Nobuhle is an Nguni word meaning "beautiful lass", but Nobuhle Dlamini does not depend on her looks to earn a living – she plays golf instead.
Dlamini was born and raised in Swaziland, now called eSwatini, in the Lobamba area, “not far from Ezulwini”.
The daughter of a former caddie, Johannes Dlamini, who moved on to play the game professionally, Nobuhle Dlamini started playing golf at 12.
“[My father] used to play, then stopped. He got an opportunity to go to the Royal & Ancient [Golf Club of St Andrews] in Scotland and upon his return established a golfing academy... I was one of the cadets at the academy.”
It was called the MTN Junior Golf Academy.
Her siblings include three brothers and four sisters. “I played with dolls with girls, football with boys. Everything outside, I was always keen.”
She was therefore able to try her hand – and feet – at tennis, basketball and soccer at school. “Anything that I could find to play, I did.”
She would only focus on golf from age 18.
“I love playing golf. It was a development thing back then. We were only allowed to go to the range for practice at set practice times. It would be two hours on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Other than that, I would have three balls to go practice – hit them, go pick them up; hit them, pick them up, and repeat until I was satisfied.”
But she hastens to add: “I did this only after finishing my house chores.”
Contrary to popular belief, she is not the daughter of Joe Dlamini – who was, for a long time, the only black professional golfer out of Swaziland. "I get that a lot,” she says.
“He passed away towards the end of 2021. I know he did very well in South Africa. He’s not my father. There’s been confusion. My father played, though not as [well] as Joe. I didn’t know Joe. When I started playing, he was just stopping.”
She recalls the early days: “My first time on a golf course was just different from playing in the field. Hitting the ball, seeing it in the air and aiming it at a target was just magical.”
Her father was always around for guidance. “I learnt a lot from my father."
She says of her passion for golf: “There’s always that good shot that makes you want to come back the next day and hit it even better tomorrow.”
At 14 years old, she played off an 18 handicap. ”I got the opportunity to represent eSwatini in Scotland... I came back home with a trophy – that was very motivating for me.”
After completing Grade 8 at a high school not far from home, she moved to Johannesburg – courtesy of a Good Samaritan who spotted her golf talent. She did her Matric at Summit College in Johannesburg.
“When I was in Matric, I won the SA Matchplay. I did not know much about the history of South Africa. I knew just a bit.”
In 2006, she played in the Junior British Open, and represented eSwatini again in Scotland, this time playing off a 2 handicap. Fast-forward to 2022, by which time she had run up a long list of accomplishments.
Dlamini graduated in 2014 with a Sports Science degree, majoring in Sports Management, from the University of Pretoria.
She looks up to Tiger Woods: “Always have. I used to look up to him when I started playing golf. There was a lot of learning to take from him. You couldn’t avoid him.”
She is inspired by world No 1 women’s golfer, Nelly Kordaworld. “I had the pleasure of playing in the European Tour Event in France. I played in the same tournament as her. Watching the small things that are lacking in me from her was inspiring.”
Another of her heroines is Annika Sorenstam: “She is the greatest of all time. She’s still so good she can play at her age. Laura Davies, another older lady over 50. These are big icons all over the world.”
Dlamini has travelled the world. Thanks to golf, she says. Without it, she’d probably still be stuck in a village in eSwatini.
Her advice to would-be golfers: Just start.
“You do not need new golf clubs to start. You can rent them.”
Dlamini says golf instils discipline, honesty, punctuality, very good manners and etiquette. “I think it just builds you to become a decent human being.”
Her motto is simple: Play, and play to win. Keep winning.
Her next stop is getting into the LPGA – Ladies Professional Golf Association. “Every day, we take it one step at a time.”
Sunday Independent