The event held on 23 December, was preceded by a Celebrity Charity golf day and also attended by other inductees such as Johann Rupert, Dale Hayes, and Denis Hutchinson. Those who could not attend, like Nick Price, David Leadbetter, Denis Hutchinson and David Frost sent DVDs messages of acceptance, whilst Gary Player accepted his nomination but deferred his induction until March 2010, when he will be inducted in person. Some sporting icons like Barry Richards and Jake White also attended.
In all, there were 23 inductees which covered not only the great players, but also the founding fathers, as well as those who help to develop the game, from media, golf course design, and benefactors. Each of the inductees were introduced by a famous golfing personality, and then accepted by the inductee.
The project which consists of a museum, celebrity charity golf day, and a gala induction ceremony, will not only honour and record the history of golf and those inducted into the Hall of Fame, but will also inspire the youth, raise funds for charity whilst further opening the doors as a major tourist attraction for the Garden Route. It is anticipated the museum will be completed late March.
This gala event, which is the first Golf Hall of Fame outside of the USA and Canada, was attended by major politicians like ID Party leader, Patricia de Lille and UDM leader, Bantu Holomisa, captains of industry, the media, and golfing identities, many of whom traveled from abroad.
Fabulous entertainment included the fa-bulous Sterling QC, and Dale Hayes was the MC, assisted by Dan Nicholl. "It was a really funny evening - of course Tiger was the butt of the jokes, we heard all kind of stories from Nick, Ernie, Mark, Retief, Sally, Hutch, Dale, and the other inductees," said Barry Cohen the driving force behind the project.
The Golf Hall of Fame, has been created under the auspices of the Sid Brews Golf Heritage Trust, and is the original brainchild of Harry Brews.
Given that Southern Africa has produced the most major winners outside of the USA, the Hall of Fame is a great new addition to the South African golfing calendar, and a fitting honour to those inductees who proudly fly the flag.
Cohen is arranging the Gary Player induction dinner for 22 March by which time he hopes to have fitted the Museum with memorabilia. The museum (507 sqm) is situated at the Hyatt Regency retail centre. However a minimum of R750 000 is needed to complete in the fittings. The dinner and Celebrity Charity golf day was a defining moment in his life said an elated Cohen who was over the moon by the excellent TV and printed media coverage.
Lindy White, Jake White and Ernie Els.
Ernie Ells and Johann Rupert.
