‘Every dog has its day’

Alphen Park resident Bernie Goldman (82) has been a member of the Benoni Lake Club for 50 years and recently achieved the status of being the oldest member at the club to get a hole-in-one.

However, this isn’t his first hole-in-one at the club as he has achieved three since being a member. His first one was on September 29, 2005, the second one was on December 1, 2006, and the most recent one took place on July 9 on the ninth hole.

“Every dog has its day,” he said.

“I believe that every sportsman loves golf.

“It’s a huge arena. If you think about it, for example, a basketball player will enjoy golf as well because they have this court they can play on, but that is all, just the court, but golf has a huge arena and one feels so privileged to walk in a beautiful garden and do something more than just walking.

“It’s a huge challenge. To most people, golf doesn’t look hard but it is and especially now at my age, I am feeling it.”

At the time of the hole-in-one, Goldman had his two best friends with him to witness the action.

“The reaction was ‘I must be the luckiest bloke on Gods earth’ to even reach the hole at my age,” he said.

“I just felt lucky and privileged to have achieved this and I keep the balls from all my hole-in-ones.

“It was even more amazing to have had my two very good friends with me, John Calvert (71), who is also my bridge partner and has been for many years and Peter Perves (85). He is a very good golf player, much better than me.”

The competition Goldman had been taking part in at the time of this hole-in-one was a Meat Competition held at Benoni Lake Club, and due to him being Kosher because of his Jewish heritage, he explained that he wouldn’t receive meat but rather a cash prize.

Kosher is a term to describe any food that complies with a strict set of dietary rules in Judaism. These rules are called kashrut.

“I run a Jewish community in Benoni and for 20 years I have been the president of the Shul/Synagogue (a Jewish house of worship) in Benoni while my wife is the secretary,” he explained.

“We sold part of the Shul to St Francis as we used to have 500 families attending and now only have about 30.

“I took the house that was left, which was originally the Rabbi’s house (teacher or master in Judaism) and myself along with an architect spent eight months converting it into a Shul. It was the most wonderful thing I have ever done. What a fantastic experience.”

Goldman was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, and only started playing golf more seriously after he retired from being a general manager at an insurance company at 55.

“I have loved sport all my life and have always found the time and played,” he said.

“One of the reasons I retired early is because I have always had three ambitions, one, start playing serious golf, two, join a choir and three, start a Jewish community and Shul in Benoni.

“I am a singer and have always sung in choirs and a synagogue choir.

“When I was 55, I was singing in a Jewish male choir in Johannesburg.

“I have been all over the world for my singing with the Jewish male choir, three trips to America, two to Australia, one in Israel and one to England. I sang with them for 15 years and finally stopped at the age of 70.

“But knowing I have completed my ambitions is really a rewarding experience.”

Goldman and his wife have been married for 61 years and often play bridge together at Benoni Northerns, as well as their Shul Bridge Club.

“We got married when I was 20 years old and she was 18,” he said.

“We have three children, two sons and a daughter who all live overseas, and seven grandchildren.”

When it comes to the aim, he said, “Of course I was aiming for the hole in one, every golfer on a short hole is aiming for the hole in one. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

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