It’s incredible to think that it is already more than 10 years since Ernie Els decided to put his mo-ney where his mouth is and start a foundation that would give children in South Africa the same sorts of opportunities to excel at golf as he was given as a youngster. Not only is it still going strongly, it is offering more junior golfers from families of limited resources than ever before the opportunities to succeed.
"I was really lucky to have parents who could afford to send me to junior tournaments around the country. I wanted to give back to junior golf and give some kids who otherwise would not be able to have the same opportunities," explains the man who has spent nearly two decades as South Africa’s top-ranked golfer.
As with any successful organi-sation that lasts 10 years and more, the foundation has come a long way from its fairly informal beginnings of choosing to assist talented golfers.
After a couple of years of the foundation being up and running, it was agreed that it needed to be run more professionally with formal structures and that the programmes offered needed to be developed. "We realised that not everyone is going to be the ‘next Tiger’ or the ‘next Ernie’," continued Els, "so we wanted to structure things so that we put as much emphasis on education as we did on golf. Our objective changed to producing educated young leaders - golf is fine, but you need education in case you don’t make it as a professional."
This formalisation of structures was initiated under the leadership of current Foundation CEO Hannes van Niekerk in 2003, when education and golf took on equal emphasis for the first time. Added to this was a programme of life skills to ensure that members of the foundation had the skills to tackle all aspects of life in the golf world and beyond.
Then, in 2005, a conversation between Ernie Els and Fancourt owner and co-founder of SAP Dr Hasso Plattner put in motion the next big step in the history of the Foundation - the amalgamation of the Ernie Els Foundation with Plattner’s golf-driven initiative, the Fancourt Foundation.
And so, in 2006, the Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation (EEFF) was established, with the same objectives of nurturing and developing talented golfers from fami-lies of limited resources and giving them the tools to succeed in whatever avenue of life they chose.
The Foundation hostel near Fancourt was opened in late 2005 and the members moved in at the beginning of 2006, when the new entity was officially launched. Members were housed at the hostel and attended local schools and tertiary education facilities, while they practised their golf and were coached by Foundation head coach, PGA Teacher of the Year George Harvey.
After the first couple of years, the support of members up to the age of 21 was phased out and the Foundation focused on junior golf, admitting only members of high-school going age.
"The hostel at Fancourt was hugely successful, but we really did not know what we were in for," admits Van Niekerk with a smile. "Suddenly, we became fulltime ‘parents’ to 20 teenage boys and girls - enough to give anyone plenty of grey hairs. We learnt a lot and I really think it was very worthwhile."
New phase
During 2009, however, the Board of Directors reassessed the direction that the Foundation was taking and realised that the individual costs of housing, clothing and schooling each child was difficult to justify. It was felt that there was no direct benefit to the individual member by keeping him or her away from home and the extra cost of having everyone at one location was not necessary to implement the various golf and education programmes.
What this meant is that the Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation entered a new phase in 2010, in which members remain at home with their parents, at their home clubs and their own schools. The resultant reduced costs to the Foundation has also meant more members going forward, giving more children the opportunities afforded to talented young golfers. In 2011, there are 31 members, of whom seven are girls and four are "graduate-support members" - four highly talented young men who successfully finished matric in 2010 and are now focusing on their golf games.
A number of members have been identified by the progams run by the South African Golf Development Board, while others have come through the ranks of the junior golf structures throughout the country. All have obvious talent and potential and seven have already achieved national colours in various age groups.
So, while Fancourt and its pristine fairways are not always awash with EEFF members and local George schools are no longer overflowing with exceptional golf talent, the Foundation that Ernie Els started more than 10 years ago is very much going strong. And a certain young British Open champion by the name of Louis Oosthuizen is testament to the good work being done.
Look out for their next Major champion - it won’t take another 10 years!
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Members of 2011
