We divided ourselves into two teams – Iain and Kevin, Brendan and Pierre and competed against each other over the five courses. We played – Buenos Aires Golf Club, Olivos Golf Club, The Jockey Club, Ranelagh Golf Club and Pilar Golf Club. All of them great courses, but I must say – we need not stand back in South Africa with respect to how our courses compare.

Probably the highlight of the golf was at Ranelagh Golf Course. When we got there it was raining – we could see that the course was nearly unplayable and we started verging on the point of disappointment. We then met and old man – very well spoken English and a club member for 71 years. He eventually pointed us to the club captain who was in a committee meeting. He came and introduced himself to us – Marcelo Campo – ex Puma rugby player (1978 – 1987) 20 tests 8 tries. He played with Hugo Porta, against Gerrie Germishuys and that generation. He said that he will open the course for 10 minutes so that we could tee-off and then shut it again. We all got ready – caddies are arranged and we moved down to the first tee. As we are about to tee-off an old man (86) comes out of the club house to introduce himself and greet us – Roberto De Vicenzo. We where Gob smacked (Afrikaans translation – Spoegbeslaan!). He hit a couple of balls – and wished us well. For those who do not know about Roberto de Vincenzo –

Roberto De Vicenzo (born 14 April 1923) is a former professional golfer.
De Vicenzo was born in Villa Ballester, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He won more than 230 tournaments worldwide in his career, including six on the PGA Tour and the 1967 British Open.

De Vicenzo is best remembered for his misfortune in the 1968 Masters. On the par 4 seventeenth hole, Roberto De Vicenzo made a birdie, but playing partner Tommy Aaron inadvertently entered a 4 instead of 3 on the scorecard. He did not check the scorecard for the error before signing it, and according to the Rules of Golf the higher score had to stand and be counted. If not for this mistake, De Vicenzo would have tied for first place with Bob Goalby, and the two would have met in an 18-hole playoff the next day. His quote afterwards became legendary for its poignancy: "What a stupid I am!"

In 1970, he was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.

De Vicenzo subsequently found great success in the early days of the Senior PGA Tour, winning the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf two times and the inaugural U.S. Senior Open in 1980. Also won the 1974 PGA Seniors' Championship, and represented Argentina 17 times in the Canada Cup/World Cup (leading Argentina to victory in 1953).

De Vicenzo was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1989, and officially retired on November 12, 2006 at age 83. He had 100 international victories.

We played our game – weather improved and had fun. After showering we met in the bar for some drinks and snacks and low and behold, Roberto and his son joined us. For nearly an hour he told us tales of his golfing life, interactions with South Africans - Gary Player, Henning brothers and quite some time on Bobby Locke. He told us in great detail how the Americans hated Bobby so much because he could do so much with his hook, even his putts! They even set the courses up to intimidate him – it seldom worked. This was an amazing and special experience taking into consideration that he came twice from home to spend some time with us. Where in the world would this happen!

Based on our experience – we have renamed our annual golf getaway – “the Roberto De Vicenzo Annual Challenge” in honour of a legend who took time out to spend with us mere golfing mortals!!

For those wanting an affordable great trip – great golf, fantastic meat, and enjoy the Latin American experience – try it, use the travel agent – Tvardek Viajes and go to Ranelagh – you could have a similar experience.

Regards,
Martin & Steven