The importance of the South African Golf Association

The South African Golf Association has become a very large and wide reaching association. This is partly because of the accessibility of the sport as a game which many people, male and female, of varying levels of skill, from amateur to professional, can all enjoy at the same time. Partly this is also because of the efficiency by which the association is run, every province has a contact person and department and they all report to each other. As far as associations go, it is a very respected organisation also based on the very important and influential people that play a role in the on goings of golf in this country. The beginnings of the club began to emerge in September 1892. Kimberley hosted the first real national championship, despite the fact that there were only representatives from Cape Town, Kimberley and Port Elizabeth present. In the championship that was decided by match play, a Kimberley gentleman went down to a Cape Townian in the final, when he sank a four-foot putt.

At the same meeting Kimberley won South Africa’s first inter club contest by beating both Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Ever since that day there has always been an annual championship tournament even though the S.A.G.A. was only officially formed in 1910. The tournament would almost always take place over Easter, and the highlight of the event was the S.A. Amateur Championship. The Union Steamship Company had given a trophy for the Amateur Championship in 1893 but when that trophy was won entirely by Douglas Proudfoot in 1895 he was not required to give it back. Thankfully the Union Steamship Company donated another trophy and this time made it a floating trophy. Which turned out to be quite a wise decision since Douglas Proudfoot went on to win the trophy another five times. Another great hero of golf in South Africa and the Golf Association was Jimmy Prentice. Jimmy died in the First World War after having come to the country from Scotland. He was incredibly grateful for all the warmth and kindness he had received in the country and so he donated a large amount of money to the purchasing of trophies for national and provincial games, in his will. He did this in order to promote the sport amongst young South Africans, and in return he became a household name amongst golfers.

But the South African Golf Association does not just organise golfing events. As sometimes happens in the game, there may be discrepancies regarding some of the rules. The South African Golf Association is the preserver of those rules in this country. They also represent all the unions in the country to the rest of the world. Like many Golf associations around the world there is a network of contacts between the various associations. In this way South Africa is represented very strongly in the international golfing scene because of the S.A.G.A. The association also funds several golfing related projects, maintaining its focus on promoting the high standard of golf in the country. It has served as a governing body of golf for South Africa since it’s formation and is an entirely non-profit organization run for the benefit of golfers and the good of golf in the country. The association sponsors a variety of programmes that benefit everyone who plays the game. It records and collects the rules of golf for all players to adhere to. It even supports grass root programmes. If you ever need to access the history of golf in this country they are the people to ask. If you want to know anything about the tournaments coming up or the most prominent players in the country, then contact them.