Michael Vlismas

Michael Vlismas rates the major players in one of the fastest-growing industries.

Paraguay surprised all with their seven-stroke victory on their debut in the Women's World Cup of Golf on Sunday, making a tremendous impact for a country with only six golf courses. South Africa finished a disappointing 16th on 13 over par despite a solid 66 in the betterball.

Annika Sorenstam could finally be on her way to South Africa. That's the word from the organisers of the Women's World Cup of Golf, which in January will play itself out on the fairways of the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City, again bringing a collection of the world's top women's golfers together on one stage.

As more and more golf developments spring up around the country, serious questions are being asked about their impact on the local fauna and flora. While a growing tourism industry, golf is not popular among environmentalists. Is this fair, asks <i>Earthyear</i>.

It's that time of the year when some pretty strange things start happening in the world of golf. Nick Faldo buys an island for £2,5-million to develop a golf course there. And this weekend a British supermodel and a former Nascar champion will be among the field assembled for the Nelson Mandela Invitational in the Western Cape.

It seemed to be quite an ordinary Sunday. Michiel Bothma got out of bed at seven o'clock that morning. He washed the car with his girlfriend, cleaning it inside and out. They watched a movie on M-Net.

When South Africa embarks on the campaign named Sixteen Days of Activism against Gender Violence later this month there will be much hand-wringing and pious declarations from across the political and social spectrum.

Fulton Allem hasn't changed that much. He says ''partner'' a lot more than ''boet'', the legacy of spending the majority of his life in the United States. He talks of the ''North Eastern Transvaal'', and still loves Phalaborwa, where he wants to retire to a game farm on the Olifants river. And he still knows how to put on a show.

It's a small shift. Sometimes it can happen in the quiet of a hotel room. Or out on the range where a million swing thoughts combine to send a little white speck soaring into the blue sky. But when it does, it's the golfing equivalent of a Michael Jordan slam dunk.

The Augusta National golf course has been toughened up for next week's Masters