Central Gauteng is the team to beat This weekend, top male senior amateur golfers will be arriving in St Francis to compete in the National Senior and Super-Senior Division "A" Inter-Provincial Championships. St Francis Links was selected by Eastern Province as their host Club for the event, that will consist of 8 teams of 8 players in the senior division (50+) and 6 teams of 4 in the super-senior division (60+). Each morning from Monday to Thursday, the teams will compete in foursome play with singles following in the afternoons. All players and team management are staying at Cape St Francis Resort, with the main Opening and Closing functions at The Links. Central Gauteng has dominated the IPT over the past years and they will prove to be hard to beat again this year. Keep and eye on Western Province and Southern Cape as they made the effort to come early and play the course - we all know that playing the course makes a HUGE difference. Greg DeDonker, Administrator for EP Golf, is delighted to see the National competition coming here as it has been the site for the EP Champs 11 times. "It's a perfect course for matchplay!" St Francis Links will provide all of the risk and reward that makes matchplay golf so special. Early forecasts indicate that Mother Nature will play her part on a couple of the days of play. Charl and his team are simply fine-tuning the course now; Thinus and I will set the course up with all conditions accounted for - the Union officials will have the final say regarding course set-up. PHOTO – The 2017 SA Senior Inter-Provincial champions Central Gauteng; credit Pieter Els. Back, left to right – Greg Gleeson, Richard Bruyns, Jaco du Plessis (manager), Richard Bruyns and Derek Reyneke. Front, left to right – Steve Williams, Schalk Naude (captain), Jock Wellington and Stephen Johnston. | | | As always, please contact the Golf Team on 042 200 4420 for assistance in playing other area courses next week. The course and range will be closed from Sunday to Thursday, 22-26 April. Club Champs are around the corner! May 4 - 6 Please fill out your entry forms for the 2018 St Francis Links Club Championships for Men and Ladies, to be played over 36 holes on Saturday and Sunday, 5 and 6 May. The 2017 Champions, Helen and Ralph with the other gross and nett winners | | Next Get-together is May 8th Last week's get-together was well-attended with a good deal of positive interaction. We welcomed Pierre Conradie, our consulting electrical engineer for the past 13 years, and Ray Nolan from Specialized Solar Systems, who presented the alternative energy supply options available now to Links owners. While it was, at times, a rather detailed and technical discussion, it also opened the door to good questions and further discussion. | Charl discussed a number of opportunities coming on for the Estate, some which were asked about in the Member's Forum. We have initiated the recycling programme with a good response from the residents. Bush clearing and fire breaks are ongoing. The upgrading of speed bumps are scheduled. Road repairs for pooling rain water has been addressed with solutions coming. We are also looking at improvements to the front and back entrances to the Estate. The Glovent system hardware has been ordered with exciting advancements coming for access control. PJ Powers is the first musical event on the books in an initiative to present great South African talent through Rock Lily Productions and Michael Kimmings. She is appearing with Tigger Reunert on the 26th of May. Please rate St Francis Links Please take note of the dates and post them where you will see them and enter! Links Majors and Special Events for 2018 Jan 2-3 The Pam Golding Annual (St Francis Bay wins – the overall is tied 6 games each) Jan 5-6 Men’s Member/Member Partnership, Chris and Jandré Lessing, Champions Jan 20 Windhoek Lager International Pairs (3rd Qualifying), Percy Owen and Norman Dyer Jan 27-28 EP Champs (course closed) Altin VD Merwe, Strokeplay Medalist (74-68=142) Feb 3-4 EP Champs (semi-finals and finals) Naldo Claassens, Champion; Hugo Maritz, Plate Winner Feb 14 Couples/Mixed Golf – Valentine’s Dinner Ronnie and Sally Nienaber, best members Mar 10 Greensomes over 18 holes, Pete Maskew and John Wilson, Champions on 39pts Apr 22-26 National Senior Inter-Provincials (90) (course closed) May 5-6 Club Championships (Helen Bridges and Ralph Richardson, defending) May 13-16 Senior Women’s Nationals (SFL and SFBGC) (course closed) May 18-20 St Francis Bridge Invitational May 20 Nomads Monthly Game (11am Shotgun) May 24-25 Woodland’s Golf Days May 26 Foursomes over 18 holes | | June 2 Ladies’ Invitational June 16 Quarterly Couples/Mixed – US Open June 17 Father’s Day Golf and Lunch June 21 EP Seniors June 25-26 Nomads Coastal NOoM July 7 The Inaugural Muirfield Day (foursomes and fourballs) July 20 Oakley X-Over July 20-22 Men’s Invitational July 22-25 PGA Road Trip - Pards Cup Aug 20 to Sept 4 Spring Programme (Club Closed) FINAL DATES - PLEASE TAKE NOTE Sep 23 - 29 Vodacom Origins of Golf (regional finals) Sep 28-29 formerly Links Cup / Ryder Cup (Paris) (new date TBA) Oct 6 Quarterly Couples/Mixed Golf Nov Pam Golding Ladies’ Open Weekend (date – TBD) Dec 1 Ladies’ Member- Member Partnership Dec 8 Par-3 Championships Dec 14-15 Pam Golding Annual (SFBGC host) Dec 17 Kromme Trust Amazing Race Dec 20 Food and Wine Festival Dec 22 Year-end Couples/Mixed – Pro Shop Sale Jan 3-4 Men’s Member-Member Partnership | Important Note: We endeavour to keep our "Majors" on the same weekend each year to encourage the best participation. We are forced to move the Annual Club Championships back a week this year because we were the chosen course in the Eastern Cape to host the National Senior Inter-Provincials, a tournament featuring the country's top golfers. It finished on Thursday the 26th, leaving no time for practice or course preparation. I apologize and the Champs will return to the last week in April in years to come. | | | Open Wednesday Itec are our sponsors for OPEN Wednesday (2nd Wednesday) with meat and added prizes. Invite your friends to enjoy SA’s best with special rates for golf, snacks after the game and great prizes – Hey, Curry Night follows – stay or take away! Monday Roll-up! Pitch up and play (9 holes or 18 Par-3 from 2pm) - let's add you to the Whatsapp group! All day Saturdays: Morning and afternoon fields - the afternoon field will be booked from 12 noon backwards with emphasis on "ready golf" Monday Men's Book Club - 5pm in Jack's Bar (no reading required) | Ladies' Tea (and Coffee) - Every Tuesday at 10am on the Veranda April 11 ITEC Open Wednesday - special rates, prizes and snacks (R1500 in meat) April 20 - 24 National Seniors and Super Seniors IPT (course closed) May 4 - 6 Club Championships May 26 PJ Powers and Tigger Reunert | | | | | April Birthdays 1 - Tim Elliott, Peter Browne 2 - Leigh Bradfield 3 - Christiaan Serfontein, Keith Stacey 4 - Jan Joubert 5 - Dustin Hogan, Justin Collen 6 - Theo Vos 7 - Jo Viviers, Michael Schottler | | 8 - Richard Towell 9 - Ewin Collen 10 - Michael Barratt, Rob Birch, Saria Blaauw 11 - Bruce Brooker 17 - Maggie Langlands, Renier De Waat, Renthia Buitendag, Robyn Roberts, Silvio Scribante 19 - Charles Lourens, Kevin Pietersen, Tom Donnelly 21 - Geoffrey Roberts 25 - Andrew Payne 29 - Dirk Ellis 30 - Johanna Hubsch, Judith O'Hara, Michael Holden, Walter Ehinger | Hitting your driver further
Everyone would like to hit their driver further. There are many changes we could make to your golf swing, however, I would like to discuss angle of attack. This is very often overlooked and the effect of having the wrong angle of attack could mean huge distance loss. Angle of attack could be described as the upward or downward movement of the clubhead at the moment of maximum compression. Angle of attack is measured relative to the horizon. Shots hit off the ground should have a negative attack angle in order to optimize the trajectory.
To maximize distance with your driver, hitting up on the ball, positive attack angle, is a must. You will reduce backspin on the golf ball if you pay attention to your angle of attack.
To book a golf lesson, please email me pro@stfrancislinks.com
Thinus Keller PGA Head Golf Professional Betterball Stableford 11 April 2018 - click here IPS 14 April 2018 - click here Every great shot starts with a SMILE! |