The first step....FOLLOW THE SUN

In 1960, shortly after the life story of American golfing legend, Ben Hogan, was portrayed in the  movie "Follow the Sun", Mike Florance and his committee announced the formation of the "Follow the Sun" NOMADS Golf Club under the aegis of the National War Memorial Health
Foundation.

The lapel badge adopted was similar to the Nomads badge we have now hanging from the name
bar but it consisted of a bell alone with a scroll on the top edge with the legend "Follow the Sun" and "Onthou 1939-1945" immediately above the bell. The background colours were top half -
yellow (sun) and bottom - green (grass). The choice of the Bell was prompted by the Meditations
of John Donne (and now our Creed) - "For Whom the Bell Tolls", symbolising the aim of the remembrance of those who had lost their lives in the War.

At this time, Mike was also Honorary Organiser of the South African National Golf Foundation
which had been formed as a result of a donation from the "Follow the Sun NOMADS" on the 18 October 1960 for the promotion of golf among the juniors. So it was no surprise that two
additional aims of the new Club were the furtherance of golf and to raise funds for Charity.

The "Follow the Sun" NOMADS Golf Club came into being officially in April 1960, with 106
"Founder" members attending the first monthly meeting scheduled for the first Saturday in May
at the Glendower Golf Club. The meeting itself was washed out but what a party! Rain also
partially disrupted the second attempt at Parkview so it was June before the first complete
official NOMADS  meeting took place, this time at Irene Golf Club. The special "Rules of Play"
used were virtually the same as those developed in the NUMIC days, and still in use today. The guiding principles being: Fellowship (fourball); Least inconvenience to Club members - avoiding
slow play (stableford medal, continuous putting, calling up on short holes etc) and Courteous Behaviour (properly dressed, fines for misdemeanours etc).

In addition to each monthly meeting being a complete competition in itself, the annual
competitions (or their forerunners) were in place so that there was always that little extra to consider when playing your game. In forming the club, it was stressed that a Member's first
loyalty was to his home club which should always take precedence.

The following circular started the ball rolling.....

                                          Down memory lane                                

Since the announcement of the winding-up of the "N.U.M.I.C." Golf Club, I have been assailed
on all sides to continue, in some form or another, a similar type of association.
You all know of my interest (as Honorary National Organiser) in the annual "Follow The Sun"
Golf Tournament and, arising from it, the formation of the S.A. National Golf Foundation - it is, therefore, with some pleasure that I now announce (under the aegis of the National War
Memorial Health Foundation) the birth of the 

                                         

FOLLOW THE SUN
"NOMADS"
GOLF CLUB

The primary object of the Club  will be to stimulate, encourage and maintain a strong and
influential nucleus of interest in the annual "Follow The Sun" charitable tournaments, by
means of the regular meeting-together of members of the Follow The Sun "NOMADS" Club.
Any profits arising from the Club will be devoted entirely to the annual "Follow The Sun" Golf Tournament.

Members of "N.U.M.I.C." are being offered FOUNDER MEMBERSHIP  of the new Club, and it is
hoped that all will accept this "one-time" opportunity.

Ordinary membership will be opened up more than was possible under "N.U.M.I.C." and we
are hoping that every ex-'N.U.M.I.C." member will interest and introduce at least one member
of good standing to the Club.

The Club will run - broadly - on exactly the same lines as did "N.U.M.I.C."; every member will
be given a special "NOMADS" handicap; the main competition will still be a Combined Stableford
with partners "drawn from the hat"; the various sweepstakes, swindles and/or shenanigans will continue; all, in fact, as before.

Meetings will be held on 3rd Saturday mornings for eight months of the year, interspersed with quarterly meetings on 3rd Thursdays. The Thursday meetings will include luncheon and special competitions and at these meetings the "CHUBBY LLOYD MEMORIAL TROPHIES" will be
competed for.

A new programme of meetings and venues is being drawn up and will be circulated to all
members, together with a members pocket book which we are preparing, setting out the aims, objects and rules of the Club.

I shall look forward keenly to our continuing association under the new banner. 
                                                                                    signed      M.H.A. FLORANCE

.... and the notice recording the wet conclusion to the first meeting attempted 

FOON 23-1971                                                                FOLLOW THE SUN                                             TEL.    23-1971
POSBUS 8446                                                                       "NOMADS"                                                    P.O. BOX 8446
JOHANNESBURG                                                                   Golf Club                                                     JOHANNESBURG

There was a wry (but certainly not dry) humour in the Club's title on the morning of Saturday
last. In a continuous downpour, which gave no encouragement that it would EVER cease,
"FOLLOW THE SUN" as a phrase veered between the extremes of pious hope and hollow
mockery.

In consequence, and abetted by the fact that the Glendower Pro shop ran out of stock of
Aqualungs and Frog-feet, the game was abandoned after the field of 68 water nymphs had completed nine lengths of the Glendower lake.

Tony Sherlock was full of protest at the abandonment, avowing that he was all for carrying on.
But, then, it couldn't spoil his golf anyway - AND he holds the singular advantage (in such
climate) of being from Lancashire....!

The "CHUBBY LLOYD" trophies for Individual Stableford returns were withdrawn, necessarily,
from the meeting, whilst the 3rd HOLE AGGREGATE and "DURAO'S FOLLY"  on the 17th were
likewise cancelled... the seas on both greens being too choppy. The results of the
"TEAMS-OF-FOUR" Combined Stableford are overleaf, for those who remember that some golf
was played. 

Pursuing the nautical idiom to its bitterest end, it is only too true that at 10.30 a.m. the
Glendower bar was a sea of "White Horses".
Anti-flu vaccine, or something.

LATE NEWS:    Survivors of Glendower will be charmed to know that the
                     "NOMADS" Club has now applied for affiliation to the S.A. Swimming, Water
                     Polo and Spear-Fishing Association.