Cape Town - Despite the Wellington Golf Club’s description as a club well-known for its warm hospitality, the club has come under fire after a racial slur was allegedly used by one of its committee members while on the golf course.
A prominent member of the club resigned after using the K-word while on the course. This was after another member overheard the comment and wrote a letter to the club management relaying the incident and demanding that action be taken.
Wellington Golf Club refused to comment but said an internal process was conducted and the committee member involved had since resigned.
An anonymous member of the club said some of the members were aware of the incident but no formal communication had been sent out by the club, despite the fact that most had already heard about the incident and the committee member’s resignation.
“Any racial slur, whether it was said on a golf course, in private or in public - is not acceptable. I think I speak for a lot of members when I say that I do not condone this kind of behaviour and that is why the person that made the complaint decided to take that route and report the incident,” he said.
He said it was not particularly shocking to hear about the incident as there had been previous incidents/comments (microaggressions) at the club but until now, none had warranted such serious action.
The anonymous club member said this incident highlighted that a lot of people were still stuck in the old South Africa.
“While the use of the racial slur certainly was not aimed at a specific member or people of colour at the club, I think it was more a question of how some people talk when they have a drink and things they normally have on their mind comes out.
“Things that are said around a braai now come out in public – even though I do not think it’s acceptable around a braai either,” he said.