Wynand Myburgh- Assistant Golf Director
Fancourt Country Club
| What led you to becoming a PGA Professional?
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Long story short, at School golf was one of many sports I enjoyed and excelled in I therefore chose to study a Diploma in Sports Management with Golf as my Major. During my second year at NMMU (George Campus) we had to do 6 months prac work which I was lucky enough to do at Fancourt in the Bramble Hill Proshop, in fact during these 6 months I enjoyed the work and environment so much I wangled my way into to be employed there and continued to work there on a full time basis whilst taking breaks to attend classes.
The love for working with people especially in their chosen leisure time and creating experiences for them to enjoy this time more is what drove me to become a PGA Professional. |
| How long have you been in your current position?
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Since June 2019. |
| What does your job entail?
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I report directly to the Golf Director at FCC and oversee the golf operations at the Montagu & Outeniqua courses as well as the Golf Academy and Warm Up Area. |
| Do you have any environmental or sustainability goals that you have met and would like to share?
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N/A |
| Please give us a brief outline of the path you took to lead you to your current position | It has been quite a ride since I got back to Fancourt in 2015, I was employed as the Club Coordinator at The Links (Fancourt’s private members club), which was an incredible experience with just the right amount of freedom in my role to be create unique experiences for the club’s members.
In 2017 I was given further responsibilities as the acting Food & Beverage Manager at The Links in addition to my role as Club Coordinator, although this led to working very long hours, it allowed me another avenue to further create great experiences at The Links with bespoke dinner experiences & themed evenings, etc. I was also very privileged in 2017 that my peers voted me as Club Professional of the year for the Southern & Eastern Cape Region. In May 2019 I started a new role at Fancourt moving over to the Fancourt Country Club (Montagu and Outeniqua Courses) as the Golf Operations Manager: Events & Administration, a new role created at Fancourt based on my role at The Links which to work in conjunction with the Golf Manager and Golf Operations manager, focusing on improving current and creating new Club events for members and hotel guests as well as undertaking the department’s administration. In a restructure of the golf department I was further promoted in June 2019 to Assistant Golf Director at FCC. |
| Why do you feel that you would be a good candidate to win this award?
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2019 was a real rollercoaster of a year for me, a new role at FCC was created around my strengths which would’ve led to me becoming a 4th member in a team consisting of a Golf Manager, Golf Ops Manager and Proshop Manager.
Originally I would’ve only moved over from The Links when a replacement for me was recruited and I had done a handover of sorts during the quieter Winter months, however due to unforeseen circumstances at FCC the incumbents of the above 3 positions all moved on without ready replacements, which led to me moving over in May and overseeing all 4 roles until suitable replacements could be recruited. I was thrown into the deep end at FCC, with the annual Fancourt Amateur which began the week I started at FCC and of which I was tournament director, this was very challenging as I had to find my feet in a new environment with a new team. During the months May through August I oversaw the entire FCC golf department trying my hardest to fill the 4 FCC golf roles, receiving massive support from Ryan Reid the Director of Sports and Recreation to whom the golf department reports, his PA Oriana and Wouter of the Leisure Centre. Fancourt during this time Fancourt experienced all-time record hotel occupancies for these months due to the 1st Bucket List special on offer, this special was marketed specifically towards local South Africans, we did just over 13000 rounds for these 4 months a staggering 5300 more than in 2018. We also hosted numerous Southern Cape Golf Union events during this time including Fancourt Open, Mid-Amateur and Senior Open. The Dimension Data Juniors a premier event on the national junior order of merit also took place. Together with the FCC Committee I helped plan 3 annual Charity golf days for Emmaus, George Night Shelter and Kwagga Trust all of which occurred in November and also began planning the FCC “Majors”. In September FCC employed a New Golf Director in Nic Grundtvig and together we recruited a second Assistant Golf Director in Matthew Bird and a retail manager in JP Cawood, both started in November. The above team hosted the FCC “Majors” i.e. Member & Guest, Member & Member, Club Champs and Foursomes and in each I was thanked by the FCC Lady’s and Club Captain for my specific roles in each of these event, especially the Member Guest as this took place in October and the bulk of the planning took place before September when Nic joined. The 2 highlights were indeed the hosting of the Dimension Data Pro Am (Co-sanctioned Sunshine Tour and Challenge Tour Event) and the 2019 World Final of The BMW Golf Cup. I believe I deserve this award for keeping FCC afloat during the busiest of winters in very trying circumstances, and together with a new team providing 5 star service levels to Fancourt Members and guests. |
