Project 55

The fantastic 4 - Terry, Stephen, Lindy and Robyn

It seems like everyone is getting as much mileage as they can out of the tour handicap system - a couple of players (Marshall and Stephen T.) think they have it all figured out...they know now if they don't come up with the top scores of the day after about 10 more rounds they could end up with a handicap of 55 and then attack the field! All I can say is good luck to them and we'll see...

Today, once again, was a beautiful day for golf (25 degrees or so and very little wind), warm but pleasant. The Arabella Golf Course couldn't be more opposite to Pearl Valley. This course doesn't have the beautiful flower beds that Pearl Valley has or the mountains framing the golf course, but its atractiveness comes from its dramatic style, spectacular bunkering, funky holes and rough so tough (and most likely snake territory) that it has been made a hazard.

The teams competition for today was Reverse Irishfoursomes Stableford, where the best score out of 4 players counts on the par 5s, the best 2 on the par 4's and the best 3 on par 3's. The team that combined the best was Robyn, Paul, Terry and Lindy with 89 points! Well done guys! Lindy, also won the individual best score with 40 points on a count back over the 'Director of Golf', Fiona. So, after all the scores were entered into the fancy I-pad (I am only jeslous!)...the result for the individual ladder changed very little...Biv G. is still on top! Catch her if you can is the message!

The day culminated with a lovely dinner in one of the Hotel's private rooms. The table was nicely decorated, the meals were very appetizing and the service couldn't be faulted. A nice way to say good bye to this beautiful venue.

Tomorrow will be a 'big day' with a very early start. We'll make our way to Fancourt but on the way we will stop and play Simola, one of the hidden gems in South African golf. Let's hope the weather continues to treat us kindly so we can continue to enjoy and taste the different flavours of South African golf.

View of the challenging finishing hole at Arabella GC

More photos to come

Moving Day

Winners are grinners!!!

Sadly, we left Cape Town today and the beautiful Table Bay Hotel. On the way to Arabella, our next destination, we played at Pearl Valley Golf Club. It is difficult to describe with words the beauty of this course. Unfortunately, the fairways & greens had been scarified recenty (we had been warned!) and I would love to have played it when in A1 condition. Wherever you look there is a lovely view of the rocky mountains and their silouhetttes. The course is also well manicured and there are a great variety of native flowers decorating every hole. The water comes into play on many of the holes and that proved to be quite a challenge for some...no need to say but it wasn't the female players!

So, that brings us to the next big topic...who was victoriousin the big match between the girls and the boys? Well...we are not going to say who lost but the hints are there and let me just tell you the girls are going to be bragging for a long time...

There is a rematch though later in the tour and we sincerly hope that the men had better luck than St. Kilda!

We left Pearl Valley and our lovely driver , Andrew,  took us on a spectacular drive to the Arabella Western Cape Hotel and Spa - our home for the next 2 nights. We finished the day with a group dinner at the Jamani Restaurant where presentations took place.

After the girls' celebrations, the individual winners were announced. Biv happened to have the best score (43 points) but was  inelegible to win the prize - just because she was one of the Tour Leaders - all she got was 4 strokes off her handicap! OK, so it looks like all the new handicap system is going to keep us honest anyway! The first prize was then allocated  to a deserving winner, Meredith,  who managed 40 points on this very challenging course. She overtook Deidre only by one point. Well done Meredith and well done to the girls!!! But seeing as the  'Golf Operations' team (Fi & Greg) plays to their own drum they decided to take 4 strokes off her too! Not fair!

Tomorrow looks like another promising day golf and weather wise and, with a later start, we are definitely ready for a sleep in!

View of the most difficult hole at Pearl Valley

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This is what we came here for!

First tour event winner,Stephen S, went from 10 to 6 hcp!

Today we finally hit the fairways at the Royal Cape Golf Club. As much as we have enjoyed the previous 2 days, some of us we getting itchy feet to play some golf and once again the good weather was on our side. The golf course was in great condition condition although many players found the thick kikyu grass a litlle confusing - especially on the green surrounds. Royal Cape GC is flat but very picturesque as it has the tradional Cape Town rocky mountains as background. 

The four teams were quickly 'baptised' by the Director of Golf - Fiona Law. She can work wonders with her new ipad too! So, we saw Charlie's Angels (Ed and 3 girls), Tierney's Tarts (Stepehn T. and 3 girls), Testosterone Tigers (no need to explain...4 boys obviously) and the Happy Couples (Robyn & Reg  and Meredith &Marshal.)

The competitive spirit in most of us was also coming out to try to establish our credentials on the Aggregate Stableford golf ladder. It started today and will go on for the rest of the tour. Winning early, however, may not be the best strategy during this tour. The 2010 Golf'n'Safari handicap system is almost as controversial as Golf Australia's latest version. After each event your handicap gets affected as follows:

Winner - Loses 4 strokes
Runner Up - Loses 2 strokes
Everyone else - Gains 2 strokes

Whether the system works or not we'll find out at the end but for now it seems to be quite popular - the majority of the players are happy with 2 strokes added to their handicap for NOT having the top 2 scores of the day! Sounds good to me!

Some people had a good score on their own, and some had the help of the valuable caddies...well, at least some of them were helpful! Ed didn't need any help and managed to score 39 points to take 2nd place. Stephen S. stole his thunder and took the winner position with 40 points - I am sure his caddy got a good tip!

Tomorrow's round is at Pearl Valley Golf Club and it will be the most anticipated match of all - Girls vs. Boys!!! Winning will be crucial and priceless since the real prize will be the right to brag about it for the rest of the trip!!! Gotta go to bed now...need to be in top form for tomorrow to help my team...GO GIRLS!!!

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A taste of Africa

Today was a day of sightseeing, relaxation and a taste of the African culture. We started early in the morning with a tour to the Cape of Good Hope (the most south-westerly part of Africa). Our tour guide was a funny but knowledgable guy calle Oloof. He entretained us all the way with the history of the area and general information about the country. We had few stops along the way - one of them in a market place, where you could get anything from handcraft souvenirs to diamonds and tanzanitas (a beautiful blue precious stone original from Tanzania). Despite intense interest from Lindy & Robyn (in particular) Paul was the only one to boost the local economy. The route along the atlantic ocean was very scenic with amazing cliffs, beautiful long beaches with white sand and some very expensive real estate - some of them holiday homes for celebrities such as David Beckam. The goverment protects some of the land near the beaches and nothing can be built there. They also protect the maritime species in the ocean and there are areas where fishing is prohibited.  The weather was also great and that added to the beauty of this drive.

We also saw some animals along the way including whales (yes...whales!). They are so used to humans there were guys windsurfing around them...unbelievable! We saw ostriches, cranes, african penguins and baboons -which can be pretty scary if they decide they want your food! They just don't dribble looking at you eat...they'll snatch your food! Oloof was very clear in his warnings not to resist if they decide they want your sandwich.

Not everything is nice and beautiful in South Africa though. There is poverty and unemployement. Along the way we saw a couple of spots where unemployed people wait for someone who needs an extra hand for any kind of job. They pick them up and take them to the work place where they'll make $20 a day plus a meal. Most of these people are refugees from other African nations. Unemployment in Cape Province is down to 30% (from 50%).

After reaching our destination and taking some photos at the sign that marks the latitude and longitude of the Cape of Good Hope (mind you trying to get the Americans to atay sway from the sign wasn't easy!) we drove to Cape Point. We walked up to the light house to admire the view from this high and extremely windy place. After a tasty luch we drove back to Cape Town and saw parts of this beautiful city of nearly 4 million people such as The Cape Town University, the new stadium built for the soccer World Cup and the "One &Only Hotel" - which is really the 'one and only' 6 star hotel in South Africa.

We finished the day with a colorful and rhythmic night at the Gold Restaurant in Cape Town. Before dinner we had a demostration and a taste of playing the drums - a very traditional instrument in the african culture that they used to use to communicate to each other. It was fun although may have some bruised hand for tomorrow's golf! (Not ideal, really!). The meal was accompanied by singers and dancers of african music... as it turned out we had our own star in the group, who had all the right moves and was more than capable of keeping up when invited to dance by the african dancer...Lindy surprised us all, and it was lovely to see that everyone got in to the spirit of the night and enjoyed the experience. Bed time...early start tomorrow for golf! What is the course record at Royal Cape?

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What a welcome!

Our first day started perfectly for some of the people in the group...the Collinwood supporters! Obviously! Around 6.30 AM local time we made our way downstairs to watch the footy in Union Bar. Fresh coffee and pastries (not fair having such temptations so early in the morning!) had been prepared specially for our group. It was interesting to see how "Aussie Rules" is truly becoming a global game and it is now broadcast by ESPN. We watched the first half of the game before going for the most amazing buffet breakfast I've ever seen! Someone counted 15 different varieties of fresh juices! Unreal! We finished watching the game and it seemed like the girls were more in a mood to celebrate than the boys, so a glass or 2 of champagne went down very well. All this before 9.30 in the morning!

Later on our trip to Robben Island was cancelled but the weather was so beautiful that we headed for one of Cape Town's main tourist attractions - Table Mountain. It is rare to see the mountain not covered in clouds the local say, so we were lucky. The views from the top of the mountain are incredible with beautiful coastal views from everywhere.

Wine in South Africa is good and quite inexpensive, so pizza and wine was the perfect lunch. After enjoying a relaxing afternoon in the hotel, tonite we'll be having the Welcome Happy Hour. That officially kick starts the Tour and the whole group will finally be reunited.

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The adventure starts now!

Most of us have finally arrived today in Cape Town after traveling nearly 25 hrs door to door from Melbourne...the trip was worth it though! After a quick stop at J'bourg airport, which is huge and very modern, we arrived in Cape Town where the weather temperature is perfect. The hotel where we are staying is called the Table Bay Hotel, a 5 star hotel located right on the Harbour- just gorgeous!

It is hard, however, to totally dettach ourselves from our lovely Australia and especially the things that matter to us the most...like the footy! So, tomorrow morning at 6:30 am the Hotel is opening the Union Bar specially for our group so we can watch the Grand Final! No sleeping in...but...who wants to miss it???

In the afternoon we'll be visitting Robben Island and enjoying the hotel's facilities which look amazing. Time to go to bed now... early start for the footy fans!