About

I am a Durban boy and love this great city which incidentally is number 7 on the New York Times list of 52 places visit in 2015. I grew up and still live in Durban North, attended Northlands Boy High School, now Northwood School, and married Robin a Danville girl.

Like most South Africans my age, I had to do national service and was one of the fortunate few who got called up to the Air Force. It was an eventful two years which gave me the opportunity to meet and spend time with some interesting people including a helicopter pilot who had been awarded South Africa’s highest bravery award, the Honoris Crux Gold and Bar.

On completion of national service it was suggested that I get a job with a medical aid and a pension. That meant working for the Government, a Parastatal or one of the Banks, so Banking it was. Not being paper work or admin inclined the first few years were a struggle until the opportunity came to move into Treasury and the Dealing Room. It has been a fun ride with the major highlight being involved in the startup of the Treasury at Marriott Merchant Bank, now Grindrod Bank.

On the way I qualified as a golf coach and while serving on the Junior Golf Committee at Royal Durban Golf Club in 2005 met Neil Pearce whose brainchild it was to start the 1st to 18 Golf Academy for children between the ages of 6 and 12. Nigel Hardy, who qualified with me started teaching with Neil in the park next to Neil’s house before 1st to 18 moved to Royal Durban and the three of us started teaching there together. Several of the youngsters who we had the privilege of teaching have joined the Juniors at Royal Durban and play on Saturday mornings and one now represents his school.

Golf wasn’t always my first love, it was only in my early 20’s and thanks to my musically inclined father and younger brother that I started playing, prior to that my weekends were taken up playing cricket and soccer. In 2010 Robin and I discovered mountain biking which we really enjoy, so it is pretty much golf for me and riding for Robin on Saturdays and riding together on Sundays. Like golf, mountain biking is something we can do together and is great quality time together.