Vodacom Origins Of Golf 2011

Since its inception in 2004, the Vodacom Origins of Golf series has captured the attention of South Africa’s professional golfers. Apart from the total prizemoney of R3.3million on offer throughout the series, the tournaments are hosted on South Africa's leading golf courses in what serves as the perfect platform to prepare the next generation of South African golf stars for international success.

Forming part of the winter swing of the Sunshine Tour, this six-tournament series travels around the country from May to September. And each of the demanding courses has posed a unique challenge to the golfers who emerged victorious on their fairways.

The Links at Fancourt is currently rated as the No 1 course in South Africa, and it is widely recognised as one of the toughest tests in the professional game. Cape Town professional Steve Basson certainly agrees. Basson won on this Gary Player-designed layout on the 2005 Vodacom Origins of Golf series, and singled out the 12th hole as the most fearsome on the course.

For Pretoria professional Rossouw Loubser, Bloemfontein Golf Club holds fond memories for him. In just his first professional year on the Sunshine Tour in 2006, Loubser recorded back-to-back victories at Bloemfontein Golf Club and Selborne Golf Estate respectively. But the 49-year old Loubser recalls Bloemfontein Golf Club’s ninth hole as posing the greatest challenge for him during these two victories. It’s a tough driving hole requiring pinpoint accuracy off the tee. Loubser also singled out Selborne’s 17th hole – being quite long with out of bounds framing the fairway – as a test for him that year.

Eight-time Sunshine Tour winner Kevin Stone, who was named PGA Club Professional in 2003, won the 2006 Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament at Pezula, and rated the seventh hole as the toughest for him that week. “In addition to the wind, the elevation makes the hole very difficult to play. It’s a long hole with a sloping green that tests your putting strength,” he said.

Also in 2006, Vaughn Groenewald won on the series at Pretoria Country Club. He did so by a staggering six shots, but says the opening hole of this venerable layout torments him to this day. “It’s just a very difficult starting hole. The second shot to the green is tough because the green is undulated and slightly raised and I’ve often struggled to hit the green.”

Ulrich van den Berg, twice a winner on the Vodacom Origins of Golf series at Bloemfontein Golf Club (2007) and Humewood Golf Club (2010), has been on the professional circuit for more than a decade and has encountered his toughest hole at Humewood’s par-four 13th, also rating it as the most difficult par four in the country.

“Playing in winter adds another dynamic to your game particularly when there are strong South Westerly winds to contend with. The 13th hole is a long par four with an undulating fairway.”

The 36-year old Benoni golfer, Dion Fourie, claimed Origins honours in 2008 when he won at the Bloemfontein Golf Club. That victory was particularly sweet for the motorsport fanatic who holds South African and provincial titles in motocross. “I really enjoyed playing this course and I think for me, the most difficult hole was the 16th because there is water on either side. So not only is it intimidating, but the difficulty ratings increase significantly when there are cross winds to overcome on this very short par three.”

Brandon Pieters, winner of the 2009 Vodacom Origins of Golf event at Simola Golf Estate, describes his most challenging hole on this course as the 13th.

“There is bush on the left and right along with a narrow fairway. The hole has a very big, elevated drop on your second shot, I’d say between 20 to 25 metres, which makes it extremely difficult to judge. The best way to conquer this hole was with a bit of luck and a lot of hope.”

According to Jaco Ahlers, Erinvale Golf Estate’s 17th is a tricky hole to navigate. Ahlers had to do so when he won there two years ago. “You have to deal with cross winds on the 17th which means that your drive has to be exceptional. There is also a small sloping green that makes it an even trickier hole to play.”

Adilson da Silva, winner of the 2007 Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament at The Links at Fancourt, said his toughest moment came at the par three 17th. While Da Silva found the whole course demanding due to the strong winds that week, the 17th required particular focus as a hole with a long, narrow fairway and hazards on both sides.

“We had to play off the middle tees into a strong side wind so basically we had to play in a way that would take the wind into account because if you hit straight, the ball would have carried straight into the rough.”

Chris Swanepoel made light work of the field at the second event on the Vodacom Origins of Golf series at the Arabella Golf Club earlier this year. The 27-year-old says the fourth hole was his most challenging, as you have to avoid the large tree on the right-hand side and make sure that you do not land amongst the large pine trees. Swanepoel believes that you have to negotiate the perfect tee-shot to a narrow fairway.

For the experienced Jean Hugo, winner of six titles on the Vodacom Origins of Golf series, the par-three 17th at Simola Golf Estate ranks as the toughest hole. “This was certainly not an easy hole to play, in fact it’s quite tricky because it’s a very short par three, with water, bunkers and a short landing area which becomes all the more difficult when you’re playing in constantly changing weather conditions.”

Darren Fichardt beat David Hewan by one stroke to clinch the 2011 Vodacom Origins of Golf at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club with a total of six-under-par 204. He rated the 16th hole at the Wild Coast as the toughest that week.

“It wasn’t necessarily the hardest hole on the course but it proved to be the toughest because of strong winds on the day. Because we were playing downhill, we were more exposed to the wind and the 16th is a narrow driving hole with water on the left and a bush to the right. It was difficult to overcome particularly because the second shot was played directly into the wind.”

In seven years, the Vodacom Origins of Golf series has remained one of the most difficult tests of golf for this country’s professionals, and the courses they have had to overcome have certainly proved their worth.