Although the Goldfields West golf club experienced some serious problems earlier this year, the club is once again
ranked among some of the best in the country.
On Saturday, young members of the North West u.13 golf team gathered at the club to receive a sponsorship of golf
bags. The team, which includes Carletonville’s own star junior player OD Brits, received the sponsorship in preparation for the national u.13 championship from 4 to 6 October. Other members of the team hail from Pecan
Wood in Hartebeespoort Dam and Potchefstroom, among others.
OD’s father, Ockie Brits, believes the NW team has a very good chance of winning the nationals as all the members
are ranked among the top ten players in their age group nationally, most being among the top five. The team also
took second place in last year’s national championship.
Saturday’s event was one of many that have recently taken place at the club. Having been in existence since 1949, it was liquidated in April and bought by a long-time member, Mr Hans Vierra. Since then, he has rebuilt the pro-shop and cleaned and improved parts of the course. Many golfers reckon it now looks better than ever and Golf Digest has ranked it among the top 100 golf courses in the country.
That is more or less the number of springbok, blesbok and impala that continue to roam the course in the midst of the many upgrades. Vierra has also taken it upon himself to clean up and promote some of the historical relics
on the course. One such example is the grave and tombstone of Ms Z.S. Cillieres (born Schoeman), the original
owner of the Driefontein farm, on which the course was built. Cillieres passed away on 5 August 1896. Another
is the grave of John Spranger Harrison, the mining pioneer after whom Harrison Street in Johannesburg was
named. This pioneer was also a previous owner of the on which the club is built.
of the farm on which the club is now built.
