Five codes, one clubhouse

Bowls, volleyball, hiking, the Tuesday time trial and a bar that knows your order — one property in Parys, one subscription.

See the membership

The green went in first, in 1954

The municipality laid eight rinks behind the old showgrounds in 1954 and handed our first committee the key. It is the same green. Oom Kobus Venter cut it for thirty-one years and Sipho Radebe cuts it now, Tuesdays and Fridays, at eleven millimetres. The hiking started because of the rain. A league fixture against Vredefort was washed out in September 1998, nobody felt like going home, and eleven people walked up the koppie behind the waterworks instead. They have walked the first Saturday of every month since.

1954

The year the green was laid. Same eight rinks.

5

Codes. One card, one subscription, no gate fee.

431

Members. Families counted once.

What it is now

Five codes share one property and one subscription. You can pay in March, roll up on Wednesday, play volleyball on Thursday, walk the Dome ridge on Saturday and never once be asked for a green fee. Nobody here is being scouted. The bowls side plays Northern district league on Saturdays and takes it seriously enough, the volleyball is mixed six-a-side with a ladder on the wall, and the walk waits for the slowest person in it. The verandah is the part most members actually joined for, and we have stopped pretending otherwise.

What's on

The week runs the same way it has for years. Nothing needs booking except the clubhouse itself.

A week at the club

Tuesday time trial at half past five. Wednesday roll-up on the green. Thursday volleyball under lights. Saturday league from one. Sunday the fires are lit at twelve.

League bowls

Four sides in the Free State Northern district league, plus Wednesday afternoon drives that anyone can enter, singles or pairs, R30 and a tea.

Volleyball on the sand

Mixed six-a-side on the court behind the green, Thursday nights under lights from September to April. A ladder on the clubhouse wall settles the arguments.

The first Saturday walk

Eight to fourteen kilometres on the Dome ridges and farm tracks, back by one. It waits for the slowest person in it and always has.

The two long ones

An overnight in May on the Rensburgskop route and a three-day in September. Twenty-two members came last year. Kit list on request, and we lend packs.

The verandah

Darts, a snooker table with one patched cushion, the rugby on Saturdays, and a bar that closes when the last table does.

Parys Spar

Our Sunday braai meat has come off their block since 2009, at cost, and they put up the prize money for the June pairs drive.

Dome Adventures

Lends us two guides and a bakkie for the September three-day walk. They have never sent us an invoice for it and we have stopped asking.

Vaal River Vet

Dr Amanda Kruger rebuilt the clubhouse kitchen extractor in 2022 over two weekends and takes her fee in Wednesday teas.

Free State Bowls, Northern district

We are an affiliated club. League fixtures, umpires and the green inspection come through them every August.

Membership

One subscription, every code. Our year runs March to February — join later and we pro-rata it to the month.

Social

R520 / a year

The clubhouse, the bar and the verandah
Darts, snooker and every social evening
Two guest sign-ins a month
No code, no green fee, no obligation

Join social

Full

R1 450 / a year

All five codes, no extra green fee
League selection if you want it
A locker and a space in the mat shed
Two guest sign-ins a month

Join

Family

R2 200 / a year

Two adults on full membership
Children under 18 free, walks included
School holiday coaching on the green
Four guest sign-ins a month

Join as a family

Pensioner & student

R760 / a year

All five codes on the same terms
Over 65, or under 25 and studying
Wednesday drives cost you nothing
Ask us if the year has been hard

Join

Before you phone

Do I have to play anything?

No. About seventy of our members are on social membership and have never held a bowl. They come for the verandah, the darts and Saturday afternoons in front of the television, and nobody puts their name down for anything.

I have never bowled. Where do I start?

Wednesday roll-up at half past two. Come in flat shoes, we lend you the bowls, and Hennie or Lettie will put you on a rink with three people who will not mind. It is free for the first four weeks whether you end up joining or not.

What does the green cost on top of the subscription?

Nothing on full, family or pensioner membership. Visitors from other clubs pay R40 a session and that is the only green fee we charge anybody, including for the Wednesday drives.

Is the Saturday walk hard?

Eight to fourteen kilometres on farm tracks and ridge paths, with one steep half hour on most of the routes. We stop often and we do not leave anyone behind. If you can walk to the Spar and back twice, you will manage it.

Can I bring my children?

Yes, and on family membership they cost nothing. Under-13s have to be with an adult after six because of the bar, and nobody goes onto the green in shoes with hard soles — that rule is older than most of the committee.

Can we hire the clubhouse for a function?

Members can, for R900 a day plus the bar tab, and there are eight Saturdays a year we keep for ourselves. Phone the clubhouse rather than emailing: Marietjie keeps the diary in a book behind the till.

The fires are lit at twelve on Sundays

Come and see

Join

Kuier Klub · Bree Street 44, Parys 9585 056 811 2394 · klub@kuier.co.za Green open Tuesday to Sunday, 14:00 until dark. Bar from 16:00, and from 11:00 on Saturdays. The office is a shelf behind the bar, so phone after four.