Ken Borland

SOUTHBROOM, KwaZulu-Natal – For Vodacom’s Eleni Kwinana, the Executive Head of Department for Vodacom Business Marketing KZN, the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series is a wonderful chance for their amateur clients to connect with Sunshine Tour professionals, but what thrilled her the most on the pro-am’s opening day at San Lameer Country Club on Tuesday was the development clinic.

Around 20 kids from disadvantaged areas on the KZN South Coast attended the development clinic, and Kwinana was delighted to see some of the same boys and girls who had attended the corresponding event at Selborne Park Golf Club in 2020.

“To give young kids from areas where they would never be exposed to golf the chance to get some coaching is very heartwarming, and I even recognised some of the boys and girls from two years ago at Selborne. They have sprung up, and it was brilliant to see them again,” Kwinana said.

“Youth education is one of our key pillars at Vodacom and helping communities has almost become a way of life for us, we don’t see CSI programmes as being something separate from our day-to-day work.

“Where we see a need, we help or we find someone who can help. Like our zero-rated Vodacom e-School which allows pupils to access their curriculum and test themselves. My own daughter went from a D aggregate to an A for maths, and it doesn’t cost a cent if you’re a Vodacom customer.

“There’s also our Code Like a Girl programme, where we find girls nationally who have never touched a tech device, we teach them during the June holidays, and by the time school starts again they are able to sort out their own website,” Kwinana said.

While Vodacom’s grand plan is to allow people from every district and rural area to also Connect For Good in this digital age, sometimes disaster strikes, whether it be in the form of the civil unrest that plagued KwaZulu-Natal in July 2021 or the massive floods that engulfed the province in April/May this year. And then Vodacom spring into action with a range of emergency relief measures.

“Vodacom is investing R1 billion of infrastructure into KZN, which is the biggest investment in the province. We find working with communities leads to much better longevity and protection of our assets, and so we never ever neglect our communities.

“We are there for their benefit, which is why when the floods came, we donated R3 million worth of relief aid through the Gift of the Givers, but we also went out to communities that had not been assisted yet and brought them blankets and food.

“During the riots we restored cellphone coverage a lot quicker than usual for those suppliers that the economy depends on, we gave them makeshift satellite dishes. We do these things so we can thrive as a province.

“We helped keep suburbs safe and restored businesses’ connectivity so the economy could bounce back as quickly as possible,” Kwinana said.

So helping people from all walks of life is par for the course for Vodacom. And golf has enjoyed their patronage and support for longer than most sports, with the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series running since 2004. It is the longest-running series of events on the Sunshine Tour.

“We really enjoy seeing the professionals and amateurs connect at our tournaments. Especially in this post-Covid time because people have been starved of human contact,” Kwinana said.

But with Vodacom involved so massively in the entire golf ecosystem , that human touch will always be around.

GQEBERHA, Eastern Cape – The wind that has gusted through Humewood Golf Cub this week was joined by soaking rain on Wednesday to make for pretty miserable conditions in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series Pro-Am, but at least one golfer – Jacquin Hess – was able to apply the old Monty Python maxim and always look on the bright side.

While the locker-room was full of mutters about the unrelenting wind and the rain just making everything wet and uncomfortable, Hess may have been nodding sympathetically, but inside he is quite happy for the weather to turn foul for when the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series fourth leg tees off at Humewood on Thursday.

“The weather forecast is not looking good and everyone is complaining about it, but I’m actually smiling inside,” Hess said. “I prefer the conditions to be tough, it opens the field up, and most of my best finishes have been on the tough tracks. The more the wind blows, the better for me. Coming from Robertson, there’s always a three-club wind there, and I actually went home to practise a bit.

“This course is always good, I love the place and I was in the mix the last time I was here, so I have a good vibe. You have to play different shots here, keep it low and under the wind, it’s been a two-to-three club wind so far, but I’m comfy hitting my seven-iron from 130. So I’m in a good space mentally, it’s going to be difficult for everyone and sometimes you don’t realise that,” Hess said.

The 30-year-old has missed his last two cuts, at the Vodacom Origins of Golf Mount Edgecombe leg and the Sunshine Tor Invitational, but he is optimistic about the next few weeks on tour because tough courses are hosting the events and he feels like he is slamming it straight and just waiting to capitalise score-wise.

“My game is turning in the right direction and I’ve just got to give myself opportunities, take it one shot at a time. The next five weeks should suit my game because we have tournaments here at Humewood and places like the Wild Coast and Sun City, where I normally play well. You need to hit it straight and low at these places, which I’m doing, and I putted really well in the Pro-Am, even in the difficult wind.

“I saw playing with Alex Haindli when he won at Sishen that you just need to keep the ball in play and par is good. You need to have that sort of even temperament, like cricketers Jacques Kallis or Hashim Amla. You just need to go with the conditions. You need to be the calmest guy on the course,” Hess said.

Judging by the former SA Students golfer’s strong showing in the Pro-Am, Hess has no need to get anxious about what he will face over the next three days at Humewood.

DURBAN, KwaZulu-Natal – Brian Harris was playing on his home course at Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate but he still played out of his golf brogues as he helped his Swedish professional Fredrik From to victory in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Pro-Am on Wednesday.

Harris is a long-standing member of the North Coast club and he fired twin rounds of 79 off a nine handicap as he and From amassed 88 points in the 36-hole event.

And it was Harris collecting pars on the last two holes that played a crucial role in their victory, which understandably left the Senior golfer delighted.

“Fredrik the pro played pretty well and fortunately I was also able to help when it was really needed. Fredrik said to me with two holes left that ‘I don’t really want to tell you, but we are leading by two points’. Luckily I was able to finish with two pars, which was crucial,” Harris said after sealing his place in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Pro-Am Series final to be played at Sun City from January 25-28.

But before contemplating Sun City cocktails and golf at one of the most prestigious courses in the country in the new year, Harris praised Vodacom for surpassing his expectations in the first Origins of Golf Pro-Am he has played in.

“It was a magnificent tournament. I had been told so much previously about the Origins of Golf series but never played before, and it turned out to be just fantastic. I have been a Mount Edgecombe member for more than 20 years now, so fortunately I know the course well. And it was in outstanding condition, which is a tribute to Kevin Stone [director of golf at Mount Edgecombe CC] and his team,” the beaming Harris said.

Former South African Amateur representative Zethu Myeki from Randpark Golf Club won the women’s competition.

The Sharks rugby team may have endured a terrible Currie Cup final last weekend, but their star fullback Curwin Bosch was all smiles on Tuesday after a thoroughly enjoyable day out on the first day of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series Pro-Am at Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate.

The country’s top rugby players will be off to Europe to play in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship barely a week after the end of the Currie Cup, so Bosch was enjoying the opportunity to play some of his second-favourite ball sport.

“It’s really nice to have some off-time and be able to do what I love doing in my spare time – I play a lot of golf. It was a really nice experience today to mingle with the pros and I didn’t play too badly either. Fortunately Mount Edgecombe is my home course and I got one birdie. Overall I really enjoyed it,” the six-handicapper said.

Being accustomed to lining up pressure kicks at goal, Bosch should be used to the horrible nerves that can come with having to make clutch putts. But the lanky 24-year-old says putting is not as awful for him.

“I think the mental side comes into it more so with my driving and long irons, putting is actually a bit easier for me. I do hit my drives a long way, but not often as straight as my kicking,” Bosch, who is known for having a mega boot, chuckled.

Rumour has it that Bosch outdrove his professional by 20 metres on one hole.

With rugby now becoming an all-year pursuit, Bosch said he was also interested to see how golf professionals, many of whom have to grind it out week-to-week, approach the game. Work ethic is one thing that stands out for the Springbok.

“It’s nice to see how the pros go about it, that’s the fantastic part, seeing how they go about things on the course. You see how much thinking is done before every shot and talking to them was a great experience. The hard work, the many hours they put in to hone their game, you have to admire them. I have a better understanding of the things they go through now,” Bosch said.