Fairway, The (2010)

Sport

Tagline

Legacy of South African Golf in Perspective.

Logline

A film about the legacy of the gentleman's sport, golf, in South Africa.

Synopsis

The Fairway is a documentary film based on the brief history of South African black golfers. The production of the film was inspired by a rich history of how black South Africans particularly from the townships, started playing golf as early as in the 1960’s. Golf has been played in almost all the major townships of South Africa, unfortunately little has been documented about legendary black golfers. This film has tried to collect and document the earlier times of black golfers and how the legacy and passion has been preserved over the years.

This film has been told through the experiences of a few black veteran black golfers of yesteryears, notably; Jerry Dlepu, Zach Mavundla, Obed Motlou, and others. These veteran golfers tell the stories of how they were introduced into the game; the challenges they had to endure playing golf under harsh apartheid laws and lack of adequate facilities. However their love and passion was the only reason that kept them in the game.

The film briefly gives an overview on the transformation and amalgamation of the “white PGA” and the “black TPA” to form a non-racial golf body which was set to control and run the affairs of South African golf. The Fairway also explores the level of development of young black golfers and gives an insight into the current state of golf development particularly in the black communities of South Africa.

This is the first and only documentary film that explores the subject in depth, trying to raise awareness and promotion of golf development in disadvantaged communities.