The next edition of the Nedbank South African Charity Golf Day will take place on Friday, 5 September 2025 at Foxhills Club and Resort, Stonehill Road, Ottershaw, Surrey KT16 0EL.
This annual event has a rich history dating back to 1994, the year South Africa held the first democratic elections.
It began simply as a day for South African golf enthusiasts getting together for a mildly competitive round of golf followed by the normal Saffer banter over drinks and a meal.
But then in 1997, Geoff Johnson who had initiated the day, invited two longstanding friends Francois Pienaar and the late Clive Rice, former South African rugby and cricket captains, to participate.
It was actually Pienaar who suggested to Johnson that future days be held to raise funds for development rugby and cricket in the townships of South Africa.
Rice agreed and so a charity was formed and registered in the UK in 1998 called South Africans In Need Trust or S.A.I.N.T.
Took off
The day really took off in 2001 when President FW de Klerk, former Nobel Peace prize winner alongside President Nelson Mandela in 1993, agreed to attend.
This attracted 428 golfers including Raymond Ackerman and a host of South African sporting stars plying their skills on the rugby and cricket fields of Britain.
And so the annual Nedbank South African Charity Golf Day became the biggest golf day in Europe and some say, even the entire world!
But the emphasis has always been, and still very much is, the need to raise as much as possible to support vulnerable children in South Africa through educations, health, housing, sporting facilities as well as the disabled.
Charities
The golf day helps support three charities – Africa Humane Nyosi Project in the Eastern Cape (formerly Community Conservation Fund Africa foundered by Adrian Gardiner), the FW de Klerk Foundation who support four charities for the disabled, and Masicorp who look after the schools in Masiphumelele outside Cape Town.
Over the years, the annual Nedbank South African Charity Golf Day has raised close to £4 million supporting these and many other charities.
The event began at Mentmore Country Club near Leighton Buzzard, then moved to Moor Park, Stoke Park, Foxhills Club and Resort for 10 years, then Burhill Golf Club for another 10 years.
Essendon Country Club in 2023 and then this year, we are back at Foxhills Club and Resort near to Woking in Surrey.
Organsiers are expecting a full field of 130 golfers to participate with 180 attending the gala dinner the night before.
Registration will open at 09:30 on the day, with a golfers briefing at 11:15 and a Shot Gun start at 12:00 promptly.
Entry is £1 600 per fourball.
To be part of the golf and / or gala dinner, contact Geoff Johnson or visit the official website.
Email: geoffwjohnson@icloud.com
Mobile: +44 (0) 7850 752 433
WhatsApp: +44 (0) 7850 752 433
