Golf national team optimistic ahead of Zone Six
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday April 10, 2015 12:18
The team comprises of eight golfers; Sipho Abueng, David Masole, Leroy Pearmain, Shane Granger Junior, Kesentseng Dube, Walter Seokemong, Nabeel Desai and Peter Podise.
Ten countries will take part in the tournament that kicks off on Tuesday and ends on Thursday. Coach, Mpho Kelosiwang told Mmegi Sport that Botswana does not have a good track record in international tournaments due to various factors. He said the country does not have high quality domestic events. “We do not have enough depth in terms of players. We have only 15 players who win championships all the time.
“We do not have enough competition between players and we already know winners even before a competition starts. Unfortunately, we cannot manufacture them,” he said.
He pointed out that most players in the team are not full time golfers and that affects their performance. Desai and Granger Junior are based in South Africa and are the only ones playing golf full time.
He stated that if the players are to do well in the international arena, they should play golf 50 hours a week.
Kelosiwang said Botswana Golf Union (BGU) used to send the team for training in South Africa, but that was not possible this time around due to financial constraints.
He revealed that Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) has assisted the BGU with P500,000 for the Zone VI.
Despite that, Kelosiwang said the assistance is not enough to take the team outside of the country. “We are using modern training skills that do not require intensive physical training. I want the players to pick the momentum during the tournament,” said Kelosiwang.
For his part, Seokemong said the team did not do well during the Zone Six tournament that was held in Stellenbosch, South Africa last year and want to turn around the fortunes this year. Another player, Abueng said he made his debut in the tournament last year and did not perform well. He stated that he picked up few skills from it and intends to use them in Uganda.
“You must remember that other countries such as Zimbabwe and South Africa have golf academies hence they have good golfers.
“We are faced with a stiff competition from them, but we are not going to let that deter us,” said Abueng. Meanwhile, Desai said the team is fired up and intends to bring good results, adding that when they work as a team anything is possible.
He observed that other countries have full time golfers and that is not the case with Botswana. Desai also acknowledged the high moral in the camp.