GQEBERHA, Eastern Cape – The wind that has gusted through Humewood Golf Cub this week was accompanied by soaking rain on Wednesday to make for tough conditions in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series Pro-Am, but at least one golfer – Jacquin Hess – was able to apply the old Monty Python maxim and always look on the bright side.
“The weather forecast is not looking good and everyone is complaining about it, but I’m actually smiling inside,†Hess said. “I prefer the conditions to be tough, it opens the field up, and most of my best finishes have been on the tough tracks. The more the wind blows, the better for me. Coming from Robertson, there’s always a three-club wind there, and I actually went home to practice a bit.
“This course is always good, I love the place and I was in the mix the last time I was here, so I have a good vibe. You have to play different shots here, keep it low and under the wind. But I’m in a good space mentally, it’s going to be difficult for everyone and sometimes you don’t realise that,†Hess said.
The 30-year-old has missed his last two cuts – at the Vodacom Origins of Golf Mount Edgecombe and the Sunshine Tour Invitational earlier in September – but he is optimistic about the next few weeks on tour because the events will be played on tough courses and he feels like he is hitting it straight and waiting to capitalise score-wise.
“My game is turning in the right direction and I’ve just got to give myself opportunities, take it one shot at a time. The next five weeks should suit my game because we have tournaments here at Humewood and places like the Wild Coast and Sun City, where I normally play well. You need to hit it straight and low at these places, which I’m doing, and I putted really well in the Pro-Am, even in the difficult wind.
“You need to have that sort of even temperament, like cricketers Jacques Kallis or Hashim Amla. You just need to go with the conditions. You need to be the calmest guy on the course,†Hess said.
