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HISTORY OF THE LADIES SECTION |
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The ladies' section of the Wanderers golf club was established simultaneously with the founding of the golf club in 1939, under the capable captaincy of Mrs Kay Deane.
Hockey: Molly Cleverly, June Rahn, Joanne
Morley Jepson, and Sue Norval. Tennis: Julia Wipplinger and Pat Pretorius. Anne Barrow was the Scottish hard court champion in 1962 and played for Scotland on many occasions before moving to South Africa. She came to South Africa in 1966 and joined the main club the day she arrived! Anne has been a member of the golf club since 1975, and has the distinction of having had six holes in one during her golfing career.
All of the above ladies have been Wanderers club champions, with Julia Wipplinger holding the record of nine wins (1960, 62-67, 69 & 72). Jenny Barclay has eight wins to her name (1976, 83, 87-90, 94 & 96), Cheran Gerber has won four times (1973-75, & 77) and Lisle Nel won five times in a row (1978-82). Lisle has also had three holes in one on the Wanderers course. Joanne Norton won the club championship in 1998, breaking the record, by shooting a 67 in her afternoon round. Joanne has also had a hole in one at Wanderers. Lisle Nel turned professional in 1984 and has coached golf ever since. She was a founding member of the WPGA in South Africa. Cheran Gerber also joined the professional ranks just after the WPGA was formed, but has since returned to amateur status. Joanne Norton turned professional at the end of 1 998 and is hoping to get a European playing card in the next few weeks.
Vivienne Player is another well-known name in the Wanderers ladies' section. She won the club championship in 1968 and 1971.
Mention should also be made of Thelma Donen, who captained the Wanderers a league side for many years, as well as captaining the Southern Transvaal side. Thelma has won three club championships, sharing the trophy with Vivienne Player in 1968 and Julia Wipplinger in 1969. However, in 1970 she managed to win it outright in earlier years the names of Bessie and Bill Kerr were synonymous with the Wanderers golf club. Their contribution to the golf club is remembered, because not only were they great characters in their own right, but Bessie ran the very popular Sunday ball pool and helped to get "Bogey Girl" off the ground. They are remembered very fondly.
Then there was Joyce Williams, fondly known
as "Moeder" because she was rather like the Wanderers'
mother hen. Nothing was ever too much for her. Her contribution
to the ladies' section and to the club generally was unfailing.
Always willing to help at any club function, she was a wild thing
at any party! After her untimely death many think of her and miss
her. Elsewhere in this brochure are tributes to two illustrious
founder members of the golf club, Helen Suzan and Doreen Sanders.
The ladies' section would like to salute three special members,
who have all made an enormous contribution.
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FOUNDER MEMBERS |
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Doreen's parents, Nummy and Kay Deane, were founder members of the club and enrolled their daughter, at the time a seventeen year old pupil at St Andrews school in Bedfordview, as a junior member. It was at school that she took her first steps into the world of golf, receiving lessons from Morris Bridges.
Even without this incentive there is no doubt
that her life would have been influenced by golf because of her
parents' distinguished service to the club. Nummy Deane was the
first vice-captain of the club and Kay was instrumental in the formation
of the ladies section, and the first lady captain. The Nummy Deane
trophy, instituted in his memory, has been contested each year since
1 945. Doreen's husband Jimmy, a keen member of the Pirates rugby
club in his youth, was a popular member of the club for over fifty
years until his untimely death in 1997. Doreen continues to grace
the club with her charming presence on a regular basis.
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Helen
Suzman's motivation for joining the club stemmed from the fact that
her husband doctor Mosie Suzman and his brothers Bennie and Arthur
had decided to become members. Helen was an active member for over
thirty years and as her lowest handicap was eleven, it is clear
that she was a competent golfer. Her most memorable playing partner
was Danny Kay. The famous American film actor, with whom she played
in Los Angeles. Her career in public life and the courage with which
she pursued a lone mission in parliment leaves us in no doubt as
to her great character, but she does confess to having been a very
bad loser on the golf course. Helen's anniversary message to the
members of the club exemplifies her no-nonsense approach to life;
"keep your head down and follow through".
