Golf Digest South Africa — January 2018

Memorable hole:The seventh has

magnificent views of the Joburg

skyline, and the pulpit par-3 15th is

another gem.

General Manager:Bradley Smith.

Observatory is the oldest club in
Johannesburg still operating on
its original property since being founded
in 1914 near the city centre. It is an at-
tractive parkland course, with tree-lined
undulating fairways, hilly in places, with
an interesting variety of holes.
Obs, as it is often referred as, has
always been regarded as one of the best
value courses in Gauteng – weekday
green fees for visitors range between
R120 and R150 for 18 holes – and the
club has a grassed range, pro shop and
sizeable clubhouse.
The club has undergone changes
recently aimed at bringing Observatory
in line with new trends to attract more
golfers. A fresh committee under chair-
man Mario Pereira and management
structure has enabled the club to change
focus and look towards satisfying the
needs of a new target market.
One of the few clubs to boast high
level transformation, Observatory has
entrusted its management and opera-
tions to Bradley Smith and Bella Modis-

60 /JANUARY 2018/GOLFDIGEST.CO.ZA

Did you know?

Fact 1 /Bobby Locke lived close to

Observatory during his playing days,

and Observatory was his home club

when he won the Open four times. The

“Bobby Locke Corner” in the bar has

old photos from his younger days. The

Henning brothers learned to play golf

at Observatory.

Fact 2 /Observatory hosted the Big

Easy Tour Championship in Septem-

ber, won by Jacquin Hess, and is often

used for Sunshine Tour qualifiers.

Fact 3 /Junior members pay

R40 green fee weekdays and R130

weekends.

OBSERVATORY GOLF CLUB – CENTRAL GAUTENG

COURTESY OBSERVATORY

ha. Smith, a long-standing club member,

is general manager, and was previously

in the cycling industry. Modisha, the only

African female PGA qualifi ed pro, is golf

operations manager. Bella began playing

through the Development Board, and

became the fi rst African woman to

teach at the Momentum World ofGolf.

She also presented equipment on the

SuperGolf TV show.

“Our focus is on making golf more

aff ordable, and attracting new members

and guests to the course,” said Smith.

“Bella is focusing on getting more

youngsters and ladies into golf, while

representing Obs on the pro golf side.

Another key element, being a community

course, is giving back. We are off ering

registered charities and NPOs free use

of our facilities for golf days. We don’t

charge for green fees if they play on

Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

Observatory has a close relationship

with playmoregolf, and club members

automatically become members of PMG

with access to a vast network of courses.

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