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Cutlery and stones all part of Tshabalala’s coaching armoury.

Vincent Tshabalala is dishing up a novel series of golf lessons — using a spoon to hit the ball. Tshabalala, 66, is launching a golf school at the Ohenimuri Golf Club in Walkerville, south of Johannesburg, which he hopes will one day become a fully fledged academy. He uses cutlery, as well as a flat stone in the palm of the hand, to help children develop hand-eye co-ordination. His philosophy is to keep the golf swing as simple as possible. “The golf swing is an extension of your putting stroke.” His methods are contrary to some espoused in many manuals; for example, he believes you can obtain ample power with a three-quarter swing and no wrist-cocking. “What you read in the books, that’s only one method,” says Tshabalala, who taught himself to play as a caddie, scrutinising the swings of players when they hit good shots. “Every time they hit a good shot I’d take note of it. I’m a good bunker player because I copied Gary Player, I caddied for him when I was 10,” says Tshabalala, adding his abbreviated swing is modelled on that of former US superstar Arnold Palmer. Hanging in the hall of the Ohenimuri club is a wooden honours board, sporting the names of some past National Party leaders, notably prime minister BJ Vorster and sports minister Piet Koornhof. Yet the club was one of the first to allow black players during the depths of apartheid, hosting events such as the Transvaal Non-European Open, contested by Indian great Papwa Sewgolum. “I had the pleasure of beating Papwa twice on this course,” Tshabalala recalls. The 272m par-four 15th is particularly memorable, because that is where he scored a birdie to take a one-shot lead on the final round, having driven the green with his 1-iron. He won the competition by two strokes. Another honorary lifetime member at Ohenimuri was Bobby Locke, a four-time British Open champion famous for his right-to-left shaped shots that almost resembled hooks. “Not many people know this but he could cut the ball too.” Tshabalala recalls watching him play in a tournament at nearby South Downs, and when Locke got to the seventh hole, a dog-leg right, he hit it left-to- right onto the fairway. Tshabalala, while doing his apprenticeship at Glendower, once had the job of customising Locke’s clubs. “He brought in six drivers and he wanted them all 16 ounces. I did five of them at 16 ounces and one I did 15¾ ounce. I wanted to see if he would notice. “He tested the clubs, swinging each one slowly then putting it aside. When he got to the one which was 15¾ ounces he said: ‘there’s a problem with this one’. I told him I had done it purposely to see if he would notice, and he told me: ‘Vincent, I’ve got a great feel’.” When Tshabalala turned professional in 1963, Gary Player bought him a set of golf clubs. “They were Ben Hogans. Until then my clubs were from all different sets.” Player was a great help to Tshabalala and Sewgolum, assisting them to travel abroad to play in competitions. Tshabalala, now a fixture at the Gary Player Invitational, formerly the Nelson Mandela Invitational, which takes place at Fancourt next weekend, remembers watching Player compete in Australia in 1974, facing a hostile crowd. “There was one guy who was throwing bottles at Gary, so I looked to see who it was and then I went and stood next to him on the next tee. When he tried to throw a bottle I caught his hand and said: ‘Don’t do that again. I’m from Africa and he (Player) is my friend’.” Out of respect, many black golfers, fans and workers call Player Mnumzana, Zulu for sir. “We had problems with the laws of apartheid for many years,” says Tshabalala, “but I never had a single problem with any golfer. That tells you something.” He remembers looking for accommodation in Paris in 1976 with five white SA golfers, including Simon Hobday and Bobby Lincoln. “They kept turning us away, nobody would accept these white South Africans. Eventually I said to the other guys, let me try alone. I found a place run by this woman and I booked three rooms for us, two-in-a-room. “The next morning, the woman called me over and said: ‘why didn’t you tell me there are white South Africans you’re bringing into my place?’ I said: ‘Don’t worry, these are my friends’.” Tshabalala went on to achieve his greatest result that week, winning the French Open, a tournament that boasts victors such as Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and, more recently, Retief Goosen. Back at Ohenimuri, Tshabalala is enthusiastic about teaching the kids who live nearby. “Coaching and making people play better golf is close to my heart. We don’t have sponsors yet, but if we have to, we’ll do it with 10 golf balls.” And a spoon.

David Isaacson