14 In spite of incredible hardships, golf is alive and well
COURSE MANAGEMENT
in Zimbabwe. Andrew Wilson, editor of GCM, visited
Building trust and respect between
greenkeepers and committees 17 there recently and reports back on his observations and
HR DEVELOPMENT
conclusions.
Why is the spoken word so much As our plane was about to land in Mutare, Zimbabwe has often been described as
more powerful than the written word? 18 the pilot had to do a dummy run over the God’s own country. I believe we can add
CADDIES
runway to clear the children who were to that that it houses God’s own people!
More on the caddie predicament 19 playing a potentially fatal game of “chicken” The welcome and hospitality we were
on the landing strip. At this stage we had no shown everywhere we went, by all levels of
Birdies & Bogeys idea what we would find during our visits to Zimabweans, was outstanding. Everyone,
Snippets 21
Leopard Rock, Elephant Hills and the Harare from the doormen at the hotels, the caddies,
CLUB MANAGEMENT golf courses. The questions going through the shopkeepers, right up to the club com-
Club Management Association of our minds were, “how were they coping on mittee members went out of their way to
America’s 81st World Conference 22 limited resources?”, “what sort of condition make us feel welcome. How often in South
would the courses be in?”, “what could we, in Africa are we treated with indifference or
Cover picture by Andrew Wilson: South Africa, possibly learn from the experi- just plain rudeness? The first Sunday we
The 13th hole (known as “The Matkovich”) at ences they have been through?” etc. were in Harare, we wanted a light meal in
Leopard Rock, Zimbabwe. Initially, Alan Ramsay, chairman of the evening and were directed by our hotel
Ramsay Son & Parker, publishers of GCM and receptionist to the local Spur about five
Compleat Golfer, John Botha, golf guru and blocks away. It was a warm still evening,
■ Editorial 
ANDREW WILSON regular contributor to Compleat Golfer and ideal for a walk to build up an appetite.
email: consultaew@iafrica.com myself had been invited to attend the Royal Being South Africans, the last thing we
cell: 082 575 3861
Harare captain’s dinner at the end of February. would have thought of doing was walking
■ AdvertisinG We not only accepted their invitation but also five blocks through the centre of Cape Town
Simon Turck
(PUBLISHER) decided to extend the trip to take in 10 days of or Johannesburg after dark. The receptionist
email: simon@rsp.co.za fact-finding visits, a fair amount of golf and a
cell: 083 252 8387
bit of touristy-type sight-seeing. Continued on page 5
■ AdvertisinG
TYRON MARTIN
(ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE)
email: tyronm@rsp.co.za
cell: 083 235 7509

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(National Sales Manager)
email: jamesf@rsp.co.za
cell: 084 252 6373

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Contact Natalie Shekleton
tel: 011 301 4448 Attendees at the GCM workshop held at Royal Harare Golf Club in February from L to R:
email: natalies@rsp.co.za Mike Hogg, host; Tim Price, golfing consultant at Borrowdale Brooke; Mike Baylis, director
of golf at Royal Harare; Fibion Chikwaya, greenkeeper at Royal Harare; Ian Mathieson, gen-
Visit our website www.compleatgolfer.co.za
eral manager at Royal Harare; Malcolm Williams, general manager at Borrowdale Brooke;
A monthly Sharpie Kambarami, captain at Royal Harare; Mike Weston, general manager at Chapman;
Noel Greenhalgh, captain at Chapman; Roger Baylis, professional at Chapman; Mick
business-to-
business magazine
brought to you by Cuerden, marketing officer at Borrowdale Brooke; Andrew Wilson, editor of GCM.

Golf Club Management May 2008 3


Continued from page 3
assured us it would be perfectly safe and she
was correct. We didn’t feel threatened, we
weren’t pestered by opportunists, in fact, we
were left to mind our own business. What
a contrast to South Africa! When we got to
the Spur we were reminded of some of the
challenges they are facing as they had no
pineapple or mushrooms for the burgers and
had run out of milk for the coffees.
I relate this story as I believe it goes to the
core of how Zimabweans have managed to
survive, in spite of the extreme political and
financial turmoil they have had to endure over
recent years. By nature, they have a desire to
serve and please, they are gregarious, inno-
vative and willing to share what they have
in terms of resources and skills with others.
These qualities were very evident at all the
clubs we visited. Leopard Rock, probably
one of the most scenic courses in the world, is
battling to maintain its aging equipment and
is plagued by black algae on the greens but
still is able to present a course that is playable
and greens that run true.
A whole week can be spent in Harare playing
their local courses, all of which are having to
make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. In John
Botha’s words, Royal Harare course would fea-
ture in the top twenty courses in South Africa.
Chapman and Borrowdale Brooke are not far
behind, and Wingate, Ruwa and Country Club
are all worth a visit. Golf courses out in the
country districts are finding it more difficult to
survive and in fact, many have already closed.
To find out how the urban clubs are surviving
and working their miracles, we held a joint
meeting with the management teams of Royal
Harare, Chapman and Borrowdale Brooke.
Here is what we learnt.
Major Challenges
The major challenges facing clubs have
been aging equipment, a reliable and afford-
able supply of chemicals, reliable electricity,
a critical mass of golfers, access to foreign
currency and a lack of professional skills
(i.e. the brain drain). In some cases clubs
haven’t had new equipment for 14 years.
The R&A are helping where they can by
supplying new equipment, but duty still
needs to be paid on the new equipment and
spares have to be sourced. Not easy when
you are living with mega-inflation.
Mike Weston, general manager of
Chapman Golf Club with the clubhouse
in the background. The club house was
built in 1995 at a total cost of $37m (Zim
dollars). Today, that amount would buy
you two loaves of bread!
In South Africa we are currently living
in the land of plenty. Not so in Zimbabwe.
Who knows; what they are experiencing
now, could be just around the corner for us.
Here are ten strategies that were identified
by the group as being core to their survival
in hard times:
1. Think outside the box. Your normal
sources of supply are going to dry up.
Create a management team at the club
who will focus the majority of their
efforts on seeking out new and inno-
vative ways to survive. For example,
transport and food are priorities for the
workforce as money devalues so quickly.
Make sure you have an adequate supply
of both to offer your teams.
One example of innovative thinking is a
club that sells braai packs to their golfers.
The meat is then braaied for them while
they are out on the course and is ready
for them to eat as they come in to the
19th. Another club has taken the caddies
on to their permanent course staff com-
pliment. When they are not caddying,
they are maintaining the course which
teaches them new skills and benefits the
course and club as a whole. Caddying
duties are then allocated on a roster basis
amongst all the course staff.
2. Be prepared to barter. As mentioned
earlier, money devalues faster than you
can spend it. Clubs are bartering the skills
or resources that members have in return
for membership fees. In one club, some
of the members who are doctors hold
a regular clinic for the course staff and
ZIMBABWE
caddies. Any asset can become currency.
As soon as local currency is acquired, it
is converted into an asset that the club
can use, either for its own purposes, or
to use as barter with another club. With
local currency devaluing at 100% per
month and 100 000% year-on-year, sit-
ting on local currency for any length of
time is the worst thing a club can do.
3. Network. It’s not what you know in
Zimbabwe but rather who you know. Just
imagine, your equipment is 14 years old
and you can’t lay your hands on spare
parts. The broader your network, the
more chance you have of sourcing what
you need. Your membership base is the
best starting point. Keep your member-
ship informed of the challenges, projects
and priorities you’re facing. One of the
people I played with at Royal Harare
was managing director of a granite com-
pany. Guess what? Royal Harare has
some of the smartest granite tee markers
and distance markers you are likely to
find on any golf course.
4. Promote you banqueting and func-
tions. When membership and golf
rounds start to fall away, you have to rely
on other sources of revenue to feed the
club’s coffers. At Chapman Golf Club
for example, membership and green fees
account for only 25% of revenue. Bar
turnover accounts for approximately
35% (we always knew Zimbabweans
liked the occasional Pilsner!), and func-
tions carry the club at 40%. How often in
South Africa do we see function rooms
at clubs empty for months on end!
5. Don’t go cheap. When resources are
scarce the temptation is always there to
go for cheaper products. This can be fatal,
especially with high-ticket items like gen-
erators, sand, fertilizer, fungisides and
course equipment. Cheap options often
turn out to be the most expensive.
6. Stick to basics. Make sure your stock
levels and ranges reflect fast moving
merchandise. Instead of dreaming about
what you want, focus on what you need.
In the Pro Shop for example, make sure
you have adequate stocks of shirts, balls,
tees and gloves before you worry about
sourcing gimmicks. Make sure that your
Continued on page 7
Golf Club Management May 2008 5
 ZIMBABWE

Continued from page 5
service routines and intervals are main-
tained and that you continue to carry out
regular soil sampling.
7. Don’t cut back on growth. Chapman
Golf Club built their excellent club
house in 1995 for the sum of $37m. In
today’s currency that would buy you
two loaves of bread! Again, this is an
example of converting any local cur-
rency into assets. Don’t get frustrated
by problems and obstacles; always keep
the end goal in sight. Those courses that
have closed nine holes in an effort to
survive, have ended up closing all 18.
8. Maintain standards. Keep your mem-
bership fees high and your disciplinary
standards and code intact. Corporate
memberships are a good way of keeping
up numbers and again can be a good route
to expand your network and bartering
possibilities. On the other hand, they
can also introduce people to your club
who have no feel for, or understanding
of, the etiquette and ethics of golf.
9. Focus on what you have got. Don’t
apologise for what you haven’t got or
can’t supply. Rather focus on what you
do have and what you can offer. The
friendliness and professionalism of your
caddies can be far more relevant to the
enjoyment of a round of golf than the
lack of ball washers on the course.
10. Keep your staff. Probably the most
important point. Spend time and effort
to really look after your staff. Make sure
they are well trained, smartly turned out
and committed to enhancing the value
and image of your club and course. This
was probably the single biggest asset
that all clubs that we visited possessed.
All in all, the trip to Zimbabwe was an
eye-opening and humbling experience.
They are working miracles with very lim-
ited resources. They make a plan no matter
how daunting the problems and challenges.
Clubs actually talk to each other; they share
their experiences, pool their resources and
have a lot of fun along the way. ■
SWOP SHOP
Our visit to Zimbabwe was made before the
29th March election took place. Whatever
the outcome of the election proves to be,
the ordinary Zimbabweans, who are trying
to keep golf viable in their country, need
as much help as they can get. Whether it
is spare parts for aging machinery, ferti-
lizers, chemicals, golf equipment or just
someone to bounce problems and ideas
off, help from south of their borders would
be massively appreciated.
This is when the idea of a Swop Shop
emerged. Maybe there are clubs in South
Africa who have changed their machinery
and now have old spares; maybe there
are clubs that would like to “twin” with a
Zimbabwean club to share ideas. The pos-
sibilities are endless.
If anyone out there feels that they can help
their northern neighbours through the trying
times they are facing in any way what-so-
ever then please let me know. Andrew
Wilson at consultaew@iafrica.com

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5 star golf experience

How to improve the golf

experience at your club
In part two of an eight-part series of articles, Ian Leach, a 5 Star Golf Experience
panel judge, identifies what clubs can do on the golf course to improve the services,
facilities and quality of experience they offer to members and visitors.
The overriding purpose of this 5 Star Golf
Experience series is to help and guide all
golf clubs to improve their overall level of
customer experience. It is not designed to
make every club a recipient of the 5 Star
Golf Experience award, but rather to assist
every club to attain their highest potential
level of service within their own boundaries.
It is a fact that the level of golf experience
within clubs across the country has grown
exponentially over the past five years. This
is positive for the industry but also for each
individual club that is able to attract more
business as a result of service excellence and
value for money spent. The upside potential
to grow the game of golf is strong and every
club can contribute to this by improving
their own level of golf experience. We hope
Hermanus Golf Club is lucky that it has the mountains to add to the asthetics of the course,
that your club will accept the challenge. The
but they still pay close attention to the up-keep and maintenance of their cart tracks, flower
combined golf course experience contributes
beds and course surrounds.
30% towards the overall 5 Star Experience.
This high level is appropriate because, after
all, why do we play golf if it is not to go out mation relevant to each day’s play? Do presence of marshals on the course to monitor
and have fun and a great experience on the you provide all golfers with the informa- speed of play and to deal with any problems
course itself. The golf course experience is tion they require regarding the competition that a player may encounter sends a positive
divided into two sections. format, placing rules, pin positions and dis- message to players that their interests are of
tances to the green? If not, consider that primary concern to the club. Slow play has
Service and facilities: to provide any or all of this information become chronic at many clubs and all players
This sub-section does not consider the costs next to nothing, except some care and will appreciate anything that a club can do
ranking of the golf course but rather the attention to detail by the staff in the golf to decrease the excessive time spent on the
manner in which it is presented in terms of department. course. Finally clubs can score valuable
information provided, ease of movement Other criteria that our evaluation panelists points by providing ablution facilities on the
and general housekeeping. Club commit- look out for in this sub-section could cost a course. Historically this was never a consid-
tees and members often take things for club more expense but could equally gen- eration but times have changed and more and
granted because they are so used to their erate more revenue with increased number of more clubs are now providing what should be
own surroundings and often see the experi- rounds generated by improved customer sat- an absolute necessity. If your club has not
ence at their own club differently from that isfaction. For example, having a well trained yet done so we encourage you to plan for the
of a visitor. For example, does your course and friendly starter on the 1st tee goes a long provision of ablution facilities as soon as you
have clear and adequate directional signs to way to making everyone feel welcome. It possibly can.
the starting tees and from all greens to the also shows that the club cares about starting
next tee? Do you have a local rules board on time and is looking after the interests of Quality of experience:
prominently visible and containing infor- every player in the field. Equally having the This sub-section takes into account the

8 May 2008 Golf Club Management

 5 star golf experience

actual experience of the course itself. We consider six different

criteria:
1. Fun factor – playability and design balance
2. Challenge – shot values
3. Aesthetics
4. General conditioning
5. Memorability
6. Routing of the course.
It is a fact that there are some aspects of the golf course that the club
can do nothing about without incurring great expense. Routing of the
golf course and some aesthetic considerations fall into this category
but don’t despair – there are many other opportunities to improve at
little or no incremental cost. We appreciate that many member clubs
cannot begin to compete with the higher budget, modern designed,
new courses or even with the more well-heeled traditional courses.
This should not be a matter of concern to any club – there is a place
for everyone. All any club should strive to be is the best they can.
For example, because a club has a low course maintenance budget,
it does not mean that that club cannot have a golf course in good
condition. Condition of any course can be improved systematically
over time with careful planning and attentive management. Do not
take the status quo for granted. One suggestion is to implement a
well thought out continuous improvement programme. Set goals
and measure “condition improvement” against those goals. Train
the course staff to become more productive allowing you to accom-
plish more with less. As the course condition is improved so will
the aesthetic value be improved. No one can change the external
aesthetic factors such as the sea or mountains or power lines or high-
ways but every club can and should take a look at everything over
which they have control. For example, is your course badly eroded,
do you have any un-kept places out of play, is your course littered
with greenkeepers rubble, have all untidy dead trees been removed?
Take a critical look around your own course and you will certainly
find many opportunities to improve the overall aesthetics.
Playability and shot values are not directly opposed to each other.
A stroke one or two hole can have both strong shot value character-
istics while at the same time be very playable. There is normally not
much that a club can achieve on these two criteria without spending
considerable sums of money. The most important advice here is not
to do anything to the course that will make it less playable for the
average golfer. By all means toughen up the course for tournament
play without affecting the playability and fun factor for the average
club member.
The golf course experience is important to every lover of the
game. Help them all to get the most enjoyment out of their round
by simply being the best you can. Next month we’ll take a look
at the halfway house. Until then enjoy the challenge of improving
your golf course experience for all your members and visitors.
For more information contact Ian Leach of Euphoria Golf
Estate & Hydro at ianleach@euphoriaestate.co.za or on his
cell 082 892 8693 or at his office (014) 743-2242/3759.

See Darren Berry’s article on “The superintendent’s contribu-

tion to golf course rankings” on page 13 in this issue of GCM.

Out of little acorns big oak trees grow
The Zimbabwe Ladies Golf Union is nurturing future golf talent in spite of huge
difficulties. Sue Leith, past Ladies Captain at Royal Harare, sends us this report on golf
development taking place at Borrowdale Brooke Golf and Country Club outside Harare.
Zimbabwe Ladies Golf Union’s first black
president, Jessie Nyakatawa, took office two
years ago. Jessie came into office with a pas-
sion to empower young women. She asked
herself and those supporting her, could golf
be a way forward for those with aptitude and
was this the answer to developing a future
national team?
Jessie put her dream to the R&A who didn’t
hesitate to give her their support and immedi-
ately backed the programme by sending 30
sets of Titleist junior clubs, backed up by the
finance to initiate and run a development pro-
gramme. Roger Bayliss, club professional at
Borrowdale Brooke, Stu Stovold and Cath
Riley took up the challenge of training the
first six volunteers. They immediately roped
me in and we are now beginning our third
year of teaching the eleven year olds from
Vainona Junior School.
The first clinics took place on the school’s
very neglected playing fields. Learning to
play golf away from a golf course is not
sustainable. We firstly had to move from the
school playing fields to Borrowdale Brooke
so that the youngsters could experience the
environment, culture and atmosphere of
a golf club and course. We also soon dis-
covered we needed golf magazines such as
Compleat Golfer to show the girls what a
fairway and tee box etc were, as none had
even seen a golf course before. Some of
them had heard of Tiger Woods but thought
he was a pop star! In those early days we
also had to improvise; I took the rug from
my passage and this is where they learnt to
putt.
So what were some of the problems we
had to overcome?
1. As coaches, we learnt that you cannot
coach too many girls once a week and
expect any progress. Nine young girls
being coached by three of us on a regular
basis is an ideal ratio.
2. Coaching on school playing fields will
not keep their interest for more than a
couple of lessons. You have to get them
Jessie Nyakatawa, the first black president
of the Zimbabwean Ladies Golf Union.
on to a driving range and golf course as
soon as possible.
3. Coaching grade seven girls for one year
and then losing them to inaccessible
schools is a waste of time.
4. Some of our pupils were malnour-
ished and due to the water problems in
Zimbabwe most were dehydrated.
5. Not all had clothing that enabled them to
comfortably swing a club.
Sue Leith has lots to smile about considering the talent of the youngsters under her wing.
JUNIOR GOLF IN ZIMBABWE
A year later most of these problems have
been resolved…
We currently have nine pupils in all and
three of us coaching, which is ideal and we
have progressed the new intake quickly from
practice tee to golf course ensuring interest
is maintained.
This year we feel we have some real talent.
They are all attending senior school in the
area and we intend to influence the local high
school to include golf on their curriculum.
Ours is not the only group benefiting from
this programme. Jessie herself has made
great strides with “her girls” some of whom
are now playing off handicaps in the low
20’s and participating in provincial tourna-
ments. I think they almost live with her!
As coaches we are adding to our knowl-
edge all the time. We love coaching the
children and hope one day to see some of
them grasp this opportunity and run with
it. Hopefully one day in the not too dis-
tant future, Zimbabwe will be proud of an
international golf star who learnt her trade
with us on the fairways and driving range of
Borrowdale Brooke.
For more information on the Zimbabwean
Ladies Golf Union or golf development in
Zimbabwe contact Jessie Nyakatawa at
wpc@mweb.co.zw
Golf Club Management May 2008 11
"Your complete media partner in golf"

PUTTING YOU ON COURSE


The superintendent’s contribution
to golf course rankings
The annual golf course rankings are always contentious and this year has been no
different. Darren Berry of Golf Data gives us some tips on how the course
superintendent can positively influence the rankings.
Everyone has their own opinion on how
objective or subjective the rankings are.
The fact of the matter is that many average
golfers buy into the ranking system. They
also buy magazines to find out which courses
are highly ranked and therefore the ranking
system is here to stay.
Let us assume for a moment that the
ranking system is perfectly objective. What
role then, does the golf course superin-
tendent have to play?
It is commonly acknowledged that all
stakeholders in the industry have some
role to play in one way or another. Some
roles however have more influence than
others. One such example is the golf course
superintendent.
The golf course rankings are loosely
based on a combination of factors including
golf course playability and conditioning,
service levels and facilities.
The golf course playability and con-
ditioning are a direct reflection of the
superintendent’s abilities and the resources
available to him or her.
There are components to playability in
particular, over which the superintendent
has little or no control. An example of this
is golf course design, which does have a sig-
nificant impact on the final ranking.
Ultimately though superintendents do
have some degree of control over how the
golf course looks and plays. We all need to
remember that a golf course is built to be
played on and should therefore be main-
tained as such.
There are many items which superintend-
ents can address, regardless of budget or
resources. The three primary items are,
Attention to detail
One of the biggest discerning factors
between those golf courses which rank well
and those that do not is attention to detail.
Attending to the surrounds of your bunkers and greens can positively influence your
course ranking and more importantly, the enjoyment of golfers.
This means making a specific effort to pay
attention to items over and above standard
maintenance. A few examples, on what is
a very long list, include bunker rake place-
ment, golf course furniture placement and
condition, cart path maintenance, green’s
edging and debris/litter management.
Aesthetics
The ‘look’ of a golf course can play a major
role in the overall perception of the club.
Some golf courses are blessed with a pictur-
esque setting, but even those that are not can
improve their ‘look’ by focusing on the fac-
tors which affect the bigger picture.
Wherever possible keep the golf course
tidy and free of debris. Strive for a clean look
throughout by avoiding areas of unmain-
tained or low maintenance rough within the
golf corridor.
Avoid cluttering the golf course with fur-
niture and signage.
Keep the turf healthy and with good
colour and pay attention to mowing lines
and patterns. Enhance landscape or tree
plantings which complement the golf course
or draw attention to high profile areas.
Playability
Playability can be affected by many fac-
tors. The design of the golf course obviously
COURSE MANAGEMENT
plays a major role. However on a day-to-day
basis, conditioning and golf course set-up
are the predominant factors.
Wherever possible, the golf course should
be maintained and set-up to provide a fair,
yet enjoyable test for the particular golfers
of the day.
This will literally mean adjusting tee posi-
tions, green speeds or pins on a daily basis,
depending in the golfer traffic.
Movement of tees in response to wind
conditions or ensuring a balanced pin place-
ment selection are examples of course set up
items which must be monitored daily.
Other items may include bunker sand
consistency, general mowing heights, or
expanded landing areas.
There are an innumerable number of
items which could be addressed and they
will vary from course to course. The most
important factor though is being conscious
of the fact that they require constant moni-
toring and regular adjustment.
Darren Berry of Golf Data can be
contacted on 083 671 9399 or
(044) 384 0680/3 or at darren@gdmaint.co.za
See Ian Leach’s article on “How to
improve the gold experience at your
club” on page 8 in this issue of GCM.
Golf Club Management May 2008 13
CLUB PROFILE
Tshwane, Pretoria, The Jaccaranda City, The Capital,
call it what you like, Pretoria Country Club has seen all
that Pretoria has to offer. The club has been around for
almost 100 years, with the golf course being ranked one
of the best in Gauteng. There are many reasons for the
success of the golf club, but there are also many
challenges that lie ahead. Peter Van Onselen spoke
with Marius Els, the general manager of the club.
As one of the biggest, longest-standing
membership clubs in South Africa, Pretoria
Country Club remains as strong as it has been
over the past almost 100 years. In February,
the club hosted the Vodacom Championship
for the second time, one of the leading profes-
sional events on the Sunshine Tour.
Athol Dowie, the golf director has been
at the club for 43 years – talk about getting
to know your members! Marius Els (general
manager) and Athol, both believe that the suc-
14 May 2008 Golf Club Management
Pretoria
Country
Club
Nearly 100 years of tender loving
care has gone into creating the beauty
that today’s golfers experience when
they visit Pretoria Country Club.
cess of the club lies in the sense of history that
it has, as well as the long-standing support of
its members. The club has approximately
2500 members, of which 1500 are golf mem-
bers, 900 of which are active at the golf club.
For one golf course, that’s not bad going! In
terms of the logistics, the club outsources
all their security, catering, garden serv-
ices as well as the running of the pro shop.
Athol doubles-up as the golf director along
with giving lessons to members on a unique
driving range setup. Head greenkeeper, John
Mntambo, must know every line on every
green, having been at the club for eight years.
As one can easily recognise, the club prides
itself on the treatment of their staff, many of
whom have served in the bar and restaurant
for many years. One of the waiters has been
at the club for 22 years!
The golf course was built in 1910 and
has been re-designed on a number of occa-
sions, the most recent being by South Africa’s
greatest ever golfer, Gary Player back in
2004. Over the years the course has played
host to numerous professional Sunshine Tour
events. Measuring 6459 meters from the
men’s tees, the course is a true test for every
level of golfer. Current professional golfers
Richard Sterne and Louis Moolman are both
members at the club. As you might have seen
on television, a real feature of the course is
the deadly pot bunkers scattered throughout
the course. Nine times out of ten, it’s a drop
shot when you go into a fairway pot bunker.
Marius openly admits that a tournament like
the Vodacom Championship does wonders
for the status of the club.
“We can’t underestimate the value of the
coverage the tournament gets us. Millions of
people from all over South Africa get to see
our beautiful course” says Els.
The club is run by a chairman and com-
mittee. The club hosts bowls, tennis, squash
and don’t forget about the active bridge club!
The average age of the membership is around
47 years old and some of the members have
been at the club for over 50 years.
I did question Athol on the difficulty of
keeping 900 active golf members happy on
only one golf course. “We are lucky in that
many of the up-and-coming younger mem-
Pretoria Country Club Stats
Members: 1500 (900 active
golf members)
Annual Fees: Full Male
Midweek: R2000
Wife of a
member: R1500
Juniors: R500
Green Fees: Members: R80
Handicapped
non-member: R245
Junior Members: R45
Contact the Pro Shop on 012 460 3372
 CLUB PROFILE

A great place to unwind. The veranda overlooking the 18th

green at Pretoria Country Club. A great place to either celebrate
or commiserate after taking on the 6459 meters of Pretoria
Country Club.

bers play their golf during the week with the older, more established
members, playing over the weekends. We somehow seem to make
it work”, says Athol.
In terms of the actual property itself, the club owns 43 rondavel-
type flats on the property which they rent out. They are however, not
visible from the golf course and there are no privately owned homes
on the property. The club also boasts an excellent clubhouse which has
recently been renovated. The patio looks directly over the 18th green
and the driving range, inviting members and guests to relax, unwind
and enjoy a beer on the balcony. In terms of membership, the club
offers a variety of options including a mid-week, student and junior
membership package. They have a comprehensively updated website
(www.ptacc.co.za) which gives informative details on the golf club
(including rates, contact details, etc), along with information on all
the other aspects of the club. Golf clubs in South Africa need to take a
leaf out of Pretoria Country Club’s book and ensure their websites are
professionally designed and up-to-date.
The main challenge for the club is ensuring the younger mem-
bers are given the right facilities and opportunities to enable them
to remain at the club like many of their fathers and grandfathers.
An aging membership is forcing the committee to look after their
junior members.
Let’s finish off with a quote from The History of the Pretoria
Country Club 1909-1975.
“At Pretoria Country Club there has been ample provision for
the enjoyment of the game at all levels, but while the hundreds of
thousands of friendly games have faded into limbo, except in the
memory of special incidents by those who played in them, there is
a considerable record of memorable organised competitions”
If you haven’t made the trip across the ‘boerewors curtain’ to this
unique golf experience, you really are missing out. As we’ve said
before in GCM, if a club has remained successful for almost 100
years, they must be doing something right.

For more information contact Peter van Onselen on

(011) 301 4467 or at petervo@rsp.co.za

Read more about Marius Els in Birdies & Bogeys on page 21

in this issue of GCM.

Building trust and respect between
greenkeepers and committees
Ever experienced conflict between your greenkeeper and your members or committee
members? Murray Veitch of Turftek gives us some hints on how to build trust and
respect from the greenkeeper’s point of view.
Most golf courses are run by commit-
tees which are made up of business men or
woman who give up their precious free time
to get involved in the running of the course.
The fact that they do not always know what
is going on around the course can pose prob-
lems for the greenkeeper.
The more the greenkeeper can keep the
committee members informed of what is
taking place on the course the better. By being
proactive and letting the committee members
know what is taking place, the greenkeeper
will put the committee members at ease and
also gain their trust.
Communication
Communicating to the members is the single
most important task that the greenkeeper
can carry out. People want to know what is
happening to their investment. Most mem-
bers only play golf once or twice a week, so
they don’t know what is taking place on the
course the rest of the week. People playing
on the Wednesday may complain about the
condition of the greens, not knowing that
they were verticut on the Monday. It is there-
fore extremely important to convey to all the
members anything that is being done on the
course that could affect their enjoyment.
A weekly or monthly report is a good idea.
In this report all the cultural processes that
are being carried out on the course and their
benefits can be explained. For example, the
most commonly asked question is why do we
have to hollow-tine our greens when they are
looking so good? The report can explain this.
The report can also keep the members updated
on what cultural practices will be carried out
in the next few weeks and how these practices
could affect their playing enjoyment.
Gaining member’s confidence
Managing the expectations of members is
key to gaining the member’s confidence. The
The course may look great today but are the committee and members aware of what you,
the greenkeeper, have planned for tomorrow, next week and in the months to come?
members must be told what is and what isn’t
possible. Too often greenkeepers try and keep
the members happy by promising the world
and then not being able to deliver on their
promises. It is better to say it “as it is” and not
try and keep everyone happy. By managing
the member’s expectations, the greenkeeper
will gain their respect and will build trust in
the process.
Planning and maintenance record
Written documentation is the key to effective
organization management.
Documenting everything that takes place
on the course helps build up a maintenance
record which can be referred to in years to
come. As new committees are appointed, so
new ideas start to be aired. By referring to
past records, the greenkeeper can manage the
expectations of what does and doesn’t work.
These records are also a vital tool for any
new greenkeeper which may take over in the
future. They will, for example, be able to
look up vital information such as rain fall etc
which will help them predict future possible
disease problems. The modern-day green-
keeper needs to be a well rounded manager
who knows how to plan in order to achieve
the desired results.
Professional image
Golf committees want to know that they
COURSE MANAGEMENT
are dealing with a professional person. By
being proactive they can see that you are
taking the initiative to produce a course
that they can be proud of. Managing their
expectations by keeping them informed in a
confident, supportive and open manner will
go a long way to gaining their trust. The
more professional you are in your approach
and your appearance, the more support you
will get from your committee.
Proactive maintenance
Too often things get left undone which even-
tually turn into major disasters. An example
may be erosion damage which is not repaired
immediately and results in a major landslide.
The greenkeeper must be proactive and bring
such things to the committee’s attention.
Where ever possible, the greenkeeper should
identify possible future problems and offer
a solution. Having a plan to deal with pos-
sible future disasters is a good way to show
the committee members that their course is
in good hands.
In a nutshell, greenkeepers must have the
skills to effectively communicate with com-
mittee members in order to gain their trust
and respect.
For more information on turf-related issues,
contact Murray Veitch of Turftek on
012 807 7282 or at leonette@turftek.co.za
Golf Club Management May 2008 17
HR DEVELOPMENT
Why is the spoken word so
much more powerful than
the written word?
You’re far more likely to get a message across if you do
it verbally. Andrew Wilson of GCM explains why.
Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes it is essen-
tial to confirm things in writing, especially
when you may have to refer back to points
of detail in the future. Legal documents are
a good example of this. But if you want to
introduce a new policy, system or idea, the
worst thing you can do is send out an e-mail,
memo or policy document and leave it at
that. At best, people will read your message
at their own pace, put their own interpreta-
tion on the words based on what they are
thinking at the time and nine times out of ten
place the document in file 13. The written
word is great for passing on information but
unfortunately it is not memorable.
Try and think of any great memo or
policy document that you have read that has
inspired you to achieve levels of excellence
never before imagined. It is unlikely you
will be able to. On the other hand, most of
us have been lucky enough, at some time in
our lives, to have been inspired by another
person’s rhetoric. We only have to look at
our political climate in South Africa at the
moment for a classic example. Zuma has
managed to capture the imagination of his
followers through the power of the spoken
word, whereas Mbeki relied on protocol and
procedure. It was a no-brainer as to who
was going to win that one! The lessons to be
learnt here are that it is not so much about
the content of the message that is important,
rather the context, timing and structure of
the message that wins over followers. Why
is this?
With the written word, as mentioned ear-
lier, the reader can absorb the content at his
or her own pace and interpret the messages
to fit in to their own beliefs and mind-sets.
It is difficult to control how your written
message will be received because you can’t
influence the circumstances under which it
will be read to the same extent that you can
18 May 2008 Golf Club Management
with the spoken word. On the other hand,
with the spoken word, you as the speaker
can control the pace, content, emphasis and
impact of your message. The reason for this
is that both speaker and listener have to be
at the same point in the presentation at the
same time. That is why it is critical that pres-
entations have to capture and maintain the
attention of the listeners to be effective. You
have to keep your presentations punchy, as
short as possible and appeal to the right side
of the brain; imagination, creativity, what
if’s etc. The written word appeals more to
the left side of the brain; words, numbers,
logic, analysis etc.
Zuma has managed to
capture the imagination
of his followers through
the power of the spoken
word, whereas Mbeki
relied on protocol and
procedure. It was a no-
brainer as to who was
going to win that one!
It’s not all good news though. Just as a
good presentation can turn on your audi-
ence, a poor presentation can just as easily
turn them off. The biggest mistake that most
people make is that they first write out their
speech and then read out what they have
written down. It is much better to work out
what you want to say first; for those people
who are comfortable with developing mind
maps, this is a great way to get started.
Then practice saying your message out loud
before you commit your script or prompt
notes to paper. You’ll be surprised how this
process helps to keep your message simple,
how you use shorter words and sentences,
how the words used have more impact and
how you grow in confidence both before and
during your presentation.
Another critical process in the develop-
ment phase is to ensure that you focus on the
things that will capture and retain the interest
of your audience. Put yourself in their shoes.
What’s in it for them; why should they
listen; what should they be thinking about
or doing differently as a result of the pres-
entation? Don’t underestimate the impact
of visual aids, pictures, stories and analo-
gies to highlight or illustrate your message.
They can not only help to keep interest high
as a result of variety, but also can save you
considerable time. As they say, a picture or
drawing is word a thousand words. Your
task is to paint pictures in the minds of your
audience.
Finally, once your presentation has gone
well and you have got your message across,
by all means back it up with a handout
confirming the context and content of your
presentation. For maximum impact however,
the spoken word should always precede the
written word.
For more information on effective
presentations contact Andrew Wilson at
consultaew@iafrica.com or on 082 575 3861.

More on the caddie predicament
In our March and April issues of GCM, Ian Leach of Euphoria Golf Estate and Hydro
wrote about the problems facing caddies and offered some solutions. It seems our
readers also have some comments, ideas and solutions. Here is a cross-section of the
correspondence we have received on the topic.
From Stephen Volker, golf administrator
at Humewood Golf Club
Here at the Humewood Golf Club, we have
44 caddies. They were all untrained, but I
have designed a programme for them that
they went thought that included an exam, as
well as an on-course practical. They are now
spilt into two grades, A and B. After every
round, their player has to sign a caddie rating
slip, and for this they get allocated points.
In this way they challenge each other and
can progress up the ladder with the aim of
becoming the best.
I have found that this system works well
and it has even stopped things like theft,
drinking and fighting, The caddies are now
enthusiastic and proud about what they are
doing.
I thought I would share this with you.
Maybe this idea could be passed on to other
clubs, and competent caddies can be reintro-
duced into the game in South Africa.
Ian Leach replies:
Thanks very much for your response. Well
done on the training that you have conducted
for your caddies at Humewood. The concept
of grading caddies into A & B categories is
a good one but has fallen by the way at most
clubs. I really like your concept of having
them write a test to qualify.
Dale Hayes writes:
I was interested to read Ian Leach’s article
on caddies in GCM.  Anyone who reads
the Caddies vs Carts section in your March
issue would instantly get rid of caddies and
lease golf carts.
However, once they have the carts they
would be in for a big surprise.  Ian says that
carts give a net profit of R2 400 per month
based on an average of 20 times per month.   like to keep their statistics and successes
I would suggest that those numbers be
checked out as there are a few “hidden costs”
such as electricity, batteries, tyres and other
repairs and maintenance.  There is also wear
and tear on the golf course and cart paths.
Although there is a perception that golf
is still a fast growing sport there are no stats
to back up this claim.  Certainly based on
the number of rounds being played at the
moment many clubs are down and some
fairly significantly.
The issues of GCM are getting better and
better each month - Congrats.
Ian Leach replies:
The operational numbers are based on an
actual price experience measured over a lease
contract period of 48 months. Dale is correct
that the club has to pay for the electricity to
charge the carts and this is the only operating
cost that has not been taken into account. Over
a four year contract with a fleet of new carts
one does not expect to have to replace either
batteries or tyres. Clearly the club does have
to provide cart paths at a capital cost and also
has to provide storage and charging facilities
for the carts. These capital costs would be
amortised over time and were not a part of the
operational returns quoted.
What is great is that for the first time we
seem to have hit on a topic that is generating
good feedback and comment.
A final comment from Ed:
It is great to have some feedback on our
articles. What about some comments from
the clubs out there concerning Dale’s obser-
vations about falling numbers? If you are
experiencing a drop off in rounds, what do
you believe are the reasons? Better still, if
you have experienced a drop off in numbers
in the past but have been able to reverse the
trend, how have you managed it?
I know and understand that some clubs
close to their chests, but the more we can
share information, the more the industry as a
whole will benefit. If you have anything more
CADDIES
to share on caddies, the drop off in rounds
played, or any other matter that would be of
interest to other clubs, then please e-mail me
at consultaew@iafrica.com
Justin Webb, director of the newly
formed International Caddie Academy
From Caddie Foundation to
International Caddie Academy – A
Shift in Focus
The International Caddie Academy
(ICA) has been formed, taking over the
reins of the former Caddie Foundation.
The ICA, headed by directors Kevin
Jarvis and Justin Webb, offers accred-
ited training and development skills
amongst other numerous benefits to
clubs all over SA.
Employment and education is of vital
importance in the caddie community and
plays a substantial role in ICA’s philos-
ophy with regard to the development and
upliftment of caddies.
Kevin and Justin hope to provide golf
clubs with a much needed and improved
caddie service for all golfers , members
and guests alike. Caddies play a vital role
at golf clubs, being ambassadors for not
only the golfing industry, but also Southern
Africa. The ICA hopes to offer all golfers
with that ‘Five Star’ golfing experience.
Justin Webb can be contacted
on 082 349 3649 or at
justin@thecaddyacademy.co.za
Golf Club Management May 2008 19
 Is your golf course exceptional,
exciting and enjoyable?
...it could be

PO Box 4531 Dainfern Valley 2055

Johannesburg, South Africa
Tel/Fax +27 11 469-3345
e-mail: COBIELEG@telkomsa.net
Direct personal service line
+27 83 375 2098

My team has over two decades of experience in golf course design and construction!
Cobie Legrange has won 23 international tournaments, including the Australian Masters and two British Masters titles.
Once ranked 15th in the world, he now applies a lifetime of knowledge and experience to: • Design of golf courses &
golf estates to international construction specifications • Redesign, reconstruction, and consultancy across the board,
including par-three golf courses, driving ranges, golf studios and academies, golf estate residential layouts and feasibility studies
• Liaising with top international golf stars for signature designs.

Tradition can’t be bought!
As we mentioned in our April issue of
GCM, very few traditional clubs fea-
ture in the Compleat Golfer 5 Star Golf
Experience awards. We at GCM however
believe that if a club and/or course has
been going for 50 or even 100 years, they
must be doing something right. Tradition is
so important, and these clubs and courses
should be getting due recognition.
Last month we asked clubs to contact
us with the following details so that GCM
could start compiling a data base of South
African clubs that have stood the test of
time:
1. The date that your club was founded.
2. The date that the first round of golf
was played on your current course.
3. The original designer of your course.
Marius Els
General manager of Pretoria Country
Club.
See our club profile article on page 14 in
this issue of GCM.
Marius is not your typical general man-
ager of a golf club. To start off with, he
took up the game of golf to impress his
future father-in-law! Secondly, he is not
related to Ernie as his handicap of 18/14
indicates.
After spending a number of years
Egyptian Geese
Egyptian geese are becoming an ever increasing problem on many golf courses. There
have been many strategies employed to overcome the problem, some legal and others
questionable! GCM are planning on doing a feature on Egyptian geese in our next issue,
so if you think you have an answer to the problem of Egyptian geese, or even some-
thing that you think would be of interest to other golf clubs, then please e-mail me at
consultaew@iafrica.com
4. Any major revamps on your course
and their date/designer.
To date, we have heard from the fol-
lowing clubs:
CLUB FOUNDED
Bedford Golf Club 1892
Royal Durban Golf Club 1892
Middelburg Country Club 1897
George Golf Club 1906
Pretoria Country Club 1910
Windhoek Golf and Country Club 1924
Wingate park Country Club 1948
It’s a good start but we would really
like to hear from lots more of you to make
our data base relevant.
Please e-mail Andrew Wilson, at
consultaew@iafrica.com
assisting his father in the family liquor
business, in 2005 an opportunity arose at
Pretoria Country Club for the position of
general manager. Marius was already a
member there and was successful in his
application. Although he had no previous
experience in club management, being a
member of the club since 1995 gave him
the necessary insight and background for
the work. In addition to being very familiar
with the surroundings he was fortunate to
have the assistance of a committee whose
commitment and dedication to the success
of the club made up for his lack of experi-
ence in certain areas.
Marius obtained a BCOM degree in
Human Resources at Tuks and is married
to Marie-Louise. They have two children,
Alexandra 7 and Sebastian 5. His interests
are diverse and include wine collecting and
tasting, tennis, golf, hiking and hunting.
He is very fortunate living on the premises
as he can practice three of his favourite
pastimes at his workplace.
BIRDIES & BOGEYS
Website of the month
This month’s website is for you
Professionals out there. The official web-
site of the PGAs of Europe, of which
South Africa is an International Member,
is www.pgae.com
The overseas job opportunities will
be of particular interest to those of
you looking for some international
experience (and currency!).
The website also has a range of other
interesting links including their monthly
e-newsletter which is well worth a read.
Evergreen Turf Day
Evergreen Turf are putting on a Turf Day
on Wednesday 11th June 2008 starting
at 10h00 at their premises Evergreen
Turf, Misgund (On the R554 – collec-
tions side). For more information on the
Turf Day contact Madelane Walter on
011-948-9728; Fax:  086 606 1827 or at
greenmad@global.co.za
A map is available on their website: 
www.instantlawns.co.za
GCM congratulates greenkeeper of
the year Graham Corbett from Royal
Johannesburg and Kensignton and club
manager of the year Paul Leishman
from Glendower on the awards that they
received at the recent Compleat Golfer
Annual Awards Dinner.
Back issues
To access back issues of Golf Club
Management go to our website
www.compleatgolfer.co.za and on the
left hand side of the home page click on
Golf Club Management. Editorial from
issues dating back to November 2006 are
available for reading or downloading.
Golf Club Management May 2008 21
 CLUB MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
Club Management Association of
America’s 81st World Conference
Paul Leishman, chairman of the Club Management Association of South Africa,
general manager of Glendower Golf Club and this year’s Compleat Golfer club manager
of the year, recently visited the 81st world conference of the Club Manager’s Association
of America (CMAA) held in Orlando, Florida. Here are some of the highlights.
You would not be human if you did not
have a lump in your throat when a 12 year
old daughter of one of the club manager’s
got up on stage and sang the American
anthem to almost 5000 delegates at the
opening session.
The passion for the CMAA is incredible
and I am envious… to see delegates reciting
speeches worthy of a National President,
just in order to get voted onto the committee
is incredible. If only we could find such pas-
sion for the club industry in SA.
In order to raise much needed funds,
the CMAA has created a tiered spon-
sorship system with Platinum sponsors
($1m), Gold ($750 000), Silver ($500 000)
and Bronze ($250 000). The idea is great
and perhaps we could look at a similar type
of sponsorship generation (but deducting
two zero’s to start with). We are desperately
in need of the funding and will need to put a
lot of work into who to approach and what
we can offer them. I think the main focus
needs to be on them buying into the need
for education and more professional club
management.
It was also great to see that Mike
Leemhuis, a South African, has been elected
Vice-President of CMAA. Mike was pre-
viously at Sun City and comes out to SA
most years on holiday. He is currently GM
at Congressional in Washington. We should
definitely be able to use him to promote club
management in South Africa.
Chris Gardener, the man behind the
movie “The Pursuit of Happiness” where
he was portrayed by Will Smith, was an
inspiring speaker who spoke about his rags
to riches story on Wall Street. The moral of
his inspiring story … sheer determination.
After all that Chris went through it should
teach everybody that if you really are deter-
mined and want something, you can do it.
22 May 2008 Golf Club Management
Chris is also a great friend of South Africa
and in his book recalls some of his most
magical moments in life which included
landing in South Africa and later meeting
Madiba.
The Master Club Advisor’s
Symposium highlighted the importance
and need for benchmarking. Prior to the
workshop all delegates returned surveys
relating to operational costs, income and
staff compensation. It was difficult to relate
to many of the statistics because SA clubs
are so different. The need for more statistics
and analysis of incomes and expenditure is
imperative in order to identify trends and
keep up with the ever constant changes in
our world.
Also included was a session on food and
beverage best practices. Points brought up
included :-
• Listening to your members needs
• Taking the time to listen to the people at
the bottom of the F&B chain
• Training of service staff in three areas,
kindness, competence and timing
• Some trends
– Cook to order stations
– Nutrition and healthy food (almost
every meal served in America now
comes with full nutritional values)
– Gourmet comfort foods – mini burgers,
macaroni bar etc
– Unique and interesting service dishes
– Labour and food costs soaring world
wide.
The International Breakfast Sym-
posium was a great networking session with
a good opportunity to see what is happening
in other associations around the world.
There were three presentations namely
from:
• China – where golf courses are starting to
be developed at a fast rate
• Germany
• Sweden
The round table discussions focussed on
three topics :
• Recruitment and training
• Hosting a major Pro tournament
• Environmental issues
Without a doubt the most universal
issue is environmental conservation. Every
country has problems.
The solutions? Be proactive and start
finding ways to do greener business.
Communication to all stakeholders and
the communities we are in is imperative. I
have some great brochures from the USGA
on Golf and The Environment and between
ourselves and the Greenkeepers Association,
we should push for SAGA to adopt similar
documents.
The Disney Institute’s “Service
Excellence – taking the golfing experience
to the next level” session gave us an incred-
ible look into Disney’s service philosophy:
• The Loyalty Profit Chain - detailing the
whole chain from employee, to guest, to
business practise.
• The Chain of Excellence - leadership
excellence, staff excellence, guest satis-
faction and finally financial results.
• The Study of the Guest - they do an
incredible amount of research into their
guests and their spending patterns which
determines almost everything else they
do in the business .
An additional thought that we should con-
sider in our clubs… What are the barriers to
a person spending more money or having
a greater experience… pull the experience
apart and see how we can improve it !
The Food and Beverage Budgeting and
Analysis for the Club Industry session
was an excellent programme that covered
some of the basic requirements in good food
and beverage operations as well as some great ideas to look at. Food
costs have soared in the US as well.
A new sign I am going to stick up in our halfway house “ If our meal
does not live up to your standards, please lower your expectations”
Seriously though, one idea that they came up with and we have
already used, is offering highly priced options that you do not expect
to sell… people generally will look for something in the middle. There
were also great examples of how to highlight items you wish to sell on
your menu.

The need for more statistics and

analysis of incomes and expenditure
is imperative in order to identify trends
and keep up with the ever constant
changes in our world.

Most US clubs are also starting to charge more in peak periods for
food.
If I had more time I would love to get into some of the other sessions
I attended which included ;-
• Disciplines of execution
• Keys to membership retention
• Managing the experience
The conference was incredible and I would be pleased to spend
more time with anybody that wants to ask more questions.

More about Paul Leishman

Paul completed a Diploma in Hotel Management
at the Wits Hotel School and then spent short
periods of time at The Winkler Hotel in White
River and The Bay Hotel in Camps Bay, Cape
Town.
He has had a total of 16 years in the industry
and started his association with golf clubs as the F&B manager at
Crown Mines Golf Club in 1991. In 1992 he was promoted to gen-
eral manager of Crown Mines. He moved from there to become
assistant general manager at Vodacom World of Golf in 1998. From
there in 1999 he moved to his current club, Glendower Golf Club,
where he currently holds the position of general manager.
Paul has served on the National Executive of ACOSA for four
years and is in his third year as the first chairperson of the newly
united Club Management Association of South Africa.
He is passionate about the club industry and has attended six inter-
national club management conferences in the USA and the UK.

You can contact Paul Leishman at Glendower Golf Club on

011 453 1013 or 082 322 2369 or at gm@glendower.co.za