Proteas Test captain Temba Bavuma talks to GRANT SHUB about his most embarrassing golf moment, paying it forward with his foundation and the 2025 Ryder Cup captaincy.
Bavuma, who has been playing Test cricket for the Proteas for a decade, having debuted against the West Indies in 2014, isn’t planning on retiring from the game anytime soon but his love for golf has grown since taking up the sport properly in 2017.
Bavuma, who is sponsored by TaylorMade and an ambassador for the Sunshine Tour and Steyn City, has seen his index improve to a 2.
Ever since former Proteas coach Ottis Gibson took the helm of the national team in 2017, a golfing culture was created. Bavuma reveals that the Barbadian coach was so hooked on the game that he would ensure that team training sessions would end by noon so that tee-off time was at 1pm.
The 34-year-old, who has amassed 3,102 runs across 59 matches, says that he got into golf by accident. The first time he played in earnest was at the 2017 Telkom SuperSport Shootout at Zimbali Country Club. He shot close to 115 and was suitably embarrassed in front of his sporting peers and titans of the business world.
‘All the cricket boys were there so I didn’t hear the end of it,’ Bavuma tells Compleat Golfer from his home in Johannesburg before having an early night to attend to his 11-month-old son, Lihle, in the early hours of the next morning. ‘And from then on I decided that as a true sportsman with a big ego, I needed to sort out this golf of mine.’
But that moment at the Shootout didn’t come close to Bavuma’s most embarrassing moment on the golf course. His first experience of playing golf was amusing because back then he didn’t know the rules. Bavuma was at a golf day for his Gauteng U19 provincial team and went with the intention of tagging along and steering the golf cart.
‘After six holes, I thought let me just swing one and see what happens,’ says Bavuma, taking up the tale. ‘I hit the first one with the driver and it ended up somewhere on the fairway. But then there’s poor old Temba who decides to tee up his ball on the fairway!’
His teammates just watched on and couldn’t contain their hysterics. He asked, ‘What are you guys laughing at?’ and between chortles they replied, ‘No, you’re not allowed to do that!’ Thinking back to that faux pas, Bavuma says it actually seems quite stupid now but he’s come a long way since and you won’t see him doing anything like it again.
For his exploits on the cricket field, Bavuma has been referred to as an icon and ‘the lad from Langa who shattered cricket’s glass ceiling’.
‘It’s humbling to be seen as an inspiration and role model,’ says Bavuma, who became a first-time father to a son in September last year. ‘Coming from Langa, I defied certain odds and overcame challenges. It puts it into perspective when you hear how you’ve been able to positively affect lives.’
After debuting against the West Indies in Test cricket 10 years ago, Bavuma recently captained the side to a 1-0 Test series win. In a way he says that it felt like a full-circle moment but he doesn’t plan on retiring just yet. Thinking back to his Test debut in Port Elizabeth, he recalls that he was ‘nervous as hell’ playing in that match and remembers walking to the crease to join AB de Villiers but cannot recall what was said.
‘That’s how nervous I was,’ Bavuma says, reflecting on his arrival to the Test scene, ‘but there was definitely that sense of comfort being at the crease with such an icon like AB.’
Since that nerve-ridden start to his Test career, Bavuma has entrenched himself within the side. Under the tutelage of Shukri Conrad, he replaced Dean Elgar as captain of the red-ball side in 2023 but gave up on the T20I job.
‘My journey is one that I’m very appreciative of,’ says Bavuma. ‘It’s had lots of highs equalled by lots of lows and has really taught me who I am as a person. My lowest low was losing the 2023 World Cup semi-final to Australia in India and my highest high would definitely be my debut Test century against England in Cape Town. It’s right up there as I had my parents, Phumza and Vuyo, at the stadium to share in the moment.’
Bavuma believes top-level sport brings out one’s true character. In terms of lessons learned, he has taken them forward into his daily life. Simple lessons like being persistent, courageous in the face of adversity and being a servant to those around him.
‘To me, that is what leadership really is and it’s about doing things for a higher purpose or a greater meaning. I’ve had an unbelievable journey and it’s not over yet! I have still got a couple of years left and these legs of mine are still moving,’ he offers with a smile.
He continues to pay it forward through the eponymous Temba Bavuma Foundation which was launched in 2016. Bavuma stresses the foundation is still growing and it’s not yet where he wants it to be but so far he’s happy with the work they have achieved.
‘It’s been an incredible journey with the foundation and I’m proud of the impact we’ve made in the communities through our social initiative drives,’ the ex-Langa resident says. ‘It’s brought me personal satisfaction seeing the positive effect on people’s lives.’
Bavuma believes golf is a more mentally taxing sport than cricket. The right-handed batsman, who plays for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20, stresses that in golf you have to be switched on at each point because every shot matters. He notes that one mistake could become a bogey or double-bogey which obviously affects the scoring and each hole you play generally has a certain tactic or strategy you’re trying to employ.
‘My long game is better than my short game,’ says Bavuma, who was flattered by the Sunshine Tour’s X account referring to his swing as ‘effortless’. ‘Generally off the tee, I’m quite solid and usually always within the fairways. My iron game is also quite decent. My short game and chipping is up and down and requires the most work.’
Outside of the Majors, the Ryder Cup is an event Bavuma never misses. Even though Tiger Woods, who is one of his favourite golfers, won’t be captaining Team USA against Europe at Bethpage Black in 2025, his interest remains piqued. There was talk that Woods could be captain next September but he turned down the position. Keegan Bradley will lead the USA, while Luke Donald will skipper Europe. Woods has said he’d be open to the 2027 captaincy at Adare Manor in Ireland if his programme allows.
‘For my generation, Tiger Woods would definitely be the greatest of all time,’ he says. ‘The golfing purists will also point to Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and a lot of the guys from the older generation but, for my generation, Tiger changed the face of the sport.’
In terms of a hole-in-one or albatross, Bavuma rues the fact that he hasn’t come close enough. He says that whenever he plays, he tries to go out and break whatever his record is. To date, he has never broken par so that’s something he’s always trying to achieve.
‘Two weeks before the West Indies tour, I was playing out of Houghton Golf Club and had a chance to shoot under par,’ he recounts. ‘I had three holes to go, got in my head and ended up level par after being four under. That is actually one of my lowest lows from a golfing sense, so before anything else what I would like to achieve is break par.’
– This article first appeared in the October 2024 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine.
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