Hard work has paid off for Justin Walters after securing his European Tour card and he’s determined to make a difference, writes MIKE GREEN in Compleat Golfer.
Walters had to go back to Qualifying School for the European Tour in 2017. That’s never ideal for a good player – it’s not ideal for any player – but with his typical doggedness, he regained his playing privileges.
He had a poor start with an opening 75, but he closed out the six-round marathon ever stronger with rounds of 71, 66, 69, 67, 67 to make the grade on the number at 13 under par, tied 26th.
He followed that up with a share of 14th at the season-opening AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, missed out at the Joburg Open, but then finished in the money at the BMW SA Open, the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and the Tshwane Open.
‘It helps any time you can get points on the board, but I feel there’s a slight advantage for me at home because I spend a lot more time here playing in conditions I’m used to,’ says Walters of his start to the season. ‘I would have liked to have taken more out of the events, but overall it’s been pretty solid.’
Those were the European Tour events he played in, and he also had some Sunshine Tour business to take care of. He finished 26th on the 2017-18 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit. A missed cut at the Eye of Africa PGA Championship didn’t help his cause a great deal, but a pair of ninth-place finishes at the Dimension Data Pro-Am and the Tour Championship certainly did.
Those results were vindication for the work he has been doing on specific areas of his game.
‘I’ve been working on up-and-downs, proximity to the hole with the wedges and my putting from inside 10 feet,’ he says. ‘In my last three events, I’ve only shot one round over par, so in general, things are moving in the right direction. I just need to keep at it and put everything together and I’ll be right there.’
The theory is simple: ‘Around the green is where the money is made. We’re allable to hit it pretty well out in front of us. If you watch the top guys in the world, they’re very effective around the greens, and in range for the wedges. I need to improve on that, which I’m aware of, and I will,’ he adds.
Hitting it well is a relative term in these days of routine drives of well over 300m. And, at 37, Walters has some thoughts about that. He is particularly effusive about the challenge offered by courses like Pretoria Country Club, where the Tshwane Open was played.
‘I just think it’s the variety the golf course offers,’ he says. ‘Every day is a little different. You have to hit different shots on the holes and you’re not smashing driver everywhere. You’re hitting irons into places and they’re small greens that vary between being firm and soft – a real mixture.
‘It’s a good example of how the game doesn’t always need to go for length. Making the misses smaller and the penalty for misses bigger shows that you don’t have to only have long golf courses.’
Walters’ statistics show he’s not shabby off the tee, so his comments can be taken as heartfelt rather than tinged with jealousy. He has hit it an average of 286m off the tee on the European Tour so far this season. That’s a substantial improvement on his best of 270.36 from 2017. And, with the assistance of altitude, he’s sneaky long
in South Africa too – 310.68m.
It’s almost seven years since the second of his two Sunshine Tour wins, the Investec Royal Swazi Open in 2011, his first being
the Parmalat Classic in 2004. With the work he’s doing around the greens – and the extra distance he seems to have found – he will feel there is a chance he can add to his victory tally this year.
Walters might be driven in his career, but he is also keen to give back in the Birdies 4 Rhinos campaign.
This is an initiative set up by Walters and Dean Burmester who wanted to do their bit to save these great animals so that future generations will also be able to enjoy them. By donating money for every birdie they make throughout the season they raise funds to help save this dying species from the hands of the poachers.
In the first year, Walters and Burmester managed to raise more than R135 000. They invited more players to join them
on their quest, including Olympic gold medallist and US Open champion Justin Rose.
‘We’ve brought a few more players on board,’ says Walters. ‘We’ve got a nice list of guys who are doing well. Chris Paisley came over and won the SA Open and Dean is an absolute birdie machine, so I’m trying to keep up with all of them.
‘We’re always trying to look to increase the list of players but I think that growth will come from more corporate backing; that’s when we will be able to take it to the next level. This year, I’ll be trying to focus on that and on extending our reach a bit more – to help a few more charities.
‘We’re still getting established, but I think the concept is really good. It’s taken off, it’s popular and it has resonated with a lot of people and players. We’ve just got to grow it and when my career ends, I hope I can leave it in the hands of other players and
it can be something of a legacy.
‘For now, we’re just trying to make a few birdies and do the little bit we can,’ he adds.
Walters has also spread the concept to women’s golf, and has recruited Stacy Bregman and Nicole Garcia to the cause. ‘It’s not only about the money. Exposure is important too. The women are on a different Tour so they are in contact with other people and go to different places. Obviously, with them on board, the contributions are great but they are also increasing awareness.’
With the awareness he brings to the Birdies 4 Rhinos campaign, Walters is clearly a man who knows what he wants to achieve and how to do it. He has also shown that once he has chosen a course
of action he has the ability to stick to it.
That’s almost certainly a recipe for renewed success on the golf course, sooner rather than later.
– This article first appeared in the May issue of Compleat Golfer
