Dean Burmester’s passion for rhino conservation and the rebranding of Stingers GC to Southern Guards GC for the new LIV Golf season highlight the team’s commitment to protecting South African heritage and the anticipated economic impact of the upcoming LIV Golf event in South Africa. Picture: Souther Guards GC WithStingers GCrebranding to Southern Guards GC for the new LIV Golf season, it seems like no coincidence that the horned member of the big five formed a key part of the new logo. Dean Burmester, one of the four members of the SA team in the PIF Saudi-funded golf tour, has long been a campaigner for rhino conservation and was closely involved with the Birdies for Rhinos initiative on the Sunshine and DP World Tour.
Burmester, alongside team captainLouis Oosthuizen,Branden GraceandCharl Schwartzel, were forced to change their team name after trademark issues arose after three years building the Stingers GC. The SA contingent, however, have taken it in their stride as they look ahead to the new LIV Golf season. “The plight of the rhino has been close to my heart for about 10, 11 years now and we do a lot of effort to make sure that the rhino is making a bounce back and with the rebrand obviously, I think it all kind of fell into place,” Burmester toldIOLin anexclusive interview.
“There’s a little bit of luck, I think, from the LIV Golf perspective to offer us that kind of logo and the way it all turned out with, you know, what it stands for, you know, the fortitude, the strength behind the rhino and the uBuntu, you know, I am because we are, it’s close because we are four really close guys and we’re a close-knit family, not just us, you know, the whole team, everybody involved. “For us to be that close-knit and, you know, to have the rhino and what a charge of rhino, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a rhino in the wild, but whenever there’s a baby around, the baby is the first priority.” Burmester likened the protective nature of rhinos to the attitude of his team. “And the rhinos actually circle around the baby to make sure that the baby can eat, to protect it obviously from predators and certain things.
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And these kinds of things are really close, and that’s how we feel with South Africa. “We feel that South Africa is where we come from. This is our place, this is our close little thing, and the little world is around.
And there are predators all over the world, and we want to protect our heritage, and we want to protect what we stand for. And I think the logo has come out great, and the head of the rhino. If you look at it closely on our logo, it is actually the shape of South Africa, and that’s how close and important it is to us.” On the actual name change, Burmester admitted it wasn’t ideal but that wouldn’t change his team’s commitment to producing top performances.
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