Mark Hilton missed the cut in the South African Players' Championship in Cape Town by three strokes but has revised plans about extending his visit.

Winner in Cape Town was South Africa's Trevor Immelman who pipped Ernie Els by three strokes. Two years ago in the Amateur championship, Hilton, who plays out of ESN, beat Immelman in the quarter-finals before losing to Sergio Garcia.

It hasn't taken long for Ian Naylor to get fixed up after being made redundant by East Sussex National. Meanwhile, David Strachan, who also got the bad news, is in touch with a recruitment agency and has high hopes of continuing his career in golf.

Strachn said: "The news came as a shock as I'd been there ten years and started as a bag drop boy and service attendant. I knew Ian, the head pro, had some irons in the fire, but so far as I was concerned I thought they might keep one pro," Strachan is 28 and has a wife and twin sons.

For Naylor the axe didn't hit so hard as he explained: "When Phil Lewin, the director of golf went, I thought it would be me next.

"I would have been there seven years come next month but I have no grumbles with the present owners. They kept me on and made my mind up for me."

Now Naylor is working with David Blair for a brand new company, Universal Golf Swing, that starts trading in April.

A vacancy for a trainee at Brighton and Hove has arisen with Robert Hampson's move to Horam Park. He takes the place in the shop of Martin Chandler who intends to study for his pilot's licence.

Dennis Pulford, secretary-treasurer of the Sussex County Union, is retiring at the end of the year. Dennis, 69, announced his decision at the county annual meeting.

He will be greatly missed. A former secretary at Copthorne and East Brighton, he became county members' secretary in 1984 and was appointed to head the Sussex administration four years later.