Graham Louw Invitational Cup launched

SWAKOPMUND’s Rossmund Golf Club hosted the first Graham Louw Invitational Cup on Saturday, honouring the club’s founder, Graham Louw.

The 96-year-old Louw received heartfelt praise for his contributions to the club, which he owned before it was sold.
Event organiser Clive Lawrence recounted the origin of the event, which began three years ago.

“Louw bought a round of drinks for the club to celebrate his 93rd birthday. Since then we wanted to organise a day to honour him, and with the support of sponsors, seniors of the club, and the committee, the date was finally set.”

With 80 golfers participating, the event was a resounding success. The majority of the players were from Swakopmund, showcasing the potential to make the golf course a vibrant and bustling facility.

The tournament featured a ‘scrambledrive’ format, with teams of two selecting the furthest drive and playing from that point. Lawrence was impressed with the skills of the players, with some scoring well above the average points per hole.

One of the most notable prizes of the day was a lamb and goat carcass for the player nearest to the pin in the third hole.

Lawrence confirmed that the Graham Louw Invitational Cup will become an annual event, held on the first Saturday of April, and the hopes are that it would evolve into a corporate golf feature, making the event even larger.

“The ultimate goal is to attract national players and expand the club’s membership by encouraging more young people, particularly girls, to get involved in golf,” noted Lawrence.

The Rossmund Golf Club is considered one of the most unique in Africa, with lush green fairways trimmed by Springboks, and beautiful scenery in the desert, and along the Swakop River.

Louw described the tournament as a joint effort to celebrate the golf course, which has been in existence for approximately 50 years.
He expressed amazement at the transformation of the once barren land into a beautiful golf course.

“The course may be one of the most unique in the world due to its location in a desert and reliance on reclaimed water. The water is pumped from a distance of 11 kilometers day and night, making it a remarkable achievement,” he said.

Louw said he was grateful to be honoured and to celebrate the golf course’s history.

He described the event as a “grand golf day”, and said the occasion was special due to the high number of entries, something not been seen in the last 10 years.

Michael Ludeke and Fritz Coetzee Jr were the winners of the first Graham Louw Invitational Cup.