27 Jul 2014

While golfers around the world have bad weather to deal with and profitability as a challenge, Chobe golfers have to put up with a slightly unique problem -- wildlife in different shapes and sizes.

Elephants, hippos, crocodiles, waterbucks and other members of the animal kingdom continue to give golfers in Chobe a headache. This came to light at the Mowana Open tournament during the President’s Day holidays in Kasane.

In an interview, the Chobe Golf Club’s captain, Richard Strugnel, said animals were their biggest challenge. “There was a time this year when we had such an influx of elephants on the Mowana golf course, and they stayed there for weeks,” he said.

This meant that they could not practice freely and those who did were putting their lives at risk. Also, a resident hippo, which had a home in one of the ponds near the golf course, wreaked havoc on the golf course living huge hoof marks on it.

“Elephants also trash the golf course,” Strugnel added. Kasane, a tourist destination, has vast species of wildlife and the occasional water buck and antelope were also a concern to the golfers as they left hoof marks on the course, when muddy.

There was a problem with attracting members to the sporting code, which was viewed globally as an elitist sport. Vice-captain of the club, Muller Keabetswe, said he was disappointed because people were not keen on joining the sport.

He said he tried going around schools to try and recruit those who might be interested but to no avail. The club consisted of members who were all above 50 years, with no junior team in existence.

“Some of those who pay interest show up for a couple of practice sessions then they disappear,” he said.

Keabetswe, who was this year’s champion in the just-ended Mowana Open tournament, said he was available to teach people who were interested for free but this also had not motivated people to take up golf.

Meanwhile, when asked if the prices for subscription were not chasing away those who might be interested, Strugnel felt that the subscription was one of the cheapest in the world at P1 500 annually plus the additional P600 joining fee.

He however noted that they had people who also paid through subscriptions but never showed up for any practice or lessons.

The defending champion from last year’s Mowana Open in the women’s category, Catherine Coxhead, complained of lack of interest in golf from women. Their club only functions with four regular golfers and more needed to be done to attract more women to the sport.

Coxhead agreed with Strugnel that joining and subscription fees are cheap in this part of the world, compared to other countries and was quick to point out that golf is still not an elitist sport code.

The game of golf is affected by issues of environmental sustainability, including water and wildlife management.

Analysts say membership in golf clubs the world over has gone down, especially after the global economic downturn. ENDS