Sardinia Bay may be one of Nelson Mandela Bay’s smaller golf clubs, but it is larger than life in terms of the offering on and off the course.
Lining up a shot as dazzles of zebra graze alongside the green at Sardinia Bay Golf & Wildlife Estate is only one part of the adventure.
As beautiful as nature is, the Gqeberha club is so much more than just an idyllic setting with majestic animals.
It is affiliated to both the Eastern Province Golf Union and South African Golf Association, which means competitions are fully accredited.
In other words, lowering handicaps is serious business at a venue that has come on in leaps and bounds in the past decade.
Sardinia Bay Golf Club boasts in excess of 100 members, more than two-thirds of whom live beyond the walls of the estate.
According to club committee member Noel van Onselen, Sardinia Bay wanted even more players on its books.
“We want members who are willing to play in the big competitions and, of course, the more you have the greater the income to help maintain the course,” Noel said.
“The fees are very reasonable.”
For R5 000 a year you can play as much as you want. Otherwise, it’s R120 on weekdays and R145 on weekends for nine holes and R160 and R180 respectively for 18 holes.
Sardinia Bay’s track has become a favourite port of call for weekend players not looking for anything too intimidating.
But this could also be misleading, Noel warned. As a longer hitter, he often found bigger courses easier to negotiate than that of his home club where his short game was tested a lot.
Apart from giving your chips and puts a workout, the club offers other opportunities to golfers who take their game more seriously.
A competition for senior men and women is played every Tuesday while Saturdays offer a medal (once a month) or individual stableford competition played over 18 holes.
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One of the club’s most eagerly anticipated events is Sundowners, which is held every second Friday.
This takes the form of a closest-to-the-pin competition where participants tee off from the clubhouse deck to the green below. The entrance fee of R20 for six balls goes into a kitty and whoever wins earns themselves some extra beer money.
“You probably hit a nine-iron most of the time. Generally, though, you’ve had a few drinks by the time you play, maybe two quarts [of beer].
“Funnily enough, you seem to get more accurate,” Noel quipped.
He said the course was getting “better and better” every year thanks to various initiatives.
Experts from Humewood Golf Club assist with hollow tining and the estate recently procured a new fairway mower which Noel said was doing “an amazing job”.
“The fairways are better because of the new mower. We’ve also put in a few cart paths to protect grass.”
Sardinia Bay Golf Club boasts an excellent management team, which includes a chairperson and men’s and women’s club captains.
Noel said its female members were already playing league golf in Gqeberha and were doing well. A men’s team is expected to be entered in local competitions from 2025.
“We are inviting anyone who is interested to come down to the club, pay their subs, register and get a handicap card. It’s as simple as that.”