1. Welcome

2. Golf Section

3. Upcoming Fixtures

4. Club AGM

5. Squash Section

6. Bowls Section

7. Tennis Section

8. Mamma G’s News

Bowls: Grietjie Strydom, Noel Morel, Frederick & Serah Paynter.

Golf: Francois Vermaak, Jaco Potgieter, Craig Andrew, Raymond Goodfellow, James Goodfellow, Mark Lynn, Graham Sheaer, Myra Erasmus, Tracylee Raison, Jaco Erasmus, Wendi Barry, Jenny Worner, Seamus & Alice Kelly

Squash: Rowan Felt, Carlos De Oliveira, Ryder Pearson.

WHAT’S NEWWHAT’S NEXT...

Dear Member

Happy Easter to all our members and their families. With that being said HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Umhlali Country Club who turns the BIG 6O this month! We hope to continue to grow and expand for many years to come. 60th Birthday Celebrations...Coming Soon!

Warm regards, UCC Management and Staff

A P R I L 2 0 2 1 N E W S L E T T E R

EST.1961

60 YEARS

As we head into the month of April

League:

*Ladies League- Played Kloof CC Ladies on the 25th of March and beat them 11-5

*Men’s League- Played against Royal Durban and lost

*North Coast Shield was held on the 14h of March at Eshowe Golf Club where Umhlali’s team came 5th overall.

*The annual Country District Illembe team represented Illembe at Eshowe from the 26th to the 28th of March where Umhlali had 4 out of 8 players representing the district, namely: Koenie Erasmus

(Captain), Thabiso Magwaza, Astin Arthur and Matt Walters. The Ilembe team ended up placing 2nd out of 5 District teams.

Well-done to Koenie Erasmus and Thabiso Magwaza for making the Country Districts Inter Provincial Team for 2021 and well done to Koenie Erasmus for being elected Captain of this team.

Golf Course:

Remember, the longer it takes to fill a Divot is, the slower the grass recovers… this is even slower during winter months. Therefor we would like to remind everyone that sandbags are compulsory!

For the course to stay in good condition during Winter we would like to urge all cart users to stick to cart paths. This will help us minimize runoff wear around the greens and tee boxes!

A WORD FROM THE MEN’S CAPTAIN: ALVIN ELS

Club Champs:

Club Champs will be held on the 10th and 11th of April.

We would like to thank Seeff North Coast as well as CMH Umhlanga for their sponsorship which helped us lowering the entry fee for this year.

We are looking forward to an excellent turnout on this weekend.

Junior Development:

Our Umhlali Junior Academy currently have 16 players ranging from 9 to 18 years old.

It is wonderful to see how the game of golf can become an escape for players of all ages!

Our Coaches, Andrew Budge and Daniel Khaba, help these children with the basics of Golf as well as Golf and Life etiquette.

Rule:

Please note that it is compulsory to fill in ALL the details in the yellow highlighted areas on the scorecard!!!

60th ANNIVERSARY TROPHY

We had this annual event on 18 March 2021 and the outcome was probably something that never happened before in history. We had four players who made 38 points and on numerous count outs the winner of the trophy was Sue Ellis. Congratulations Sue .

DATES AND COMPETITIONS

ALL OUR COMPS ARE OPEN FOR VISITORS EXCEPT FOR MEDAL

1 APRIL - MEDAL AND PUTT (IPS FOR 30 AND ABOVE HC)

8 APRIL – OPEN DAY – 4 BALL AMERICAN SCRAMBLE (still have space)

15 APRIL – WALTZ ALLIANCE (play in four balls – score as follow: Hole 1 only 1 score counts, Hole 2 – 2 scores count, Hole 3 – 3 scores count then 1 again, 2, 3 etc.

22 APRIL – LEAGUE VS ROYAL @ UCC – REST OF FIELD – IPS

29 APRIL – BETTER BALL (GUTS GAMES) Visitors @ members rates

ALL BOOKINGS THROUGH PRO SHOP

LEANNA HAS PUT TOGETHER A MEAN TEAM FOR OUR SENCOND LEAGUE GAME WHICH WAS PLAYED 25 MARCH VS KLOOF ON HOME GROUNDS AND WE BEAT THEM 11/5. WELL PLAYED TO ALL. NEXT GAME IS 22 APRIL HOME VS ROYAL.

PLEASE NOTE THE DATE FOR THE DR CHAMPS HAS MOVED AGAIN!!!! IT IS NOW ON 9 MAY !!!

NATALIA FOURSOMES will be played on the 10th June in a better ball medal format. Please let me know who would like to enter.

A WORD FROM THE LADIES CAPTAIN: MARTHIE HORN

UPCOMING FIXTURES GOLF:

APRIL

10 & 11- MENS CLUB CHAMPS – SPONSORED BY SEEFF

NORTH COAST & CMH UMHLANGA

15– LADIES WALTZ ALLIANCE

17- FOURBALL ALLIANCE -SPONSORED BY XPANDA & GDS

18- MENS LEAGUE- PREMIER- UCC VS COTSWOLD (HOME)

19- POB ANNIVERSARY TROPHY

21- CLUB AGM

22-LADIES LEAGUE VS ROYAL (HOME)

24- MENS MATCH PLAY CLUB CHAMPS DAY 1 & BETTERBALL VARIATION

25- MENS MATCH PLAY CLUB CHAMPS FINAL

29-LADIES BETTERBALL STABLEFORD

* Subject to change

APRILPUT THIS IN YOUR CALENDAR

27

Ross Smorfitt, our youngest squash star and member recently played in the Ramablers Squash Tournament in Bloemfontein, Ross won 4 games and lost one. Ross went on to win the plate final and is seeded 17th in the U13 SA Squash. What an achievement as Ross is only 11. We applaud him on all his efforts and look forward to more exciting squash news from Ross in the future.

Our courts are currently down for Maintenance we are fixing up our walls for an even better squash experience.

Our internal summer league was a great success with many new members. We are looking forward to winter league.

RISING STAR:

Ross Smorfitt has been a member of Umhlali Country Club since 2018. He practically grew up on the squash court since his family and extended squash family are active members of squash and the club. Ross has represented KZN for two years now. Although last year, there were no school tournaments allowed after lockdown, he had played in enough tournaments, before lockdown rules came into effect, to make the KZN team.

He attends Virginia Preparatory where he is involved in other sports too. He plays Wickie Keeper for the cricket team, he swims and he also plays hockey for the school. If there was more time, he would play golf too.

Ross is an enthusiastic and dedicated member of Umhlali Squash Club and he is always grateful to either do drills or play with anyone who is willing to give him the time on court.

Recently he played in the Umhlali Adult Summer League. It is amusing to see someone so small taking on the adults. He has faced numerous David and Goliath contests.

Our squash members have been instrumental in building Ross’s love for the game. Avesh Nirbadh, Stephen and Anne Prichard and Ryan are always willing to do drills with him, to name but a few.

Ross’s latest success has been winning the plate section at the National Bloemfontein squash competition. This was exceptional, as this was his first national competition, and he is 11, playing in the under 13 division.

Midlands will hopefully be hosting a further national tournament in June 2021 and we wish Ross all the best as he prepares for this tournament.

A WORD FROM OUR SQUASH CHAIR-MAN: STEPHEN PRITCHARD

The Bowls section is rapidly gaining momentum and various activities are taking place and the program is getting congested and in some instances bowlers must exercise options as to what activity gets preference. This is a direct result of post Covid as local and district competitions clashes but we seem to be working around it.

Our Men’s and Ladies Pairs competitions were the first to kick off and produced some exciting bowls. Leon Lottter and Derick Bingham walked away with the men’s title while Linda Tolmay and Erna Herbst took the Ladies title. The Men’s and Ladies singles club championship are well on the way and during April good and competitive bowls is expected.

Our first Brettenwood Competition of the year was played in March. 80 bowlers participated which is indeed a wonderful turn out. It was followed with a Braai and all had a good time. Our sincere thanks and appreciation to Brettenwood Estate for the generous sponsorship over the years. Sponsorship of this nature contributes significantly to the development of sport in the community. We are also grateful to Pick & Pay and Foodlovers for their monthly sponsorships.

Our Coaching Clinic for new bowlers, started a few years ago is proving to be a valuable asset of the club. Under the guidance of our qualified coaches Kerry-Anne Perry and Rod Bishop new bowlers are expertly inducted into the world of bowls. We are proud of this facility and the numbers are growing. A further and positive development is the growing number of seasoned bowlers who are attending the

clinic to hone their skills and correct any “bad habits” that have crept into their game. Another positive development is that a new bowler is declared ready and equipped to participate in organised bowls.

We are very pleased to see the upgrading of our facilities with the addition of two more Thatch Huts which will provide shade during the warm summer months and seating facilities for spectators during competitions. The overall aesthetic appearance of the club has been enhanced and we also had our music system upgraded with the installation of outside speakers.

The initiative with morning bowls on Tuesday Tabs went off well and an average of 33 players participated. This experiment gave our bowlers a feeling for morning bowls and will enable us to asses the future scenario in the months ahead. For the month of April we will revert back to afternoon bowls on Tuesdays.

We are sad to announce the departure of Jill Hackland from our club. Her departure is a great loss in many ways. Jill started bowling in 1976 and she will be continuing bowling for many years to come. She achieved considerable honours in bowls and represented Port Natal for 27 years. She represented South Africa from 1996 to 2004 and won the South African singles in 2013. To crown this she played in the World Bowls Singles Champion of Champions in New Zealand in 2014 and played in World Bowls and achieved gold in the triples. At Umhlali Jill was a mentor to many bowlers , occupying all the possible management positions. She will also be fondly remembered for playing tabs-in and mixing with bowlers no matter how well they played the game—a characteristic not often displayed at this level. Jill will be moving down the South Coast and will still be seen on our greens from time to time. We all thank you most sincerely for your massive contribution to our bowling club and our best wishes accompany you on your future path.

Twilight bowls are back in a new and interesting format designed by Dave Riley----please check the notice board for details. This competition kicks off in April.

A WORD FROM OUR BOWLS PRESIDENT: JOE MARAIS

Our Greens are starting to get up to the standards we are used to and the Greens Keeper Robin and our Greens committee consisting of Mike Hulett, Bruce Mungle and Mike Farrell are working together with the General Manager to get the Greens into good shape. This symbiotic relationship augers well for the future. Part of the success of a Bowls Club is the prevalence of happy and relaxed social environment when bowlers, friends and families get together. We have a lovely air conditioned, TV equipped Club House and a friendly and very helpful Barman in Shannon who always serves with a smile.

Our flag was flying high again on Saturday when Jill Hackland and Linda Tolmay keenly contested The Port Natal ladies singles final. To my memory the first time that both finalists from one club competed. A great achievement. Congratulations to Jill for emerging as the winner of a closely contested game.

Enjoy our club fellow bowlers.

Coaching:

Congratulations to the new bowlers who have graduated from the Bowls Coaching.

The Brian Ward tournament is the oldest running tennis tournament in South Africa and has been going on since the 1960’s and is renowned as one of the most prestigious events on the KZN calendar. It used to be one of the events which players could get TSA points for their rankings in the South Africa circuit. Players used to travel from far and wide to enter this wonderful and competitive event.

Almost every kid in the tennis fraternity at some point in time would have played in one of these tournaments which catered for juniors as well as the seniors.

This event has changed over time now catering for the social members, but still attracts the top tennis

Winners of the Brettenwood Competition: Graham Cashmore, Glenn Smith, Sam Weaver and Malcolm Weaver.

Rod Bishop (Coach), Bruce Beaton, Joe Marais (Bowls President)

Rod Bishop (Coach), Chris Hechter, Joe Marais (Bowls President)

Winners of the Foodlovers Competition: Krish Mudaly, Dorothy Wynne and Joe Marais

A WORD FROM THE TENNIS CHAIRMAN: WAYNE ATHERSTONE

players in KZN due to the prestige attached to it. This year was no different with the top player from over 14 different clubs squaring off against each other.

Cowies hill tennis club was represented by 16 members thus giving them the prize of most represented club in the competition.

Saturday the men and Ladies squared off in doubles at both Umhlali country club and Ashton International college facilities.

Both Delene Buchanan and Maxi Ferrandi did sterling jobs organizing all the orders of play, and ensuring the tournament ran smoothly. Thanks to Waylon Ferrandi for managing the Ashton facilities and still managing to win both his sections with ease ! Mitzi Bateman managed to juggle her tournament director job well also getting podium spots over both days !

Ladies Doubles runners up and winners: C section Runners-up Robyn White and Wendy Johnson Winners – Tamerin Gentle and Belinda wanderwalt B Section Runners-up Kim Heyes and Pippa Hopkins Winners – Kayler Hulett and Topsy Hitchcock A Section Runners-up Mitzi Bateman and Sonja Cook Winners – Debbie Heron and Judy Goss Men’s Doubles runners up and winners: C Section Runners–up Thinus Van Staden and Loyde Robinson

Winners- Brent Grimsley and Dylan Burzak B Section Runners–up Steve Lockyear and Mark De Voest Winners – Laurie Butlin and Des Mayne A Section Runners – up Phil Thornhill and Dominic Moreno Winners – Waylon Ferrandi and Dan Martin

Mixed Doubles F section Runners-up Thinus Van Staden and Lauren Hoatson Winners – Pieter Henderson and Kayler Hulett E section Runners-up Charles Lourens and Kim Hayes Winners – Chris Green and Tracey April D section Runners-up Yuichi Nishihira and Eryn Beard Winners – Bo Maphumulo and Ntokoza Luthuli C section Runners-up Jean Piere Pinaar and Lucy Holmes Winners – Wayne Atherstone and Mitzi Bateman

B section Runners-up Rob Hoatson and Camilla Hartman Winners- Phil Thornhill and Jen Thornhill A section Runners-up Wayne Manning and Debbie Heron Winners – Waylon Ferrandi and Maxine Bateman

The tournament was a huge success and a huge thanks goes out to all the sponsors on the day, and all those who helped.

TRADING HOURS FOR THE RESTAURANT ARE AS FOLLOWS: MONDAY – SATURDAY: 8:00AM – 21:30PM

(KITCHEN CLOSES AT 20:30PM AND BAR AT 21:30PM)

SUNDAY: 8:00AM – 18:00PM KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR OUR WEEKLY MOUTH-WATERING SPECIALS!!

PUB NIGHT: 30TH APRIL WITH WINSTON SMILE FROM 6PMQUIZ NIGHT IS BACK!! JOIN US ON THE 15TH APRIL FROM 7PM – FREE

ENTRY. QUIZ MASTER: WINSTON SMILE