Champion golfer professional John Bland, who lives at Fancourt, was one of the inductees along with champion women golfers Jackie Mercer, Gillian Tebbutt and Alison Sheard.
The ceremony took place in front of a glittering audience which included various captains of industry, the mayors of Eden district municipality and George municipality, Western Cape social development minister Patricia de Lille, as well as a number of iconic golfers.
Other inductees included Maud Gibbs and Jack Watermeyer, both golf administrators. Laurie Waters, Brian Henning and Phil Ritson were honoured for their contributions to golf and George Blumberg as benefactor.
These inductees were introduced by iconic golfers, and many stories were regaled, from the inception of women's golf by Maud Gibbs, to the record number of Springbok caps for David Suddards in his 13-year amateur career, and Gillian Tebbutt winning her club championships 33 times.
The real interesting stories emanating from these inductees included the tales of disadvantaged golfers such as Vincent Tshabalala, who put the story straight insofar as he refused the nomination to partner Gary Player at the World Cup in 1976, as he was only 15th on the Order of Merit and felt he was being made a token 'black' selection without really deserving the honour, as well as winning the French Open in 1976, pulling his own cart in the final round.
From caddy to authority
From being a caddy, Theo Manyama has become a world rules authority officiating at all the majors, whereas Richard Mogoerane was instrumental in setting up the Black SA Golf Union and later amalgamated this with the SAGU.
Jackie Mercer's battles with Sally Little and her competitive streak were also told, as well as how Mercer lived by her motto: "winners are not quitters, and quitters are not winners".
Possibly the highlight was hearing how many Southern African lives Phil Ritson, still ranked in the top 5 golf coaches in the world, influenced through his coaching and strict training routine, both white and black, creating various opportunities for them. He travelled from the USA for the function. He has coached most of the world's great golfers, and is presently the coach to most of the great women golfers.
Another amazing story is that of George Blumberg and how he convinced Mark McCormack to start IMG, and how many golfers he funded or influenced, such as Gary Player, Sally Little, Bobby Cole and others, who would not have been able to afford to compete internationally without his assistance.
The induction was preceded by a celebrity charity golf tournament which was well supported by iconic professional golfers, Springboks, and captains of industry.
Museum
The 523 square metre interactive South African Golf Museum has been built at Oubaai for the exhibition and preservation of memo-rabilia. It boasts a research library, Hall of Fame, retail centre, and championship putting green. Although the retail centre is open, the memorabilia will be displayed from February, with an official opening scheduled for late March. This is the first Golf Hall of Fame museum outside of the USA and Canada.
 (Small).jpg)
Friendly rivals ... Ernie Els and Retief Goosen’s memorabilia will be exhibited at the South African Golf Museum built at Oubaai which will be open to viewing from next month.
