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NEWSLETTER #5 May 2016

Dearest Member,

May is one of the best months for golf, last of the autumn days, just before the chilly winter days.

We wish to remind members of the following important dates:

 June, 16th Young and Old (to celebrate youth day)  September, 24th Founder’s Members  November, 27th – December 3rd Week of Champions (Bankenveld Open)

1. BATTLE OF BANKENVELD

The Battle of Bankenveld took place on April 27th, and the day was well attended with 44 players playing. Congratulations to Johan Pieterse, Andre van der Walt, Jaco Raulstone & Ruwaan Durheim.

Directors: Postnet Suite 1234 45 Silwer Avenue The Golf Club

E van Wyk TRP(SA) Private Bag X7279 Bankenveld Bankenveld (Pty) Ltd

M van Wyk CA(SA) W itbank 103 5 eMalahleni (Witbank) Reg. No: 2007/006934/07

2. GOLF ETIQEUTTE

The Golf Club and its members have observed over the last 3 to 4 years some very serious and dangerous situations created by non-golfers, not realizing the danger of flying golf balls. The following guidelines serve to protect all using the course and the cart paths:

 Golfers, pedestrians and wild animals shall have the rights of way at all places and at all times.

 Non-golfers (pedestrians, cyclists, carts) must move in the same directions as the golfers between the club house and the “old” entrance gate in Olifants River Drive.

2.1. Move in the same direction as the course plays

 When the non-golfers are about pass stationary golfers on the cart path, they must wait for the golfers to finish playing their shots, in order to avoid the possibility to be hit with a golf ball from behind.  When golfers are about to play a shot, please keep quite.  When golfers are mobile, non-golfers are at leisure to pass the golfers.

2.2. Move in the opposite direction as the course plays

 Non-golfers must at all times be on the lookout for on-coming golfers.  If on-coming golfers are stationary, non-golfers must immediately stop and wait until the golfers are mobile again.  If on-coming golfers are mobile, then the non-golfers are safe to pass through.  Important: The average distance range of a golf shot is ±250m; this is a safe distance from any stationary golfer.

:

If there are golfers that is stationary (to hit a shot),

all non-golfers on the cart path must wait until the golfers move forward.

3. Birds of a feather ....

Our feature local birds of the month are the three Lapwings species we see on the course. They are the:

Blacksmith Crowned African Wattled (Bont-kiewiet) (Kroon-kiewiet) (Lel-kiewiet).

Blacksmith Lapwing

The blacksmith lapwing or blacksmith plover (Vanellus armatus) occurs commonly from Kenya through central Tanzania to southern and south-western Africa. The vernacular name derives from the repeated metallic 'tink, tink, tink' alarm call, which suggests a blacksmith's hammer striking an anvil. Description

Blacksmith lapwings are very boldly patterned in black, grey and white, possibly warning colours to predators. Female’s average larger and heavier but the sexes are generally alike. Habitat and numbers

The blacksmith lapwing occurs in association with wetlands of all sizes. Even very small damp areas caused by a spilling water trough can attract them. In South Africa they are most numerous in the mesic grassland region, less so in higher-rainfall grasslands. During the breeding season, the species often reacts aggressively to other lapwings or African jacanas that may enter its wetland habitat. Nests are shallow depressions on bare ground or short grass, close to water, and tend to be spaced at least 400 m apart. The blacksmith lapwing breeds in spring, but its choice of nesting site and timing may be opportunistic. The young separate gradually from their parents and do not return to natal areas afterwards. This lapwing feeds on aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates.

Crowned Lapwing

The crowned lapwing (Vanellus coronatus), or crowned plover, is a bird of the lapwing subfamily that occurs contiguously from the Red Sea coast of Somalia to southern and south-western Africa. It is an adaptable and numerous species, with bold and noisy habits The crowned lapwing is easily recognized by its combination of brown and white colours, with most tellingly, a black crown intersected by an annular white halo. Adults are noisy and conspicuous. Males measure on average 3% larger than females. Juveniles are dull versions of adults, vermiculated on the wings and mantle, the legs yellowy rather than red and the bill lacking the red base. Habitat and numbers

Crowned lapwings prefer short, dry grassland which may be overgrazed or burnt, but avoid mountains. Although generally outnumbered by blacksmith lapwings, they are the most widespread and locally the most numerous lapwing species in their area of distribution. Their numbers have increased in the latter part of the 20th-century after benefiting from a range of human activities. They live up to 20 years. Behaviour

Crowned lapwings and the more localized black-winged lapwings sometimes associate and do not show mutual aggression, even within breeding territories. Different crowned lapwing males do however posture aggressively when nesting territories are established. The loser in an encounter assumes a special posture to signal his defeat. A female accepting the male and territory will follow the male during his display flight. Mates may be retained for life. Egg-laying is timed to precede the rainy season and most incubating is done by the female. The male assists only on hot days, when he either incubates or shades the nest. Food

Their diet consists of a variety of insects, but termites form an important component.

African Wattled Lapwing

The African wattled lapwing or Senegal wattled plover (Vanellus senegallus) is a large lapwing, a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is a resident breeder in most of sub-Saharan Africa outside the rainforests, although it has seasonal movements. These are conspicuous and unmistakable birds. They are large brown waders with a black crown, white forehead and large yellow facial wattles. The tail is white, tipped black, and the long legs are yellow. In flight, African wattled lapwing's upperwings have black flight feathers and brown coverts separated by a white bar. The underwings are white with black flight feathers. The African wattled lapwing has a loud peep- peep call. This species is a common breeder in wet lowland habitats, especially damp grassland. It often feeds in drier habitats, such as golf courses, picking insects and other invertebrates from the ground. It lays three or four eggs on a ground scrape.

4. WINDHOEK LAGER INTERNATIONAL PAIRS

Carl Manser and Christo de Beer qualified to play in the next round to be played on Friday, May 27th, at Serengeti. We wished them good luck.

5. DALE HAYES GOLF DAY

Dale Hayes hosted his HAYES CLASSIC Day on 23rd May, 2016. Cameron and Ryan McKenzie won the interesting betterball competition.

6. CHANGES TO THE HANDICAP SYSTEM

Some news from SAGA is their announcement to change how the handicaps are administrated. A new ruling has been passed stating that a player’s handicap can now change both up and down after each score has been submitted into the handicap terminal. So this means that you, the player, needs to make sure that after each round a score is entered. If you do not submit your score, and go out to play another game, you will essentially be cheating. As a club we are expected to monitor this and have accepted the responsibility.

7. LEAGUE TEAMS

The leagues matches play during April & May had mixed results for Bankenveld. The Spring Chicken lost their semi-final match against Volksrust in a play-off will the Ou Toppies won against Carolina and the Veterans (Coffin Dodgers) won against Bethal. 8. WEDNESDAY COMPETITIONS

We have decided to suspend the Wednesday competitions for the next couple of months due to lack of interest and because of coming of the winter period.

9. CHIP-OUT COMPETITION

The chip-out competition after the regular Friday Nine-&-Wine has become very popular and exciting. The rules applicable are as follows:

 Everybody gets one chance with 4 balls (R10 per player);

 Participants (visitors are hearty welcome) do not have to play in the Nine-&-Wine competition;

 The nearest-to-the-pin on the day wins a meal and one drink to be enjoyed on the same evening at Primi;

 A hole-in-one wins all the entry fees to date; and

 All winners must be present during prize-giving.

10. CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Thandeka Hlatshwayo for her Hole-in-One on hole nr 8. She is our first female player to achieve this remarkable honour.

11. MONTHLY MEDAL

The Monthly Medal will take place on May 28th.

The next lucky draw will take place at prize-giving of Month Medal on May. In order to receive the prize money, the lucky member must be present during this prize-giving.

The name drawn for the Lucky Draw in April was Richard Royffe. Unfortunately Richard was not present!

The prize-money for May is R1,000-00.

Regards,

Eben van Wyk