Phil Jonas - Why South Africans Succeed

Happy New Year . . Wishing you all low scores in 2012.

I always marvel at the amount of great golfers South Africa and Australia produce year after year. It will be interesting to see who emerges from these two small countries in 2012. I was born in South Africa and spent my first 20 years there. I have now been in Canada for 23 years and a proud Canadian citizen for the past 17 years. I also spent six years in the U.S.A. on a golf scholarship. In South Africa, I was fortunate to have won three South African Junior Championship and to represent South Africa at the World Amateur. I am a Springbok.

In the last few years as a Golf Coach I always wonder why South Africa has had such success in golf. Southern Africans have won 24 Majors since World War 2.

Gary Player, 9
Bobby Locke, 4
Nick Price, 3
Ernie Els, 3
Retief Goosen, 2
Tevor Immelman, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Scwartzel, 1 each
Tim Clark has won the Players Championship, which always produces a Major field.
In the past 10 years South Africans have won on the U.S. PGA TOUR, the European, Asian, Sunshine, Nationwide, Australian and Canadian Tours.

Why such success? Here are my opinions.

At first I thought it was because they had easy access to great golf courses. When I grew up once juniors had a handicap better than 10 they had full access to courses, the same as an adult member. They could play at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning or any other day and in all the club competitions. With rules like this I was the Club Champion at Kyalami Country Club at the age 14. Ernie Els did even better than that at his club, I think. He was the best Amateur in South Africa when he was 16.

My second thought is the great junior program called 'The Golf Foundation.' This wasn't coaching, but rather golf tournaments in each Province. Most tournaments were 36 holes in a day and held at most of the private clubs during the school holidays. The schedule was full each Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I could play in excess of 25 of these tournaments a year never having to drive for more than 50 minutes. At the end of the year we would have the Interprovincials, followed by the South African Junior. By the way, these tournaments were extremely cheap and run by volunteers.

My third thought is the Sunshine Tour (South African Tour), like the Canadian Tour, is a vital part in getting golfers to the next level, because most Professionals need this time to hone their skills. It takes most professionals a few years the reach the U.S. PGA or European Tours. If you look at scores from the South African Tour or Australian Tour you will notice that over 90% of the players are from the home country. Unfortunately the Canadian Tour has had as little as 20% Canadian content in tournaments. Maybe with the financial troubles the Canadian Tour is experiencing having more Canadians in the field could help. I love the Canadian Tour and hope it returns to the way it was in the early 90's.

My fourth thought is that most South African Teaching pros played the Sunshine Tour before becoming Coaches. Most tried to play golf for a living, and they had to play golf well in order to put food on the table. Whether successful or not, I believe this helps when teaching/coaching someone who is going to make a living playing golf. These Coaches played in tournaments that a lot of the major champions were part of. They probably learned that having good technique is important, but not as important as scoring low.

Well now, I think all four of these thoughts are why home grown players have had such success in South Africa.

On the Canadian golf scene this is going to be a big year for the young, 52-year-old Jim Rutledge of Victoria. The past couple of years Jim has done very well on the Champions Tour without having a Tour exemption, but now he is exempt. I've played with 25 people who have won major Championships and I believe Jim is one of the most impressive golfers I have ever played with. He is also one of the nicest and most humble gentlemen you could want to meet.

What a great year Adam Hadwin had. It is not easy playing on the PGA TOUR when you are not a member, which makes his performance in 2011 even more impressive. I expect great things from this young man from Abbotsford in 2012.

As a Canadian now, I love Hockey, especially the Vancouver Canucks. My favourite team, however, is the Cloverdale Colts Atom A2 team with, who else, Patrick Jonas in net. I can't wait to be at the rink at 6 a.m. tomorrow. I just wish I knew how to skate. My hat is off to all these volunteer hockey coaches who help make hockey great for our kids.

'COACHING FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN WHERE YOU WANT TO GO'

Philip Jonas
CPGA Class A Professional
McCleery Golf Academy
Philip Jonas Golf Academy at Hazelmere
Web Site: Philip Jonas Academy
(604) 787-0145