The Limpopo Championship Golf Tournament, in partnership with three golf estates in the Waterberg area, has announced the establishment of a Caddy Academy to revive the culture of caddies in South Africa and create a channel through which young men can be connected to opportunities to work as caddies within various golf estates. The Academy aims to use the sport of golf to promote community development by enabling young men to learn the trade.
As part of the Caddy Academy program, three golf estates including Koro Creek Golf Estate, Euphoria Golf Estate, and Kameeldoring Golf Club have banded together and developed an induction and training program in Waterberg, Limpopo. The program hopes to create 70 new caddies in the Waterberg area with the aim of having other golf estates join the program later this year. This initiative is the first in the province and the Waterberg is the only region currently benefiting from this program.
According to Al Zoya, Operations Director for Royal Fairways, “Caddy culture is centuries old and has traditionally been a source of employment and cultural exposure for young, disadvantaged people. We want to re-instill dignity into the profession and highlight golf as a sport that is accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy”. Socio-economic changes have contributed to a decline in the use of caddies at golf estates threatening the cultural significance of caddies, “It has been sad to see this happen because caddies have always been an important and necessary part of the sport and culture of golf. It has also been a profession that has provided many young, disadvantaged youths with employment. Creating better access to opportunities for young people is a way that sport can and should be used to promote community development. It is also a way of giving disadvantaged groups access to a sport which is often inaccessible to the poor,” he says.
This is a legacy project of the Limpopo Championship golf tournament, which was initiated by Royal Fairways at the request of the Limpopo Tourism Agency, the main sponsors of the tournament.
The Caddy Academy helps prepare prospective caddies for a career in the profession by teaching young men the rules of golf, the role of caddies in the sport, and how to correctly behave and interact with players and colleagues when working in a golf estate. Part of the workshop focuses on customer care and the value that caddies bring to the golfing fraternity. It also helps them understand how golf estates operate. Trainees are then allocated to one of the three participating golf estates where they learn on the job as new caddies who are then rotated among players.
The course illuminates the career prospects for anyone who becomes a caddy and helps attendees understand how the career can be a fruitful one. A notable advantage of this program is the way it seeks to instill a sense of self-pride and discipline in the young men and teaches them the soft-skills required to be respected and successful in the field. Such soft skills help them in their personal lives and help them become kinder, more conscientious young men.
The academy was established with a substantial donation from sports betting company, Bettabets. “We at Bettabets are committed to supporting initiatives that provide opportunities for young men to possess skills, opportunities and values that create better communities,” says Smita Narsi, Head of CSI & Internal Communications at Bettabets.
