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Claudia Redinger has received a golf scholarship to study in the US.

When she was six or seven, a girl stumbled across a rusty four-iron and an old golf ball in her grandparents’ garden. Bored, she began to hit the ball around.

Ten years later, Claudia Redinger has received a golf scholarship to study in the US.

This month she will start her studies at Stetson University in Florida. Her four-year journey will see her majoring in business management while she plays college golf.

“I am really nervous to be away from home, my friends and family so long. It’s like starting life from scratch,” said Redinger.

Influenced by her adventurous family, she has always been sports mad. Her main focus during high school was competitive hockey.

Her first exposure to golf was during her school holidays in Krugersdorp, where she would watch people practising their swings at the nearby driving range. Occasionally, she would dabble with a few shots.

However, Redinger’s love affair with golf sky-rocketed when her school, St Mary’s in Kloof, concocted a plan to encourage kids to participate in sport.

When she was in Grade 8 the school started a programme called “Dare To”.

The aim was for pupils to try their hand at something they hadn’t done before, including scuba-diving and golf. She thought it would be cool to try her hand at golf again.

“My parents are very supportive and buy me things if I show commitment to it. But they had no idea about my golf interest.

“When they found out, they got me a set of clubs. So I started going to the local driving range and watching the farmers and players practice.”

When she was in Grade 9 her parents moved to Hillcrest, where she started practising at the Emberton driving range.

She caught the eye of top teaching professional and mentor John Dickson, who asked her if she had had lessons. When she replied in the negative, he exclaimed, “Gee! You really have talent. You don’t get a swing like that without having lessons.”

“He started working with me, and at first it wasn’t serious because I wasn’t very committed. I would go for lessons once in two weeks, then once in six weeks and, at one point, once in eight weeks,” said Redinger.

Despite her lack of sincere interest, Dickson continued to mentor her. Slowly but surely, she progressed and enhanced her skills, eventually turning her affair with golf into pure love.

Dickson said: “Everybody is individual, and with Claudia we took it slow. We wanted to lay the foundations for her because she has great talent. She is very athletic and generates a lot of clubhead speed.

“I think the next four years at college are going to be quite telling.”

Even though Redinger is going to be thousands of kilometres away, Dickson said he was very open to her learning from various coaches.

He stressed the importance of her continual improvement.

“I will be seeing her again when she returns to South Africa during holidays.

“Until then, my job is to provide her with as much information as possible, and try to teach her to help herself. The more you understand, the better it is to get help from other people,” he said.

He added that golf was a never-ending process of learning. He described it as a social game that can be played for a long time. In fact, he recently coached a 92-year-old man.

He said he understood that Redinger needed time to ease into the game. His masterful patience and teaching ability eventually paid off.

In Grade 10, Redinger played in her first tournament, the Midland Champs.

“At first I was so nervous. I felt my performance was bad. I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t even know all the rules properly. So I told myself I could do better than that. I was determined to improve,” she recounts.

Redinger now practises at least five times a week and has excelled at tournaments in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

She says golf has since become such an important part of her life, as it is a game for honest people.

“There is no one to check up on you. If you cheat, you only cheat yourself. You learn a lot about relationships, and about the people you meet.

“The friendships you make are solid in this game,” said Redinger.

She added that golf was often perceived to be an individual sport, which in her experience was true.

She sometimes feels lonely when practising, but said it was different during tournaments.

Although she has a lot on her mind – mostly wondering what people think about her performance – she always manages to centre herself, breathe and focus.

“It’s wonderful to have the crowd cheering you on. Even your competitors give you a lot more support than people think,” she said.

It hasn’t all been easy for this enthusiastic teenager, as she described how she sometimes lacked confidence.

She said when she had bad golf days, she questioned her ability.

Somehow, though, she always concluded that the game was part of her life’s plan.

Most young people dream of becoming rock legends or movie stars. Yet this young woman imagines representing South Africa in national and international tournaments.

One cannot help but notice her shy smile and low tones, and the way she giggles when she is nervous.

But the moment you mention golf, her eyes light up like Christmas lights and you know you are no longer in the presence of a teenager, but a passionate young sportsperson whose dedication is setting a fine example for future generations. – Sunday Tribune