The Southern African Golf Hall of Fame was officially launched at Oubaai last month at a glittering induction ceremony where the who’s who in golf got together to celebrate those that have made contributions to the game in South Africa.

Under the guidance of Barry Cohen, Harry Brews (son of legendary golfer Sid Brews), the SAGA, Women’s Golf SA, Sir Rupert Gull and Dorian Wharton-Hood, the SA Golf Hall of Fame has been established to celebrate the game in SA, much like the World Golf Hall of Fame in Florida. Its aim is “to safeguard the past history of golf in Southern Africa; make golf accessible to past, present and future generations; recognise those who have made a significant contribution to the game and utilize the opportunity to raise funds for charitable purposes.” An impressive mission statement indeed!

As the starting point down the road towards achieving the Hall of Fame’s goals, the induction dinner was a personal affair with many special moments and the evening’s guests were proud to be part of South African golfing history as the first inductees were announced.

The Golf Hall of Fame museum itself will open in March when Gary Player will be official inducted, since he was unable to attend the 23 December event. Be sure to schedule a trip to the Garden Route so that you can check it out for yourself and wander through the displays of personal effects and donated goods from the inductees.

A big thumbs-up for Barry Cohen and his team for their contribution to the future of SA golf, and the Mole looks forward to exploring the SA Golf Hall of Fame museum later this year.

Look out for a full SA Golf Hall of fame commemorative digizine on compleatgolfer.co.za in February!

INDUCTEES:
Founding Fathers: Gen. Henry Torrens
Administrators: Arthur Godbold
Media: RG Fall, Denis Hutchinson and Dale Hayes
Professional Golf: Sid Brews, Bobby Locke, Gary Player, Harold Henning, Sally Little, Ernie Els, Nick Price, Retief Goosen, Papwa Sewgolum, Mark McNulty and David Frost
Golf Industry: Bob Grimsdell and David Leadbetter
Amateur Golf: Jimmy Prentice, Douglas Proudfoot and Reg Taylor
Women’s Golf: Rita Easton
Benefactors: Johann Rupert