This instantly recognisable Rugby World Cup winner tells GRANT SHUB about unearthing black athletes through his foundation, the biggest lessons in the rise and fall of James Kamte and having his albatross caught on camera in 2022.
Eleven-Test Springbok winger Akona Ndungane, who won the 2007 Rugby World Cup with South Africa in France, has seen his golf game steadily improve. Having been an 11-handicap in 2018, his dedication to the game has paid off and he is now playing off a 5.
It was on a 2008 Super Rugby tour to New Zealand when roommate Bryan Habana introduced him to the game of golf.
Habana said to Ndungane, ‘Let’s go play a round of golf,’ and while Ndungane thought to himself: I don’t even know how to pick up a club, he had seen enough of Queenstown and felt he had nothing to lose giving golf a crack.
While the 43-year-old’s first attempt at golf was ‘horrendous’, in his own words, he managed to hit one ball in the air. That feeling excited the man, who made over a century of appearances for the Bulls, and on his return to South Africa the bug really bit.
Ndungane and his twin, Odwa, broke barriers within South African rugby owing to their presence at the top of the game for the Bulls and Sharks respectively. James Kamte, a friend, did the same for golf but a once promising career was stunted by alcohol abuse.
‘I’ve played a few rounds with James and the way he still hits the ball and moves around the golf course is amazing,’ Ndungane tells Compleat Golfer. ‘It’s a pity what happened off the course because that derailed his progress. Unfortunately, James ended up on the wrong side but he set the bar for black golfers who’re coming through.’
Ndungane, who is now paying it forward through the Ndungane Twins Foundation, says he is hopeful we get to see a lot more black golfers coming through the ranks and representing South Africa at the highest level.
Kamte is arguably South Africa’s most successful black golfer, having won four times on the Sunshine Tour and once on the Asian Tour. His crowning achievement was when he teed off at the US Open in 2009 but 15 years have elapsed since a black golfer has represented South Africa at a Major.
‘I chat to some of the black golfers playing on the Tour and finance is the biggest issue,’ says Ndungane, whose first love in Mthatha was football but his father, Zingisa, played rugby and introduced him and his twin to the oval-shaped game. ‘I still believe there are so many talented black golfers but unfortunately talent alone won’t get you to the top.’
Twelve-year-old prodigy Simthandile Tshabalala, who had already won 74 trophies by 2023, is a diamond in the rough. His dad, Bonginkosi, taught himself to play the game in 2015 using YouTube videos before introducing his son and the rest of the family to the game. Sim-Tiger, who has won the USA Kids World Championship at Pinehurst Golf Course five times, has been touted as the next great hope among black South African golfers.
Retired golfer and caddie Daniel Sithole is coaching black youth golfers in Soweto and Ndungane encourages a spirit of Ubuntu to propel black talent.
‘Sometimes our biggest let-down as black people is that we don’t like to work together,’ says Ndungane, who played his last Test against Wales in 2007. ‘We aren’t trying to change the world but are going to help as many kids as we can. The more hands we have on deck, the better.’
Ndungane, a brand ambassador for Titleist and FootJoy, says his strength is his iron play – he enjoys hitting a long- and short-iron – while his weakness is his chipping. He underlines that, if he wants to shoot the scores he intends to, working on his short game is the answer. As such, he is now balancing his practice in terms of hitting drivers, irons, wedges and putters so that his game can become well-rounded.
In a past life, Ndungane agrees that it was the ultimate playing for the Springboks and being part of the 2007 World Cup-winning squad. Pulling on the green and gold and singing the national anthem are special memories he will always treasure.
‘I’m satisfied with how my career panned out. I look back on the trophies and achievements and I don’t have any regrets,’ says Ndungane, who retired at the conclusion of the 2015 Super Rugby season. ‘But the lowest point of my Test career also happened to be my debut where we lost 49-0 to Australia in the 2006 Tri-Nations.’
Reflecting on the Springboks’ third- heaviest defeat in their 118-year history, Ndungane says Jake White’s side actually had a very good training week but on match day the Boks didn’t enjoy the bounce of the ball and their discipline wasn’t there. ‘Just like golf, it shows you that at that level you have to be on top of your game every single minute.’
Ndungane concedes that he doesn’t know how he’ll feel when he hits a hole-in-one but is still savouring his unexpected albatross. What makes it special for Ndungane is that it was caught on camera at the Royal Johannesburg East Championship Course in 2022.
‘I hit my drive off the tee on the par-five 18th and I remember after that the distance was 213 metres to the flag with a slight uphill,’ he says, taking up the tale. ‘I went through my pre-shot routine, hit my 4-iron and when it came off I thought it was a very good shot at the time. It was in line with the flag and I thought maybe it was a tap-in eagle. However, as we were driving towards the green, I couldn’t see my ball. I thought to myself: “There is no way it went over the green.” I then looked up at the cameraman and he said, with a big smile across his face, “Your ball is in the hole!” That really was an amazing feeling.’
Ndungane is of the view that the Majors are always the pinnacle of the golf calendar and separate the men from the boys. For him, the 152nd Open, which will be played at Royal Troon and is located on Scotland’s west coast, is what he’s most looking forward to as ‘the conditions can be extremely challenging and require a different kind of game’.
NDUNGANE ON …
His favourite courses
‘In terms of top local courses, Fancourt Country Club and Leopard Creek are beautiful and next level but I’m biased as I’m an ambassador for Serengeti Estates. It’s a beautiful place and is a Jack Nicklaus signature design course. My favourite hole there is the signature par five with the island green. We’ve seen a lot of games won and lost on that hole. Internationally, Wentworth Country Club is top of my list. The course looks challenging and I would like to test myself there. Royal Troon, where they play The Open, is also a bucket-list item. Hopefully one day I’ll play at the Alfred Dunhill Pro-Am.’
His favourite clubs
‘I had the Titleist TSi3 driver and now I’ve moved to the TSi2. I think the forgiving nature of the club is next level. If you’re comfortable with how your club looks and how it stands next to the ball, then you’ll perform better. That is what I also get from the TSR3 driver and 3-wood. With irons, when the T150s came out last year I switched to them. The first time I hit those irons was amazing. l liked the way it came off the face and the technology of the club, which afforded me 10-15 metres more than previous irons.’
His worst shot played
‘I was playing at the 2023 Dimension Data Pro-Am in Montagu. The most awkward thing was having shanks at the driving range even before we played. I got a bogey on the 1st hole and then on the par-three 2nd hole, I shanked my 7-iron in front of my pro! It was embarrassing but I quickly told myself: “Don’t stress, even pros shank the ball.” They say that shanks come in pairs but fortunately for me I didn’t have another shank that round.’
– This article first appeared in the July 2024 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine.
Photo: Johan Rynners/Getty Images
