Greetings to all Nomads from a cold and blustery Port Elizabeth.  I hope that all Nomads are healthy and virus free and that their losses have been minimal.  My condolences go to those who have lost loved ones or friends from Covid and other ailments over the last year, “Any man’s death diminishes me”!

Due to the ongoing pandemic, my year in office and travels have been seriously compromised in that, each time that I plan a visit, a new form of restriction is thrown my way.  I am hoping to begin my visits to the Clubs this month and am ever hopeful that I will get the opportunity to meet the members and enjoy a prize giving together. This has not been possible up to now, due to Covid. I plan to visit Lowveld on the weekend of 18-19 September for Gary Angelos’s 450-game celebration at Mbombela Golf Club. This is a huge achievement and I am glad to be able to be present to witness this milestone. This visit also coincides with the 25th Anniversary of Lowveld Club, founded in 1996.

On 30 August, we were extremely happy to announce that the 2021 Sunbird National Tournament is to go ahead at the Champagne Sports Resort. A lot of hard work and time has been put into this tournament by Robbie Frank and his team and my gratitude goes out to them for their efforts. We are looking forward to getting back to some form of normality where we can celebrate our annual National Tournament again after 18 months of relative inactivity. This will be a bit different to our accustomed tournament, with strict protocols in place for the prevention of the spread of Covid. Robbie, together with the hotel staff and management, have ensured that all precautions have been considered and we request that all participants comply with these precautions. This is going to be a great six days of golf, camaraderie and friendship between friends from all over Southern Africa. We are delighted that our friends from across the borders are able to join us for the tournament, albeit with reduced numbers.

Nomads continue to do the Golforama duties around the country, with several tournaments going on at the moment. I thank all of the volunteers from around the country for their diligence and for giving of their time so that we can achieve our goals. This is how Nomads secure funds that are used to sponsor the Furtherance of Golf for the Junior, Women and Disabled Golf tournaments that are run annually. The Nomads-sponsored Girls Under 19 tournament is due to begin in a few days at Magalies Park Golf Club, after being postponed due to Covid. I wish the Girls well and know that the tournament will be a big success.

Earlier in my term, I was privileged to attend the Girls Rose Bowl at Durbanville Golf Club, where I was suitably impressed with the quality of the golf and the impeccable behavior of the competitors. I also managed to attend the Boys Under 19 tournament at Waterkloof Golf Club, where the golfers enjoyed a great golf course, which reflected in the good scores. Congratulations to GolfRSA and Women’s Golf for the successful running of these tournaments.

The National Executive Committee continue to work tirelessly behind the scenes, ensuring that we comply with all legislation from government, which has prompted us to make several changes to our Constitution and Rules of Play so that the Club can run smoothly.  We are also in the process of finalising the Popi Act compliance, which is a requirement from government.  I thank the members of Natex for their hard work through the year.

We are in the process of compiling a study on the Future of Nomads, the results of which will be shared by the convener, Ken Walker at the National Council meeting in October. We are hoping for some positive results from this study so that we can ensure that Nomads will be here for another 60 years.

I look forward to seeing you all in the near future.

Yours in Nomads,

Stuart McIver