The recent Royal Oak Country Club Championships turned into a family affair.
For only the second time in the club’s history, the A and B divisions were won by a father-and-son combination.
Christy Raper was the top golfer at the championships because he won the A division, while his father, Shawn, won the second-tier tournament.
“The course was playing tough with all the (recent) rain and all the grass, but it was nice,” said Shawn.
The two have played at the local club since 2013. The victory is the result of the two working hard on the golf course.
“We have been putting in a lot of hours on the golf course, especially for this tournament,” said the older Raper.
Christy has dominated the club for the last few years. This year’s victory is his third in a row. Winning the club championships is almost like a family tradition.
“I have also won the A division before, but it was 15 years ago,” said Shawn.
With so much rain in Brakpan over the last few weeks, the conditions on the course were always going to be tricky.
“If you look at how everybody played, then you can see that it was not easy. The scores were not very low,” said the father.
Proof of this is how 23-year-old Christy shot a 66 at the same course two weeks earlier, but they hit much higher scores at the club championships.
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“Then the conditions were perfect, and the grass was perfect. But with all the rain, it got rough on the sides.
Although the course was clean, the conditions on the side of the fairways were really tough,” said the B division winner.
The two players have played a considerable number of pro-am events, with the younger Raper hoping to one day play professionally.
The pair, along with Royal Oak manager Kenneth Dube, recently came second at a pro-am event in Koro Creek, Modimolle.
Christy represented Eastern Gauteng in the inter-provincial championships, where he was the player of the tournament, also in Koro Creek.
