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Nineteen years ago, Bongi Mokaba was struggling to deal with the most tragic moment of her life, then her family doctor gave her a choice when it came to dealing with her grief. The path Mokaba chose has led to her becoming one of the most influential women in South African golf.
As the director of event management for the City of Joburg, the promoter of the SA Open hosted by the City of Joburg, and the manager of the newly refurbished Soweto Country Club, Mokaba is a shining example of a woman leading change in golf in the country.
And it all started when a young girl who grew up in Tembisa lost two of the most important people in her life.
“In 2000, I lost my brother and my sister in the space of three months. My sister and I used to play squash together and I just couldn’t go back to playing the game because it brought up all these sad feelings for me.
“I was told by our family physician, Dr [Sannie] Legodi, to go for counselling and I refused. He said he’d make a deal with me – he’d introduce me to a sport he knew would help me. He told me that, if I hated it, I would have to go for counselling. But, he said, if I loved it, it would help me to heal. He took me to the World of Golf in Johannesburg and the rest is history.”
Mokaba’s role as manager of the Soweto Country Club is a source of tremendous pride for her as she’s worked with Sunshine Tour commissioner Selwyn Nathan and his team on the total refurbishment of this golf course into a facility that has given the golfers of Soweto an entirely new outlook.
“It’s been a dream come true. The fact that, as a woman, I am managing a golf club such as the Soweto Country Club is a step in the right direction. I have tremendous respect for Selwyn Nathan and I’ve worked with some incredibly talented men in golf. Our golf structures, though, are still mostly male. If I’m a black woman managing a golf course, that’s an achievement for women in general. It really satisfies me as a woman who was born in a township to be part of this project.”
In March, Mokaba oversaw the playing of the first women’s professional golf tournament at Soweto Country Club when an international field competed in the Joburg Ladies’ Open on the Sunshine Ladies’ Tour.
It was another positive step towards her aim of the club playing a role in the growth of women’s golf.
“We’ve had a wonderful woman from Bryanston Country Club, Melanie Celliers, who donated her own money to build a short-game facility for young girls at Soweto Country Club. This is where we are going to coach young girls.
“But we’re looking at Soweto Country Club not only as a golf course – I have a wedding booked there for December; we had a conference there last month.
“We’ve had so many enquiries from people wanting to play golf there. My ultimate goal is that the people of Soweto see this as a community facility. When all is complete, we should have people who walk and jog in a safe environment, as well as play golf.”
In more ways than one, Mokaba has been just what Dr Legodi ordered for South African golf.
