Golf leader shifts focus to development
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday April 27, 2024 06:00
Musa, who came into office in February, says he is not new to sport administration, as he was the secretary-general of Jwaneng Comets Football Club in 1988.
“We were the first club to win the inaugural Chappies League.
By then I was the team manager. I then moved from football to golf in 2004 when I took over from Butler Phiri. We did well during that period with a lot of support from the corporate world," he said. "We had a junior development programme sponsored by the First National Bank of Botswana (FNBB), which was a success. We had a lot of junior players involved, most of them in Gaborone with a few in Selebi-Phikwe, Francistown, and Jwaneng,” he added. Some of the success stories from the programme include players like Ouname Mhotsha and Leroy Pearmain, forming a strong junior national team.
Musa said they took advantage of the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) elite scholarship to send Mhotsha overseas to further her studies and to become a professional golf player. “Unfortunately, I left my position when my term ended due to work commitments. I have come back. Initially, I was not interested in the position, but people wanted me to contest. I was also approaching
retirement from work, so I now have time. People were interested in golf, but they felt that the association had lost direction. The association had also lost sponsors and it was a vote of confidence in my previous leadership. I'll be here for four years. When I leave, somebody within my executive committee must be ready to take over,” he said.
Musa said one of the gaps he found is that BGU does not have an administrative officer, which is something that should be corrected. He said just like other National Sport Associations (NSA), funding is a challenge and they are reaching out to the corporate world seeking support. He said the BGU needs to identify revenue-generating streams and one such thing is the handicap system. “Currently, we are using the South African handicap system, which means all the revenue we could be gaining, as the BGU is going to South Africa. We should come up with our own handicapping system.
All golfers in Botswana will subscribe to that. Another revenue generating stream is when we are hosting the BGU tournament and players pay competition fee,” he said. Musa said there is a perception that golf is for the elite class, and to deal with that, the union intends to reach out, use Gaborone Golf Club as a nucleus and get more children involved. He said they will also introduce an outreach programme to schools, where they can teach school children the game at an early age. He said the programme needs a lot of funding, hence the need to involve the corporate world. “Let us change the profile of golf in Botswana. Let us get more kids and women playing. That will generate more funds for clubs and they can be self-sustainable. The other challenge we are facing is that most of the golf courses are under short leases.
We have decided to take up the matter with the BNSC and we want the golf courses to be leased to the BNSC, as it allocates the land to us,” he said. Musa said golf courses under threat are the Lobatse, Selebi-Phikwe, and Francistown greens, which have short-term leases. Regarding the Selebi-Phikwe Golf Course lease, Musa said it has been extended and they would be able to host the 2024 Central Open tournament at the facility. He said there has been a decline in membership at the Selebi-Phikwe club due to the closure of the BCL Mine, adding that Francistown and Lobatse have been affected. He said the solution to the challenge is to introduce a junior development programme. Musa was elected to lead BGU for the next four years in February and his three vice presidents are Lemogang Dikgang (development), Reuben Molosiwa (administration) and Lynda Tshireletso (women).
Bekezela Mbakile was voted as secretary-general, while Neo ‘Skillo’ Aabobe was co-opted as the marketing and communication officer. Meanwhile, the junior national team has been participating in the All Africa Junior Teams Championship at the Benoni Country Club in South Africa. The championship format was 72 holes of stroke play, with 18 holes played on each of the four competition days. The tournament ended today (April 26). Upon arrival, players will tee off at the Delta Junior Golf Championships to be held at the Stanbic Bank Gaborone club, starting tomorrow until Sunday. Golfers who play the best nine holes and 18 holes get free entry to the Africa Junior Championships to be held in San Lameer, South Africa in August.