9th Annual Ultimate Garden Route Road Trip 2018 – Report

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9 Years in the making and still going strong…..

Introduction:

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76 Golfers from SA, Switzerland, Sweden, France, England, Germany, and Austria took part in this unforgettable golfing tournament! Most of the field are return clients that have become family over the years, in the same breath, we are always pleased to welcome new comers to the Road Trip as they instantly become part of the family!

This event needs no introduction, but in case someone missed it, this tournament is about playing 9 World Renowned Golf Courses in 7 Days starting from Plettenberg Bay, and finishing off in Mossel Bay….

Our Sponsors:

Without our sponsors, this tournament would not be possible! We cannot say thank you enough to EACH & EVERY ONE of you – we are so so grateful for every contribution toward making this Road Trip a success!

A Special Thank You to our Main Sponsor – Cobra Transport & Fuel!

Our 2018 Charity Nomination:

Youth For Christ Knysna is a Youth Hub in Knysna that are dedicated to creating opportunities to enable the youth of Knysna to teach their full potential. They do phenomenal job by teaching the youth skills like woodwork, tiling, plumbing, computer skills, painting skills, sewing and much more!

During the 2018 Road Trip, the players  really opened up their hearts and their wallets and through raffles and our “guess the highest score of day” betting system, the field contributed a total of R12 000 toward this amazing cause.

A special thank you goes out to a few individuals that contributed bulk amounts of money at registration in the mornings, as well as everyone that took their high score winnings and gave it to the charity pool – you are all blessing this Youth Centre in ways that are so needed!

If you would like to know more about how they are involved in the community, or if you would like to get involved with them in any way, you can have a look at their website – yfc.co.za or call them on +2744 382 7474

THANK YOU ALL SO SO MUCH!

Day 1 – Plettenberg Bay & Goose Valley (36 Holes):

9 Years of the Ultimate Garden Route Road Trip and we are still loving it! Day 1 kicked off with a bang playing 36 holes in Plett, starting with a 2 tee start at Plettenberg Bay Country Club at 07:00 and heading out to Goose Valley Golf Club for the second 18.

Excitement was in the air big time with the big reunion on Day 1 – it was good to see the good old return faces of every year, as well as the new Road Trippers joining for the first time! We knew they had no idea what they were getting themselves into lol!

Cold & Windy conditions were at the order of the day at Plett, but shooters were enjoyed for breakfast all round by the field as day 1 is always an exciting one! Looking at the players having fun – the Road Trip is the perfect event they could have booked, having a week away from the work stress and enjoy plenty golf packed into one week – just enough to satisfy!

On his first swing, Derick vd Merwe never made it past the ladies tee, and had the cheek to blame it on the course design whilst Thabile was calling the shots – we are pretty sure she was in for sabotaging the game with the boys (probably wanting to dominate from the get-go… lol!!

Betting on the highest score for the day was in full swing, raffles were selling like hot cakes – boys had their caps on and we were rocking the first 36!

Thanks to Arnold from Powerade, we were able to give our field a Powerade on the second 18 at Goose Valley to refresh them a bit! Windy conditions made things a little challenging, but the spirit was high and ambitious! Back at the 19th at Goose Valley, we started getting ready for the opening ceremony with awesome entertainment by Janine Fourie, the crowd LOVED her performance! Eon and his team from Eon Media was on top of  photography and videography for the entire tournament. Emma and her team at Verandah treated us to a magnificent Spit braai.

Thank you so much to the media -, restaurant -, and entertainment team! You guys were awesome!

Day 2 – Pezula:

We kicked off with a  Shot Gun start at 12:00 at Pezula Championship Golf Course – as we knew the players could potentially have a late night after Day 1! Weather was amazing, the course was in fantastic shape and we arranged massages for the group after a rough 36 holes on the previous day – this was super welcomed by everyone – even the organisers grabbed a quick few mins to sooth those stiff setup muscles lol!

As we swap between Simola and Pezula every year just to make things a little interesting, Pezula was the chosen course where we introduced a new feature – TEAM PHOTOS! They were taken with a spectacular back drop of partial course and partial view of the Knysna Heads.

Despite the fact the some of the players were a little fragile after the night before, spirits were sky high in the hope to achieve a better score than Day 1. We witnessed some super creative outfits by some of the players and we also sweetened the deal by having ice cold face cloths ready for each player coming off the course after a HOT day out and about! This of course over and above some cold shooters that the girls handed out during the course of play!

A massive thank you to Nigel and the team at Pezula Club House for looking after us and our players! You guys are awesome!

Day 3 – Simola:

We started the day off with a shot gun start at 9:30 – nice and early to make sure everyone is at their best for Day 3 – after all, everyone should have been recovered by now lol!

Slightly overcast weather poised the group with the perfect setting – weather wise and course wise to play an awesome round at Simola Golf & Country Estate. The course is truly in magnificent shape and the backdrop of the putting green was also the selected area for our annual group photo. The players looked spectacular in their theme shirts for 2018.

With the shooter girls out and about, you can tell by the pics that the field enjoyed them along with the awesome props!

Coming off the course, we had cold face cloths ready for the players to wipe their faces and cool down a bit. Louise and Jill from Meridian Wines came through for in a spectacular wine tasting upstairs in the bar area – a BIG thank you to those 2 ladies, we are so grateful for your involvement!

Jamie & Lauren from the Pro Shop, and Danielle from F&B, thank you so much for looking after us during this leg of the tournament. You guys were amazing!

Day 4 – George & Kingswood (36 Holes):

Day 4 is usually our second, and last 36-Hole day of the tournament, and therefor we kicked off at George Golf Course with a two tee start from 7:00.

George golf course is, and has been one of the most beautiful courses in the area for MANY years and consistently so! a BIG thank you to Sandra and her team for accommodating us and for being so awesome! Thank you to Ian and Jade from The Pro Shop Eden Meander for your involvement for the George Golf Course leg,  sponsoring the prizes, we appreciate you guys!

With the switch over to Kingswood Golf Estate its always interesting, as the pace of play at George determines if you are going to make it for your tee time at Kingswood. Last year, quite a lot of the players didn’t make it on time, which obviously delays the rest of the day. This year however, almost everyone made in time! Well done Players 🙂

Kingswood is also in great condition and its not the easiest of courses to play. No matter how experienced and fit your are, Day 4 of the Ultimate Garden Route Road Trip is a HECTIC day! We had a back end chuckle at the new Road Trip players as they got to experience this for the first time (and we got to see their faces at the end)! We SALUTE you for completing day 4 in style!

No prize giving after this round as its been a long and a rough day and our field needed some rest (this only applies to some though LOL).

Thank you to Arnold from Coca Cola Beverages South Africa, that sponsored Powerade to the field which came in handy after the George round. We are deeply grateful for your involvement!

Thank you to Walda and the teams in the Pro Shop and Restaurant, you were all spectacular and looked after us so well – we appreciate you all!

Day 5 – Oubaai:

Oubaai Golf Resort and Spa is always a very special course to play and arriving there every time starts reminding us that there are only 2 days left of the Road Trip. Although us as the organisers get very little sleep during this week, and we work long hours, we start realising that we are going to miss these crazies 🙂

The players got spoilt with a personalised pitch fork, which everyone LOVED!!

Rainy weather was in the pipeline and we kicked off with a shotgun start at 8:00. Fortunately the drizzle persisted for 3 holes only and stopped. The course is in magnificent condition and we always think back of 2 years ago when play was stopped due to one of local wild Springbuck giving birth on the 3rd.

We had a surprise that no one knew about, and that was a GIANT catapult on the 17th which was also our nearest to the pin competition. Something completely different to what you will see on a golf course 🙂 We also had massages for the field as they came off – it was hugely welcomed after yesterday’s 36 🙂

Thank you to Tinus for the announcements, Karen and team for all your assistance! The chef and waiters at the restaurant, the food was fantastic, thank you to you all!

Day 6 – Mossel Bay:

Day 6 and the ball game changes completely – the last 2 days of the tournament means players play strength vs strength!

We kicked off at Mossel Bay Golf Club with a 2 tee start from 9:00 where “you can you see the sea from every tee” – for over 100 years this has been their tagline and it still persist today! We can all agree on the fact that Mossel Bay Golf Course probably has the friendliest staff, well manicured course and consistent with everything they do for us every year!

The weather was sunny with a bit of wind and we had a demo day presented by Callaway SA. Our field could test drive all the latest drivers and irons in their range, complimented by expert advise by Neil Tucker-Walsh! The driving was packed with our players and we could see a huge amount of interest generated through this demo day!

Last year play was stopped around mid day due to poor visibility from thick fog, we were blessed to have no interruptions this year 🙂 The field had a great day out on the course and head back to the 19th for late lunch and prize giving!

a big thank you to Neil from Callaway, we appreciate your involvement with us this year! Another Massive shoutout to Lizette, Graham, Oli and the team from the restaurant, it is an absolute pleasure to come back to you guys every year!

Day 7 – Pinnacle Point:

The picture above says it all – we always finish with the best 🙂 Day 7 kicked off at the spectacular and beautiful Pinnacle Point Golf Estate in Mossel Bay with a two tee start at 11:00. Arguably one of the best, if not the best Golf Courses in the area, we couldn’t ask for better conditions of play to kick off the final day!

Players got spoilt with a brand new license disc design we had made for this year and they LOVED it. We soon realised that only South Africans use this, as the Austrians and German players apparently don’t have license tags in the front windows of their cars, this was interesting news to us 🙂

We also had some Powerade again for the field, as well as something that even we thought we would never have for breakfast – bubblegum flavoured tequila! 

Competition is very tight with this being the last day and it is still strength vs strength, in particular our top 10!

Coming off the course on the final day, the players walked into a wonderful Gin tasting done by Brand Republic, as well as the sweet sounds of our first live performer, Brighitte Deister. She is pursuing her solo career as an artist and doing a fantastic job, the players really enjoyed her!

As the organisers received the final score cards, they were being checked by the pro shop, and we asked the guests to enter the finale venue where we had more surprises! We had a sit down 3 course meal, live entertainment, and a stunning theme 🙂 The live entertainment was none other than the multi talented vocalist, Shaza Greeff – she delivered a spectacular performance, the players really enjoyed her! The venue was spectacular, the food was amazing and the entertainment none less than top notch!

a Big thank you to Cobra Transport & Fuel, Coca Cola Beverages South Africa, Brand Republic, Brighitte, Shaza, Nic, Michelle, and tea from Pinnacle Point – each and every one of you had a such a wonderful impact on the success of the day – thank you SO SO MUCH!

Prize Giving had the following categories:

1. Special Award – for being on the Road Trip for 5 (or more) CONSECUTIVE years

2. Overall – 1st to 10th Positions

Special Awards:

This year only one person received this award, aaaaannnndddd it goes to:

Hans Lichtenberg (5 consecutive years)

Overall:

10th Place with an overall score of 337 Points:

Hennie Anderson  & Stephan Snyders

9th Place with an overall score of 339 Points:

Deon Augustyn & Hans Lichtenberg

8th Place with an overall score of 340 Points on a count out:

Michael Aresti & Hansie Engelbrecht

7th Place with an overall score of 340 Points on a count in:

Alec Levin & Louis Burger

6th Place with an overall score of 341 Points on a count out, and newcomers to the Tournament:

Horst Zachbauer & Thomas Kronawetter

5th Place with an overall score of 341 Points on a count in:

Anton Pretorius & Norman Pretorius

4th Place with an overall score of 344 Points, and the Main Tournament Sponsors:

Christo Spies & Dicky Swanich

3rd Place with an overall score of 345 Points:

Dean van Dyk & Shane Morrow

2nd Place with an overall score of 349 Points:

Christo Swanepoel & Jacques Dippenaar

The 2018 Ultimate Garden Route Road Trip Grand Prix Winners, with an overall score of 351 points…..

CONGRATULATIONS TO:

Wilhelm Kruger & Niel van Heerden

A MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS to not only our top 10, but to the entire field of golfers for finishing 9 Golf Courses in 7 days, this is truly something to be proud of! To our golfing family members that return every year, as well as our newcomers, we trust you had a wonderful experience!

We are SUPER excited to bring you our Decade of Road Tripping celebration in 2019!! Keep an eye on your e-mails and our Facebook Page for details and updates!

If you would like more information about our 2019 Ultimate Garden Route Trip, or general inquiries about golf, accommodation & safari offerings, please complete the form below.