With only one more practice session left before the Special Olympics golf tournament, about 100 children with disabilities arrived in high spirits at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club in Linksfield, east of Johannesburg.
Unlike a normal golf training session, there was some noise on the golf course with the children teasing and chasing one another. The teachers accompanying the children divided them into groups. They were then tested in various skills such as short putt, long putt, chip shot, pitch shot, iron shot and wood shot.
”You will all get your turns, just form one queue please,” pleaded Jacobeth Manana of the Dominican School for the Deaf, using sign language.
For eight weeks Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) of South Africa apprentices taught the children how to play golf. The apprentices are golfers belonging to any golf club where they have been training for three years to become professional golfers.
The children’s knowledge of the game will be put to the test during the Gauteng leg of the Special Olympics, which will be held on June 9 at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club. The children will compete in nine-hole or 18-hole rounds.
Other Special Olympics tournaments will be held across the country, with winners from each province pitted against one another to select a winner, who will represent South Africa at the International Special Olympics event to be held a year before the Olympics.
The Gauteng schools that were part of the six-week training programme included the Puma Special School, Jiswe Special School, Logwood Village, Clunny Farm, Witpoort Care Centre, Waverly Care Centre, St Michelle Home, Zineliseni Special School, Usizolwethu School, Thaboweyo School and the Dominican School.
When the children finally settled down, the PGA apprentices took over from the teachers. Each child was given five balls to hit a target of 100m. Vuyisile Masuku (15) of the Dominican School was the first to go. Wearing a poker face, Masuku made his measurements and missed the ball. His friends were in stitches. After missing the ball five times he looked so stressed you might have thought he had just missed the cut at the Million Dollar Challenge.
”I’ve been training very hard for this big competition and I don’t know what is happening to me today,” he said ruefully.
Although Masuku will take part in the Special Olympics, he doesn’t think he stands a chance. ”I will come back and try again next year.”
Manana explained: ”That is why we encourage the children to play golf … because of their anger. They don’t want to be seen as failures, they always want to win, which is a good thing. If they were to play football they would fight each other because everyone would want to hold on to the ball and not pass it to other teammates. Golf is good for them because they get angry at themselves.”
Peter Niemand, a PGA apprentice, said it takes a great deal of patience to work with the children.
”I have been coaching the children for three years and if you want to work with them you must be very patient, otherwise you will quit. Some of these children learn quickly while some take time to grasp the basics. Solomon Ramodibe is way ahead of the other kids. He has a lot of potential and has natural talent that can take him far in the game of golf,” he said.
Ramodibe (16) from Sebokeng was the only one who managed to hit the ball past the 100m mark and is already dreaming of being a top golfer one day.
”I want to be like the guys who play on television … I don’t know their names, but I want to be like them. I have never played golf before and only saw it on television and I loved it. Golf is a nice sport because you play alone unlike with other sports such as football where you have many players on the field and fans making a noise,” said Ramodibe.
”My heart is sore because we won’t be playing anymore after the Special Olympics. At least here we look forward to life. Then we go back where we come from and the other people tease us every day. This is home away from home for me as I get to meet many people who are like me.”
”Sport for people with intellectual disabilities is not well recognised in the country, which is why we have the event only once in a year and the children have to go back to their schools and return next year,” said Tracey Marais of PGA.
”We would love to see it grow to a year-long event and get more schools involved. We hope that, with time, things will change and we will be able to attract more schools to come and join in the fun.”