Hwange golf course in sorry state

Sikhumbuzo Moyo in Hwange

HWANGE Golf Club’s existence is under threat from the effects of global warming and Chinese investors who are excavating quarry on the periphery of the course that has resulted in fairways and the “greens” turning brown due to lack of water.

The Hwange Golf Course is one of five courses under the stable of the Matabeleland Golf Society, the other four being the Elephant Hills Golf Course, Harry Allen, Country Club and the country’s oldest course, the Bulawayo Golf Club.

However, the Hwange course is in a sorry state with the area literally a desert as there is no more water from the ponds and the natural water springs that were used to supply water to the course have now been taken over by the Chinese investors who are using the water to subdue dust from the quarry mining.

A number of golfers who took part in the Kamandama Fundraising Golf Tournament on Wednesday complained about the decaying state of the course that was once a marvel to play in with legendary golfer and former World number one Nick Price having played and won in the Hwange Open in 1976.

“This is a sad state of affairs to be honest, this course is literally disappearing right before our eyes, its almost a desert and to talk of greens will be making a mockery of the term because its now brown, especially holes 2, 7 and 12,” said one golfer.

Chronicle Sport understands that Hwange Colliery Company tried to drill a borehole so that they could water the course but the water was discovered to be not good for the grass hence the idea was abandoned.

There are also the effects of blasting by the Chinese at the quarry site that result in a lot of dust covering the whole area and sometimes buildings within the area violently shake, including the nearby ZRP Hwange camp and the Zimbabwe National Army’s 1.2 Infantry barracks.

A source privy to the granting of operational licence to the Chinese said they were supposed to do some controlled blasting which the Chinese had promised they would do.

“These guys (Chinese) are in violation of their agreement because they had promised to do controlled blasting that will not affect buildings nearby but now when they blast, the whole area gets covered in dust while buildings shake resulting in roofs cracking. If you check the golf course ponds are now dry because they used to be fed by water from the springs which no longer flows through since it has been diverted to the excavation site for dust suppression when the quarry is turned into chips,” said the source.