2019 MOTUS CHALLENGE FINALS, ATTENDED BY OUR VERY OWN
Lowveld Nomad and Past Captain, Rob Mclagan advanced to the finals of the 2019 MOTUS Challenge and attended this prestigious event recently, postponed in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. This is his story...
With envy I had heard of the experiences of previous Motus Challenge winners and how royally they had been treated - so having won the Lowveld section I could not wait to attend. Along came Covid and I thought that my opportunity was gone. When I received a mail from Robbie Frank in March this year to say that the trip was on again, I was surprised, but excited!
On Friday 14 May, I drove down to Champagne Sports Resort in the Drakensberg. The tournament this year was somewhat downsized due to Covid and we did not have any juniors or disabled golfers in attendance. However, the winner of the Glenbrynth draw, Mark Ablett, and his fourball were coincidentally booked for the same weekend thereby bolstering the Nomads representation at the resort. At the welcoming function everyone was presented with a Taylormade gift hamper and a sponsors shirt for the final day.
Day 1 dawned and a very friendly 09h30 T-off time awaited. The weather was superb so no excuses on that front. What a long day it turned out to be, taking 5:30 hours to complete the round. While the colours of the autumn leaves made a spectacle when viewed from the clubhouse, the reality of balls hiding under the leaves was problematic, prompting a local rule that allowed a free drop for balls lost under leaves with the agreement of your playing partners. I finished second on 33 points, 2 behind the Clubhouse leader. The day’s golf was followed by what can only be described as a really sumptuous buffet dinner at the hotel.
Day 2 and another glorious sunny day, little did I know the crock of s*** that awaited me on the course. This had nothing to do with the wine that the fellow competitors plied me with the previous evening! The resultant 25 points left me personally disappointed, but would eventually be good enough for 3rd place with the winner from the Free State far ahead with a total of 66 points. There are no regrets for the poor golf and attendance is the prize in itself. So, I recommend that you play your heart out to try and qualify for the Motus challenge in the future. Ill be trying my best again this year…
Thanks are always due after an event of this nature: To National PRO, Robbie Frank and his team, the organisation was great. For an outsider it is difficult to conceptualise the work put in by Robbie and his Company staff, all in the name of Nomads. Thanks Robbie.
Motus really spoiled us rotten and a Nomads National Sponsor of this magnitude deserves our support where possible. Thanks to Graeme Wood of Motus. Also to Derek Cuthbert of Glenbrynth, your ongoing support of Nomads is valued.
I met and played with some really nice people that I may not otherwise have seen at other Nomad events and I can firmly say that the spirit of Nomads fellowship lives on, despite Covid.
