I've always felt that golf is supposed to be covered by journalists on the course not in a nice, air-conditioned room with comfy chairs with a fridge full of drinks looking at the leaderboard on a phone and the organizers of the Joburg Ladies Open seem to agree with me.
The way they demonstrated that was by sticking the assembled media in a closet.
A tiny room with nowhere near enough room for the journalists to even open their laptops, no aircon and a bar fridge that has seen better days, keeping the water at a steady lukewarm temperature.
But it was nice to see some old friends like Ken and have a catch-up with Mike, another Mike, I try not to refer to myself in the third person (often).
Maybe there was a method to their madness as it forced people to get out onto the lush green grass of Modderfontein Golf Course and see what these world class ladies were delivering.
Any event that combines the best the Sunshine Ladies Tour and the Ladies European Tour has to offer is going to have plenty of action and that action takes place on the greens and fairways, not in a tiny little room that’s smaller than my car.
I live close to the course so I was relaxed as I headed there on Thursday morning, even though not a single robot was working ... but that soon came to an end when a guy with a clipboard who thought he was the most powerful man in the world all of a sudden wouldn’t let me on property without my accreditation, which I couldn’t get with getting on property ...
I stayed calm, kept my voice level and made it work (although I did want to go all Sheldon Cooper on him) but that is not the way a world class event should be run.
For those of you who don't know (https://youtu.be/ermeZ2hZT1c?si=4z_9AhUeEd_LQtyx)
After a spell of cold weather, the Joburg sun was back with a vengeance and liquid refreshment was in short supply (and back in the tiny fridge in the tiny room) so it was a long day following the ladies but well worth it.
Eagles and birdies flew in, while chip-ins and lip-out brought smiles and frowns in equal measure.
If I'm honest though, it was annoying watching these women go about their work, every one of them has an awesome swing that made me envious, the ball-striking left me green with envy and the putting (on seriously tricky greens) was top notch.
I can’t wait for Friday, hopefully I get through the gate a little easier this time …
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