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| Motlalentoa Moloi |
This
week we change it up a bit, we can’t be talking about football all the time,
this is a Sports Centre after all. Motlalentoa Moloi has been Lesotho’s number
one professional golfer since turning pro in 2004. Since this article was
written Baitsi Motsamai, Tieho Mochebelele, Tlotliso Khabo and Tung-Nan Lin have
also turned professional but they are yet to be as active as Moloi who competes
on the Sunshine Tour.
While Angel
Cabrera was gleefully adorning himself with The Green Jacket at the US Masters
last week, the greens of the Chapman Golf Club in Harare, Zimbabwe were being
adorned by lesser golfers, hoping to one day emulate the Argentine’s feats.
But while southern
Africa’s prospects were competing at the 2009 Zone VI International Amateur
Golf Team Games, Lesotho was conspicuous by its absence.
One of those who were
confined to their living room is Motlalentoa Moloi, Lesotho’s only professional
golfer. Moloi, 38, is a member of the South African Sunshine Tour, a golf tour
frequently frequented by the regal likes of Ernie Els and Retief Goosen. Sadly,
like his countrymen, Moloi was unable to pit his wits against his continental
counterparts.
Lesotho did not send a
team to the 2009 Zone VI edition due to a chronic lack of resources. “We didn’t
go because there were no funds. In the past we didn’t really have a team to
represent the country,” Moloi says. “However we spent all this time building a
promising squad. Sadly we couldn’t send them to the games.”
Unlike football, golf
is not a mainstream sport in Lesotho and not sending a team to such games stunts
any progress. Indeed in the last twelve years Lesotho has only sent a team to
the Zone VI golf games on four occasions, in 1997, 1998, 2001 and last year.
It’s a massive
disappointment to Moloi, who as a professional, coaches the national team,
“It’s disappointing because we felt we would have done better this time
around,” he affirms. “We have put together a good young team.”
Moloi’s optimism is
brought about by Lesotho’s performance at last year’s Zone VI games that were
held Zambia. “Last year we got three points,” he says.
“It’s not great,” Moloi
admits. “But it’s an improvement on the previous tournament (in 2001) where we
got two and a half points.”
On that occasion Moloi
contributed one and a half of the team’s points total as Lesotho finished last.
In 2008 the country improved to a ninth-place finish.
The Zone VI golf
championships are contested by ten countries; South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya,
Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Swaziland, Malawi, Tanzania and Lesotho. “I feel we
could have made the top five this time around,” Moloi insists.
Still, failure to
prepare is preparing to fail, and as with other sports in the country,
under-preparedness is a major cause for Lesotho’s perennial underachievement.
“At last year’s games we arrived late. We arrived the day before the tournament
began so were unable to have any proper preparation. As a result for the first
two days our performance was poor. But as the team got used to the conditions
they improved,” Moloi says
Any significant
improvement to the country’s golf however will depend on financial help. “All
the nations there (Zone VI games) are helped financially by their governments,”
Moloi laments.
“When you aren’t able
to send a team to such games it reflects badly on the country. The association
went to the LSRC (Lesotho Sports and Recreation Commission) to ask for money
but there was none available,” Moloi adds. “If you compare Lesotho to Zimbabwe
for example, then we are a long way behind when it comes to support and
sponsorship. Zimbabwe for all its troubles is second only to South Africa when
it comes to golf in Africa. There is not enough support for sport in general in
Lesotho and for golf it’s even worse.”
Yet despite all the
glaring difficulties, Moloi remains optimistic about the future of golf in the
country. “Since 2003 there has been a big increase in the numbers of people
playing golf in particular amongst younger ages,” he says.
In particular Moloi
sees a few gems shining especially bright. “Baitsi Motsamai, Tieho Mochebele,
Tlotliso Khabo and Tung-Nan Lin,” he beams.
Lin, a Chinese
national, represented Lesotho at last year’s Zone VI games and Moloi believes
Lin and his mates have the capacity to become professionals. “Within a year
they can turn professional,” he smiles before adding. “(But) they are not the
only ones with talent, I look at the young players in general and they are very
promising.”
Turning professional
however is a potential minefield in itself and with trepidation Moloi adds:
“Then again, if they do turn professional with no sponsorship then we will be
destroying them (because) they won’t have the support to pursue their careers.”
It’s a minefield that
Moloi knows all too well. Since turning professional in 2004 hardships off the
greens have invariably led to sub-standard performances on them. “It’s
difficult to go to all the tour events because I have no support,” he stresses.
“You have a tournament in Durban one week then in Johannesburg the other. You
have to have time to prepare because conditions differ,” he says.
Moloi adds: “Per year I
play eight or nine tournaments which is not enough.”
So what do the next
twelve months hold for Moloi? “You can’t make plans because when you have no
sponsors you are not sure what will come,” he says. “You can’t have a set a
schedule and therefore set targets.”
Nevertheless, for
Moloi, the inferno of golfing passion is far from extinguishing.
His desire is to see
his sport spread and flourish throughout Lesotho. Presently golf in Lesotho is
concentrated exclusively in the capital Maseru. “I would love to see golf
played all over the country one day,” Moloi says.
“Golf is not a sport
about money at all, anyone can play.”
But with the more
mainstream sports played in Lesotho, why did Moloi choose golf? “I got into
golf because I found it more demanding than other sports,” he says. “I played
football, taekwondo and tennis but golf was the most challenging.”
In which way?
“Golf is not just about
hitting the ball hard. Golf makes you think and to me it is comparable to the
daily challenges that we face in life,” Moloi says. “There are many hazards on
a golf course and you have to make the right decisions to stay out of trouble.”
For the record South
Africa won Zone VI games ahead of Zimbabwe to defend their title. For Lesotho
the biggest challenge right now is just getting onto the golf course.
April 2009
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