Some even invite non-golfers to join them at the 19th Hole. Golfing aside, this is the place friendships and business relationships are strengthened and sealed. If you are new to the Game, do not miss the 19th Hole.
To many this hole starts at the clubhouse but extends to some other spots where the relaxation continues unabated. You can, in a relaxed manner, among other things, dig into how the pioneers of the sport in your country started playing. It is a place golfers look forward to.Welcome, we have now managed to finish 18 holes (18 parts). Our journey of a thousand miles started on March 27 2011 and these first series end on September 18 2011.
During the journey we at times meandered round some mountainous terrains as we penetrated our way through. It was an adventurous encounter which attracted many.
As the journey was long others joined along the way. It is therefore important that I highlight all the stages we went through. To do this I am going to state each part and the respective topic covered.
LEARNING GOLF WITH MABIKACHECHE : Part 1 — Introduction to sport of golf; Part 2 — How to hold a “golf stick”/golf club; Part 3 — Anatomy of a golf club; Part 4 — Choice of a grip, golf swing; Part 5 —Putting; Part 6 — Golf etiquette; Part 7 — Chipping; Part 8 — Golf terms/words; Part 9 — Pitching; Part 10 — Rules of golf; Part 11 — Bunkers; Part 12 — Golf clubs, lofts, distances; Part 13 — Game of golf — ts origin; Part 14 — Requirements to play golf; Part 15 — Know organisations involved in golf; Part 16 — The Long, medium, short game; Part 17 — Faults in golf swings; Part 18 — Introducing golf to communities.
I have over and over again told you that there were hosts waiting to receive us. I now have to introduce you to them. You are a wonderful group, full of patience and devotion. I pointed out at the start of the journey that golf, the way we know it today, is a foreign sport which was brought into Africa during colonisation.
It is therefore obvious that the blacks took some time to know what the sport was all about. The lucky blacks were the caddies who carried the bags for the white golfers. They later became the first blacks to play the game.
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I was advised in my on-going research that since the blacks were not allowed to play with whites, they decided to empower themselves by opening their own golf courses.
The first of such courses was opened in Salisbury, now Harare, the Gleneagles Golf Club, which was built on the Amalinda farm situated approximately 23 kilometres on the outskirts of Harare. The clearing of the land started in 1960 and the course was official opened in July 1961.
Your hosts are everywhere. Some are no longer with us as nature took them away but they are receiving you in spirit. These are the heroes and heroines of African golf, the black pioneers of the sport in Zimbabwe. For those who are starting to play golf from the rural communities in the rural areas, you can learn a lot from these pioneers as the conditions under which they started were not different from the way you are also starting out there.
They too did not have the modern equipment, but they improvised and made up their own that resembled what they saw being used at the golf courses where they were caddying.
Wherever you are, these pioneers, the dead and the living, joined by all the golfing communities who have taken up the sport, are delighted to see you or hear about the efforts you are making towards mastering the sport and the enjoyment you have found in it. They are our hosts.
Special tribute should be given to those first blacks who were fearless in taking up the “white men’s sport”. Before I take you back to the golf course, in part two of the 19th Hole, I am going to make a special feature on how the blacks started playing golf and who they were. I think it is important that they are made known for the good of the country’s history and pride. In the meantime, keep on practising and playing. The second series of Learning Golf commences in a fortnight.
For any feedback/comments and any assistance you may need contact the writer, Tavenganiswa Mabikacheche at The Centre for Training and Research Services on email: [email protected] or mobile no. +263712200922 /+263772319612
