We’ve just finished-up here at the Principal Charity Classic and obviously it’s been a great week. Thank you to everyone involved in the tournament, the fans and the sponsors. It’s a very special feeling to win again. I haven’t won for a while. I’ve had quite a few chances, but it gets tougher when you don’t get it over the line.

You know, I think I was just more ‘into it’ this week. We had a game plan, I stayed in the present and didn’t get ahead of myself. As I said, it’s tough when you haven’t won in such a long time, you can easily get a bit antsy, but I felt comfortable; I didn’t get rattled when I hit a bad shot or faced an important putt. I was just in the zone. All week I felt like I played within myself, just focused on taking care of the small stuff, and when you do that well it usually leads to a good week, so yeah, really pleased with how this one turned out. 

This now is hopefully a stepping stone. We’ll keep working hard and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. The guys out here are very competitive and, on the type of golf courses that we play, it’s hard to separate yourself over three rounds; you have to stay in it for 54 holes and these past few years I haven’t really done that. When I joined the Champions Tour I always felt like I wanted to get into a winning frame of mind. Let’s see how we go. Golf is still my first love. Ever since I was a kid I’ve wanted to play at this level and I still do. I’m 54, I love the Tour, I just want to keep going and keep getting better. 

As you may have noticed, we have a new website! The team have been working hard behind the scenes in the off-season and we’re delighted with the results. I think this new website better reflects this stage of my life. Obviously, tournament golf remains my main focus and passion. But life for me now is about so much more – from golf course design, various business interests and, of course, our charitable endeavours. We hope you like it and that you’ll visit regularly to catch up on all our latest news. You’ll notice there’s a tab on the homepage that allows you to sign-up for our regular newsletter. 

You can keep tabs on my playing schedule here on the website. We update it on a regular basis as the season unfolds, basically once I’m committed to a tournament. There’s also a page dedicated to my equipment in ‘What’s in the Bag’. For the trivia buffs among you, there’s also a complete list of my tournament wins and career highlights. 

Ernie Els Design has a prominent showing on the new website. We’ve got some exciting news in the pipeline and I’ll be able to share that with you soon. In the meantime, I’d invite you to take a tour of our existing portfolio of golf courses. They’re spread far and wide across the globe, in locations as diverse as rain forest and desert, and our relatively young firm’s success is a source of enormous pride for me and the rest of the team. 

The descriptions and photos in the new section on Ernie Els Wines beautifully illustrate what’s on offer at our winery. Have a virtual browse. Hopefully one day we’ll be able to welcome you in person. This year the team at the winery launched a new online store rewards program called ‘Easy Bucks’ so when you start shopping you’ll start earning rewards immediately.

Also on the homepage you’ll see display banners for our Els for Autism charity golf series in the US and in South Africa. As always, the team have done a really great job putting together a schedule of tournaments at some wonderful venues. Amazingly, we’re now into our 14th year of the Golf Challenge in the US and the fundraising total exceeds $30 million. That’s just incredible. Thank you so much to our partners, participating golfers and donors. Every dollar and cent is helping change the lives of individuals and families affected by autism. 

Okay, that’s it for now. We’ll see you on here again soon I hope! 

The post Ernie’s Latest News – 2 June appeared first on Ernie Els.

We’ve arrived with the family in South Africa for our customary end-of-season vacation, something we all look forward to very much. 

But before I pretty much disappear until the New Year, there’s time for a quick update. The inaugural World Champions Cup in Florida, which we wrote about in a previous report, turned out to be a very special week. It was great to be part of such an amazing team (pictured below). We gave it our best shot and we had so much fun along the way, too. Of course, in the heat of the moment it stings to lose, but it was an unbelievable finish – a good one for the spectators! Congrats to the American team. 

Reflecting on the first playing of this tournament, obviously none of us quite knew what to expect, but all of us are united in thinking it was a real success, featuring some great golf on a demanding golf course. The format works; the games were very tight and no one really broke away. I mean, after all those matches, all those points up for grabs, it came down to the final hole, pretty much the final shot. I think we’ll all take away some wonderful memories of the week. It’s certainly a nice addition to the Champions Tour schedule. 

And really that’s about it for 2023. As I said in my previous report, golf-wise it’s been a solid year. Just the one victory and a bunch of top-10s. I had some leads, had some chances, but didn’t quite finish the job off. In this off-season I’ll have a little think about my tournament schedule in 2024. I love the competition and I’m enjoying being on the Champions Tour with the guys, but I’m thinking I might play a bit less than I have the last 2-3 years. We’ll see. 

Away from the competitive golf scene, there’s a lot of activity in the pipeline. In particular, 2024 looks like being a big year for Ernie Els Design. We can’t wait to share more news with you on that front. Myself and the whole team are really excited about what’s in store. 

One final thing, my good friend Nico Van Rensburg and the team at Els for Autism have launched the schedule for the Ernie Els Charities SA Series for 2024. As always, they’ve done a superb job pulling together a calendar of golf days at some great venues around South Africa (see poster below). Get in touch if you’d like to take part. 

All that remains is for me to thank you as always for your support throughout 2023. It means a lot to me. I wish you and your families good health and happiness in 2024. When all is said and done, that’s what matters in life. 

The post Ernie’s Latest News – 13 December appeared first on Ernie Els.

Where is this year going? We’re now looking at the final push towards the end of the Champions Tour season. This is how my schedule looks for the next six weeks…

Oct 6-8, Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS, Timuquana CC, Florida
Oct 13-15, SAS Championship, Prestonwood CC, Cary, North Carolina
Oct 20-22, Dominion Energy Charity Classic, The Country Club of Virginia, Virginia
Nov 3-5, TimberTech Championship, The Old Course at Broken Sound, Florida
Nov 9-12, Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Phoenix CC, Phoenix, Arizona

I’ll play every one of these tournaments. The Charles Schwab money list may be all but sewn-up after a great stretch of tournaments by Steve Stricker, but there’s a lot to play for still. As always, I’m motivated to keep putting in the work and to try to play my best golf and finish the season strongly. There’s never a bad time to win! 

Shortly after the conclusion of the Champions Tour season we have a brand new event, the World Champions Cup taking place at The Concession GC in Florida from December 7-10. The course name is actually inspired by Jack Nicklaus’ famous gesture of conceding the final putt to Tony Jacklin in the 1969 Ryder Cup and the pair of them were responsible for the design of this layout, so it’s a fitting venue for this new matchplay event. 

I’m the playing captain for the Internationals against the Europeans, led by Darren Clarke, and Jim Furyk’s American team. We’re all looking forward to it. This is obviously going to be a lot of fun, but you know it’s going to be super-competitive, too. We’ll all be fired-up for this. And it’s a nine-hole format, which is going to be interesting. There’s certainly no room for slow starts; you need to come out of the blocks fast and all guns blazing. For that reason, it’s going to be an entertaining spectacle for the fans.

Away from golf, last month we celebrated another landmark moment in the story of Els for Autism with the grand opening of the Stoops Family Adult Services Building, a dedicated space for adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Pictured below from left-to-right: major donors Cindy & Randy Langenfeld, Executive Director Dr. Marlene Sotelo, Ben Els, co-founder Liezl Els, client Tyler Pavkov, co-founder Ernie Els, client Jennifer Langenfeld, Chairman Dr. Michael Alessandri, major donors Agnes, Jeff, & Lauren Stoops. This impressive facility, located at The Els Center of Excellence® campus in Jupiter, Florida, is a place for individuals with ASD to access the essential support and services needed during the transition to adulthood years and throughout life as an adult. It represents a significant step in the foundation’s long-term vision of creating a world of limitless possibilities for individuals with ASD and their families.

Liezl and I want to personally extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this new building a reality. We couldn’t have reached this milestone without the incredible support of our community, generous donors, dedicated staff, and enthusiastic volunteers. We never take for granted their faith in us and their belief in our mission; they really are the driving force behind this latest achievement. For more information on this new building and The Els for Autism Foundation and its many activities and fundraising initiatives, please visit the official website: https://www.elsforautism.org/.

This past few months there’s also been a lot of buzz on the golf course design front. I’d love to tell you more right now, but some of the news is embargoed for the time being. We can, however, share this stunning new image (below and top of page) taken this month at one of our existing projects at Ernie Els Design, Lido Lakes in Indonesia, which we anticipate will open for play around the middle of 2024.

I was seriously impressed when we first went here some years back. For a golf course designer, these are the kind of settings you love to work with. It’s a majestic landscape, located between two volcanoes, and there are some truly breathtaking holes. All of us are excited about this one and we believe Lido Lakes is going to be a new go-to destination for golfers in south east Asia.

Anyway, as I said, there’s lots of exciting news to come from Ernie Els Design in the coming months. Watch this space!

Finally, just a quick acknowledgment – it’s now five years since I became a global ambassador for XXIO, including Srixon and Cleveland. As another season moves towards its conclusion, I want to thank them and all of my sponsors for the continued support. These three equipment brands have provided a great mix for me. I won both my US Opens using Cleveland wedges and in my opinion you can’t beat them for aesthetics and performance. And being involved with a new brand like XXIO has been very enjoyable; they’re really going places and it’s always nice to have some input with the team in regard to the company’s product development. Here’s my current Kit List in full…

Driver: XXIO 12 Driver, 8.7 degrees
3-wood: XXIO X 3-wood, 14 degrees, EvenFlow Blue 6.5 85x shaft
Irons 2-5: Srixon ZX Mk II utility irons with KBS S-taper 130X shaft
Irons 6-9: Srixon ZX7 Mk II irons with KBS S-taper 130X shaft
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack wedges 52MB, 56MB, 60LB with KBS S taper 130X
Golf Ball: Srixon Z Star XV (yellow)
Glove: Srixon
Putter: Bloodline
Shoes: Puma PROADAPT ALPHACAT
Apparel: Bobby Jones & Sunice Sports

That’s it for now. I’ll write again soon. 

The post Ernie’s Latest News – 1 October appeared first on Ernie Els.

Since my last report we’ve visited the states of Alabama, Texas, Iowa and Wisconsin for a run of tournaments on the PGA Champions Tour schedule.  

At the time of writing, we’ve had five top-10s in the last six starts. That’s some solid play, although not quite the level we want to be at. Saying that, I feel like all aspects of my game are in good shape. Coming up soon is a big run of tournaments, including three major championships in the space of four weeks – the US Senior Open Championship in Wisconsin, The Open Championship at Hoylake and The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. Some seriously good golf courses in that little stretch and obviously a lot to look forward to. Let’s see how we go. 

There’s plenty going on away from the tournament scene, too. Not least, the team at Ernie Els Wines has received good news in the form of accolades and high scores for some of the wines in its portfolio. The undoubted highlight in recent weeks is a gold medal and an impressive 95-point rating for our Signature 2017 vintage (pictured below) at the Decanter World Wine Awards, the largest and most influential wine competition in the world. Huge congrats to head winemaker Louis Strydom and the rest of the team at the winery. This 2017 vintage was made available to purchase online only this week and we’re anticipating high demand, so don’t delay your order for too long! Shop online here.

On the golf course design front, our firm’s senior design associate Greg Letsche has been interviewed for a really good feature in the latest issue of the American Society of Golf Course Architect’s magazine By Design. It focuses on unusual sites for golf courses and how it’s possible, in many case desirable, to utilise existing landmarks and features in the design of a new layout. It is something that Greg and I are always mindful of whenever we view a potential new site; it really can add a sense of authenticity and geographical context to a new design. Click here to read the full article.

Meanwhile, it’s pleasing to hear that we’re getting wonderful turnouts for our series of Els for Autism fundraising golf tournaments in the US and Canada and South Africa. Both series are now at or around the halfway mark, which means there are still plenty of opportunities to take part in 2023. The schedules are available online, with all the details of how to enter. If you’re able to take part, it’ll be great to have you on board, thank you. 

Click here for The Golf Challenge in the US.

Click here for the Ernie Els Charity Series in South Africa.

Finally, for anyone interested in the finer details of all the equipment that I’m using at the moment, here’s what we have in the bag right now…

Driver: XXIO 12 Driver, 8.7 degrees
3-wood: XXIO X 3-wood, 14 degrees, EvenFlow Blue 6.5 85x shaft
Irons 2-5: Srixon ZX Mk II utility irons with KBS S-taper 130X shaft
Irons 6-9: Srixon ZX7 Mk II irons with KBS S-taper 130X shaft
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Tour Rack wedges 52MB, 56MB, 60LB with KBS S taper 130X
Golf Ball: Srixon Z Star XV (yellow)
Glove: Srixon
Putter: Bloodline
Shoes: Puma IGNITE PWRADAPT Caged
Apparel: Bobby Jones & Sunice Sports

Thanks as always to my sponsors for the continued support.

Okay that’s it for now. Don’t forget to follow me on social media. All the links you need are at the bottom of this page. 

The post Ernie’s Latest News – 15 June appeared first on Ernie Els.

With World Autism Month having just come to an end, the team at Els for Autism has asked me to express thanks to everyone who took part in the various events that they organised throughout April. 

All of us are so grateful to all the local businesses for hosting giveback events, government officials for honoring us with proclamations, and national companies for holding annual initiatives in support of Els for Autism. Click here for the full list of events that took place; it really was a busy month! With everyone’s help, we are able to further our global mission of transforming the lives of people with autism and those who care for them through lifetime services and collaborative partnerships. At this point, I’d also like to add my own personal thanks and pay tribute to Liezl and the rest of the team at Els for Autism for all the hard work they continue to do for such an incredible cause.

Staying with Els for Autism, this year’s Golf Challenge is off and running with the first regional event in the 2023 series taking place at beautiful Bear Lakes in Florida on May 1. I very much enjoyed being there too and getting involved in one of the foundation’s #GameON golf clinics, which have been such a success these past number of years. Thank you to everyone who took part at Bear Lakes. There’s so much more to come this year and, as always, the team at Els for Autism have put together a really wonderful schedule of events. If you are in a position to be able to take part, we’d love for you to join us. Click here for the full schedule and for details of how to play.

In South Africa, the Ernie Els Charities SA series is well into its stride. Nico Van Rensburg and the team have hosted four events now and he tells me there has been a great turnout at every one of them. Check out the rest of the schedule on the poster on the homepage; we are blessed to have the support of a number of excellent venues across South Africa and hopefully there’ll be one on the list that is convenient for you. 

As many of you may recall, this year began with some well-deserved industry accolades for some of our existing Ernie Els Design golf courses. We’re proud to say it has been an exciting few months for some of our newest projects, too. In the last few weeks we were able to officially announce a golf course design project at OLEADA Pacific Living & Golf, a brand-new 860-acre oceanfront resort community on the southern point of Mexico’s stunning Baja peninsula. Located about 15 minutes from downtown Cabo San Lucas, we predict this golf course is going to be absolutely incredible. We’re expecting completion some time in 2026 and it’ll be open to the public from day one. I’m looking forward to another site visit with the team very soon. Click here for the full story. 

Meanwhile, everything is looking good at Lido Lakes in Indonesia, where another of our golf course design projects is fast nearing completion. Our firm’s senior design associate Greg Letsche was on site not long ago and sent back a glowing report and some striking images. For all of us, that feeling of seeing a design come to life never gets old.

Next, from one golf course nearing competition to another that’s just in the preliminary phases, it’s nice that we can now start talking about our upcoming two championship golf course layout on the stunning Adriatic coastline in Croatia. Liezl and I vacationed there almost 20 years ago and we still remember what a beautiful island it is. Again, this is new territory for our firm and we are all keen to get going. 

In the coming months we’ll have more news regarding a couple of other new projects in exciting locations around the world, but the timing isn’t quite right for this report. So you’ll have to watch this space! Better still, follow us on social media where you’ll find us on Twitter and Instagram @ernieelsdesign.

Moving on to the tournament scene, I don’t get a chance to play many events away from the Champions Tour, so it was enjoyable teeing it up last month in the RBC Heritage, always one of my favourite Tour stops, and the ISPS HANDA Championship in Japan. My game is in pretty good shape. Getting that first win of 2023 at the Hoag Classic (career win No.76) was just what we needed and hopefully we can push on from here and have a strong season on the Champions Tour and make a good run at the Schwab Cup. Switching to the claw grip with my putter has been a positive move; the stroke feels smooth and I’m rolling the ball nicely. When you make putts you always feel like you can compete, so I’m obviously excited about that.

Okay, that’s it for now. You can keep up to date with all our latest news by following us on social media. Just click on the relevant icons at the bottom of this page. 

The post Ernie’s Latest News – 9 May appeared first on Ernie Els.

It’s getting on for two-and-a-half years since my last win, so as you can imagine, it’s a fantastic feeling winning my second Hoag Classic title at the weekend. 

As I was saying only a few weeks ago, I’ve been competing well this season on the Champions Tour and playing some good golf, but just hadn’t been able to put it over the finish line. I felt like we just needed to find some momentum and get on a bit of a roll. Basically make some putts! Well, the pieces finally clicked into place at the weekend in Newport Beach. Shooting 12-under par for my last 28 holes, including a bogey-free final round in tricky conditions, was very satisfying. 

As soon as we saw the weather report on Sunday morning, it looked like we could be in for some tough scoring conditions out there. I felt that if I could get off to a decent start and get myself established and in amongst the leaders, then we’d be in with a chance. And that’s exactly how it unfolded. I’d go as far to say that I almost played a perfect round, apart from the miss on 15. But look…it was a strong finish, nonetheless. The last five, six holes were tougher than we normally get it here, so I was very happy to birdie two of the last three to set a good target in the clubhouse. 

As I said, winning is obviously a fantastic feeling. This is what we play for, so I’m going to enjoy this one and then do everything we can to try to carry this momentum into the coming weeks and months. You know, I’m feeling comfortable with my game, the confidence is coming back, so I’m excited about the rest of the season.

Finally, just a quick word to say thank you for the continued support and particularly the numerous kind messages that you’ve sent me via social media this past 24 hours. It really means a lot. Thank you. 

I’ll write again soon. 

That winning feeling! Holing the decisive birdie putt on the 18th green on Sunday. 

The post Ernie’s Latest News – 21 March appeared first on Ernie Els.

We’re a couple of tournaments into the new Champions Tour season, so this seems like a good time for me to check-in and share all my latest news. There’s plenty going on, both on and off the golf course. 

We start with tournament news. I’m 25-under par for the six rounds played in Hawaii and Florida, with a top-10 finish both weeks, so you could say that’s a solid start. I’ve been competing well, but haven’t put it over the finish line. Thinking about it, I’ve got to kind of force my game into a certain way of playing a lot of these courses, which is a little different for me in terms of the way I’ve played throughout my career. But we’ve done two full seasons on the Champions Tour and I’m getting used to it. Now we’ve just got to try to find some momentum and get on kind of a roll – that’s when it all clicks into place. Next up on the schedule are tournaments in Arizona and California next month.

Obviously my goal is still to play competitive golf and I love that part of my life. But we’ve got other things on our plate now, primarily our autism foundation, and that requires a level of commitment and passion also. That’s part and parcel of our lives now and I love that, too. Liezl and myself, we always had big dreams for this foundation and we’re thrilled to be able to say they’re becoming a reality. 

Liezl and the team are working flat-out right now. April is World Autism Month, so there’s lots of planning on that front. We have other big events coming up, starting on March 23-24 when The Els for Autism Foundation is hosting the Autism Innovations and Global Impact Conference at our Els Center of Excellence campus in Jupiter, Florida. Click here for more information. Then on March 25 there’s a 5k run which you can sign up to at this link.

Looking further ahead, on June 16 we have the official opening of the Adult Services Building at the Els Center of Excellence campus. This is so important because for anyone affected by autism, the help basically ends at age 21. So an adult services building for those most severely affected, who perhaps can’t get back into society, is vital. Otherwise, they either have to move back to their families…or who knows where. So whatever their needs and interests, our new adult services building will keep supporting them.

In May we’ll also be launching our 13th annual Golf Challenge, featuring a schedule of tournaments at top-rated courses across the US and Canada (see poster below). Since its inception in 2011 we’ve raised more than $33.9 million – it’s a truly humbling statistic and we’re so grateful to our family of sponsors, golfers and donors. Literally every dollar and cent benefits the Els for Autism Foundation. 

For all of these events, and for any information that you might need about Els for Autism and the work that we do, please visit the website. 

Back home in South Africa, our man Nico van Rensburg continues to do an incredible job with our series of golf day fundraisers. There’s a new poster on the homepage of this website, giving details of how you can take part. These really are wonderful days out, so we hope you can join us somewhere along the line. If you can support us, we thank you. 

On a related note, a major part of our motivation for setting-up Ernie Els Pet Products in 2019 was to help raise funds for Els for Autism, so we’re happy to see that business going from strength to strength. We had a stand at the recent PGA Show in Florida and I spent a very enjoyable day there, meeting a lot of nice people who’s pets are very excited about our products! It’s obviously an entirely new line of business for us, but it works. We’ve got a great product line and, as I said, a portion of the proceeds from all sales goes directly to Els for Autism. Visit the website if you’d like to find out more. 

On the golf course design front, there’s a lot of activity behind the scenes. The guys are doing a great job and I’ve joined them on a couple of exciting site visits this year. I can’t share much information at this stage, but we’ll be able to write again soon and reveal all. 

Generally speaking, I’m always getting news and updates from our existing portfolio of courses all around the world, including from The Els Club Desaru Coast which has just been voted Best Golf Course in Malaysia at the World Golf Awards. It’s one of the things I love about this business; the sense that we’ve created something special that has a really positive impact on the community and the lifestyle of the people that visit or live in the area. Click here for the full list of golf courses in the Ernie Els Design portfolio. You can also view our list of industry Awards and Accolades here.

Finally, for those of you who are interested in this sort of thing, I’ve pretty much got a whole new set of clubs in the bag for this new season. Big thanks to my club sponsors XXIO, Srixon, Cleveland and Bloodline for looking after me and giving me all the tools to do my day job! Click here for all the details. 

Okay, that’s it for now. We’ll have further updates soon. 

The post Latest News – 22 February appeared first on Ernie Els.

Last week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek was my final tournament of the season, so this seems like the ideal time to wrap things up for the year. 

It’s always great to be back at one of my favourite events in the world. What a place. Seriously, every time I go there I’m just amazed. It’s world-class in every way and there’s really nothing else like it. Obviously we live in the US now and have done for a while, so when we come back to South Africa we’re almost like tourists…so we enjoy it like tourists! Liezl was with me; we went into the park and enjoyed the South African bush, which is such an amazing place. Played some nice golf during the week, as well. 

Big congrats to South Africa’s Ockie Strydom on his first DP World Tour victory and also to another homegrown talent Thriston Lawrence, a former member of the Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation, who won the South African Open the week before. He’d had a phenomenal year already and it’s no surprise he was voted Rookie of the Year. 

All in all, South African golf is in a very healthy place right now, which is great to see. It reminds us of the past players and what other South Africans have done on the world golfing scene. We have such a rich history in the game in our country and there are lots of young players continuing that. The roots of the game are solidly in place here with the amazing work done by GolfRSA, the South African Golf Development Board and other foundations such as mine and those of other golfers. Well done to all. 

Before playing at the Dunhill, we’d made a trip over to Jakarta for the BNI Indonesian Masters. I hadn’t played in a month up to that point, other than a bit of social golf which isn’t the same thing, so we kind of went in there to enjoy it and hopefully play some good golf. And we did. I’m swinging it good and the ball is coming out beautiful. 

It was great to have my old friend Nico Van Rensburg on the bag for those two weeks on the road. We’ve know each other since childhood and these days he does a great job for us raising a hell of a lot of money for Els for Autism in South Africa. Back in the day, Nico played the Tour in Asia and had some success and won a few times. Anyway, it was a really enjoyable week for both of us. We’ll probably do it again some time. 

© Golffile | Eoin Clarke

Reflecting on 2022, it’s been an enjoyable year. We played some 20-odd tournaments on the Champions Tour and I had 13 top-10s. For the most part I’ve played really well. I ran close a couple of times without getting a win, but that’s how it goes sometimes. The competition is strong out here. The main thing is I’m really excited about next year; I still love the competition and the camaraderie, too. As usual, we begin in Hawaii at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in mid-January. I’m looking forward to that. 

In the meantime, we’ll spend time with family and enjoy the holiday season. I hope you get to do that with your loved ones also. 

There’s a lot going on away from the golf course, which you may have seen elsewhere on the website in the past few months. But if you missed it, I’ll point you now to our latest newsletter…just click here for all the latest news. If you’re quick, you’ve still got time to order your Christmas wine supplies from the team at Ernie Els Wines! 

I’ll write again in the New Year. 

Bye for now. 

The post My Latest News – 15 December appeared first on Ernie Els.

Welcome to our latest update. I want to start by congratulating our daughter Samantha on her graduation from Stanford with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology. The ceremony is this coming weekend and Liezl and I are bursting with pride! She’s an amazing young lady and we couldn’t be more proud of her.

Moving on to golf, these past five outings on the Champions Tour have followed a similar pattern as the five that started the year. I’m playing nicely, hitting the ball pretty well, but not making my share on the greens. I’ve been playing this game long enough to know that this kind of pattern of play usually equals decent finishes but no wins. And so it’s proved to be. At times like this, you just have to stay committed to what you’re working on, try to stay patient, and trust that the putts will start to drop. 

We now have a couple of weeks off here in Florida, then we move on to a major stretch of tournaments. In fact, it’s four major championships in the space of five weeks! We start with the US Senior Open Championship at Saucon Valley in Pennsylvania, followed by the Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship at Firestone. Then it’s the big one, the 150th Open Championship at the Home of Golf. That’s going to be an incredible week, a really special celebration of the game and this historic championship. Straight after that, we’re just a short hop to beautiful Gleneagles for the the Senior Open Championship. 

In amongst the majors I’m excited to be involved in an event called the Icons Series, which is taking place at Liberty National in New York from June 30 to July 3. I’ll be captaining a celebrity and sporting legends Rest of the World team for three days of matchplay golf against a US team led by my good friend Freddie Couples. 

It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’ve got a great team, a wonderful venue, and some iconic sports men and woman who have excelled in their fields. Obviously this is going to be a new experience for them. Hopefully, with my experience in team events as a player and a captain, I can calm the nerves and help them channel their sporting prowess into a winning performance. I’m sure I’ll learn a thing or two from them, too. Anyway, it’s definitely one to look forward to it. Click here for more details.

In other news, there are a lot of exciting things happening at Els for Autism Foundation®. As you may know, in April, we broke ground on our newest building on campus in Jupiter, the Adult Services building. Our Golf Challenge Tournament series also kicked off that day and June is a big month for us; we have four tournaments this month of the 14 we have scheduled around the United States.

I wanted to extend my gratitude on behalf of Liezl and I, and everyone at Els for Autism®, to both Mitsubishi Electric Foundation and Honda Classic Cares. In May, the Mitsubishi Classic hosted a “Blue Out” on the Friday of the tournament at TPC Sugarloaf to honor autism acceptance and inclusion. It was great to see so many participate out on the course and in the crowd. Mitsubishi graciously had placed signage around the course as a call for donations to the Foundation, for us to continue the work we do for so many families each day. This includes the support of The Mitsubishi Electric Foundation who provides funding for our Employment Services Work Experience program through a grant award. 

We also learned of being the recipient of a Honda Classic Cares grant and will soon receive a visit from the Honda team for a check presentation. Honda Classic has graciously donated $15,000 which will go directly to support our golf program at The Els Center of Excellence®. There are so many wonderful benefits for not only golf, but other sports activities for people on the spectrum and we are very excited to continue this work. I invite you to learn more about the Ernie Els #GameOn Autism Golf® program where we’ve partnered with The Leadbetter Academy to provide free training for golf instructors around the world on how to teach golf to individuals with autism utilizing our curriculum.

Over in South Africa, it’s a relatively quiet time of the year at Ernie Els Wines, although all the usual attractions are available including wine tasting and lunch at our restaurant, which has just launched its winter menu, including a T-Bone steak (pictured below) which would definitely get my attention! Check it out here where you’ll also find all the details for making reservations at the winery. It may be winter, but a warm welcome is guaranteed. 

The post Ernie’s Latest News – 9 June appeared first on Ernie Els.

This past week was book-ended with a couple of sponsors’ engagements for Boeing and NetJets. So, I just want to start this latest report by saying thanks to the teams and to everyone who took part; that was a lot of fun!

Tournament-wise, it’s fair to say it’s been a bit of a slow start to the year. We’ve played five events, with three top-10s, but I’ve not really got it going yet. We’ve got a nice stretch of tournaments coming up, though. And some fine venues, too, so there’s plenty to look forward to obviously. Let’s see if we can find some good form.

Away from the golf course, there’s been lots happening, so let me fill you in on some of the highlights. There is certainly a lot to celebrate in April at Els for Autism Foundation®, as it is World Autism Month. We kicked off the month on April 4 with the groundbreaking celebration of our newest building on The Els Center of Excellence® campus: The Stoops Family Foundation Adult Services building. It was incredible to see so many of our supporters in person and I’d like to give a special thanks to the Stoops and Langenfeld families who are our two primary donors for the space.

For those of you who may not know, the Els Center of Excellence® campus is the U.S. headquarters of Els for Autism Foundation which was established in 2009 by myself, Liezl, and our board Chairman and long-time friend Marvin R. Shanken. Each building on the campus was purpose-built to meet the needs of individuals with autism providing support from diagnosis, to school-age years, and throughout adulthood. Through tele-health services, conferences, virtual programs and resources, shared programs (such as Ernie Els #GameON Autism® Golf), multi-language webinars, and peer-reviewed scientific journals, the Foundation’s staff has a much broader national and global reach.

When the building is completed in the summer of 2023, the doors will open to an incredible dedicated space for our adult programs which are growing and thriving every day. We’ll be able to substantially increase the number of adults who can participate in our programs and services and provide them with the steppingstones they need to achieve independence.

A full-service café will be at the heart of the building, and Els for Autism is looking to partner with an organization in hospitality, food-service and/or catering to operate the space. The café will be outfitted with both a drive-through window and dining area to offer a moment of respite for families and staff. Through this space, adults with autism will receive training and education in the areas of food service and hospitality. The building will be home home to our Adult Day Training Program, our Work Experience Program, and Job Coaching.

I am so proud of our team at the Foundation for achieving this incredible milestone for our campus, but most importantly, the people it is being built for. We are building and empowering potential in so many people with autism and truly changing the world for them.

Last month I joined the team at Ernie Els Pet Products on our stand at Global Pet Expo in Orlando, which is the premier international gathering for the pet industry, so it was a bit of a no-brainer for us to be there and showcase our range of champion pet training treats and products.

We got such a great response from the trade and media, so no doubt some exciting times are ahead. Whenever you put thousands of people with a shared passion in the same room, you’re in for a fun day. And it really was! If you want more information on our products, visit the website and place an order for your four-legged foodie. You can also follow us on any one of the usual social media channels:

Instagram & Facebook: @eepetproducts
Twitter: @ErnieElsPetPro1

Over in South Africa, the team at Ernie Els Wines tells me they’ve enjoyed a relatively smooth-sailing harvest period this year and Mother Nature is behaving. That can only mean one thing; optimal quality vines and premium consistency. On that note, they have recently released the latest vintage of our iconic Bordeaux-style blend, the Ernie Els Signature 2016. This wine is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon-based, with a portion of Merlot and a splash of Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, which gives it a velvety finish. This vintage has been awarded an impressive 93 Points by the esteemed master of wine Tim Atkin. It’s available from the Ernie Els Wines online shop in a beautifully-presented red gift box.

Finally, we’d like to bring your attention to a piece that we collaborated on recently with our friends at the USGA for its latest issue of Golf Journal. You can read the article in full here. I want to thank them for their support and helping share our story at Els for Autism.

Okay, that’s if for now. I’ll write again soon.

The post Ernie’s Latest News – 19 April appeared first on Ernie Els.