VIEWPOINT

TOur TalEs & TruE

Grant Dodd
A postcard from Stellenbosch

f you havent been to Stellenbosch, you must. It is, for my money, the most spectacular wine region in the world. Even if wine isnt your thing, the dramatic scenery is worth spending an hour or two contemplating. Imagine an outtake from The Lord of the Rings with more imposingly granitic vistas, juxtaposed by rolling fields of green vineyards and centuries-old winery buildings. It is magnificent. Im currently spending a month or two down here on the southern tip of the African continent. From my pew, I look down over the Helderberg mountain range in Stellenbosch, home to some of the snappiest names in South African wine. A quick scan takes in Rust en Vrede, Alto and Waterford, ending with the stylish cellar of Ernie Els Wines. Notwithstanding the proliferation of professional golfers (Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Peter Thomson et al) putting their names on bottles of wine, the word on the street was that Ernie was somewhat reluctant to follow suit. His business partner thought it a great idea, though, and slapped what was at the time the highest price in South Africa on the Ernie Els flagship blend, and away they went. It is a very good wine, but the masterstroke of marketing in this, however, is that no one begrudges Ernie the fact that the price of a bottle of his wine is roughly equivalent to the GDP of a small African nation. Everyone likes Ernie. He is, in the time honoured, minimalist Aussie way of assessing character, a great bloke. In fact, of the superstars that I played with in more than a decade on the PGA tours of the world, the most prepossessing of those was Ernie. Completely disaffected by fame, he just went about his business on the golf course without a whole lot of fuss. More pointedly, he took an interest in
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Ernie Els almost made a quarter of a million dollars for our columnist at The Vines a dozen years ago.

his playing partners and treated them as equals. A number of players on tour over the years will tell you that the same cannot be said for all those who have occupied the upper echelons of the world rankings. I was drawn with Ernie in a two-ball for the third round of the Heineken Classic in Perth in 1997. Despite a solid bout of nerves, I played very solidly and had a memorable ball-striking day. I came to the final hole under par, and a stroke in front of Ernie. The 18th hole at The Vines is a shortish par 5. In 97, the hole carried a $500,000 prize for anyone who could make an albatross there. It was a lot of

Grant Dodd has been a member of the Australasian PGA Tour since 1993 and played in the 1997 and 1998 British Opens. To ask Grant a question, visit winingpro.com

Australian Golf Digest

august 2009

STUART HANNAGAN/GETTY IMAGES

money. Im not sure where it came from, but as we walked onto the tee, I turned to Ernie and said, Ill go you halves. He looked a bit dumbfounded. Before he could go any further, I added, Halves. That gives us two shots at it. If I make it, Ill give you $250,000, and if you do, same thing back. Ernie thought about it for a second and said, Sure, why not! The best way to get maximum distance on The Vines 18th is to draw it off the right-hand traps and chase it down the hill. It is an aggressive play, but the reward is that you generally set up an eagle opportunity if you execute. The plan was in place. It was my honour. I hit it straight out-of-bounds. Right, and going right, past the traps and past the nasty white pegs that symbolise golfs version of pure evil. There was a moment of silence. Then, for a fleeting second between the anguish, it seemed moderately funny. I turned to Ernie and said, Your hole, mate. Ernie pumped one down the middle, and went straight at the flag with his approach, an 8-iron. And I mean straight at it. It was one of those heart-stopping moments that usually only happens when you are the one holding the club. Sadly for me, the ball flew the flag and ended up 30 feet behind the hole. Had it gone in, Ive always had the feeling that Ernie would have paid up. Given the pain and distress that the memory still holds for me, a symbolic gesture on his part would help to make the nightmares go away. A bottle or three of his wine should suffice.