This past weekend, we witnessed the commencement of the highly- anticipated 2022 Formula 1 Grand Prix season in Bahrain. While it was a disappointing start for me as a Redbull Racing fan, I am also a sucker for an inspirational underdog story.
So, I took solace in the Haas team, who found themselves finishing P5 through the unexpected but brilliant comeback-kid performance of Kevin Magnussen.
Magnussen was fired from Haas and was out of Formula 1 since the end of the 2021 season – making his unlikely return and strong finish especially spectacular.
Please bear with me, I promise this will somehow connect to the golf theme of this column.
I was an almost fanatical Lewis Hamilton fan – I still have a signed Lewis Hamilton cap that my son now wears to play golf in. I avidly supported Lewis’ progress and loved seeing the only F1 racer of colour thrive!
Smashing record after record in the process in a sport that is historically dominated by white, European men.
The lack of diversity in the sport is something that Lewis has become increasingly vocal about.
I, however, switched my allegiance to Redbull after the incident at Silverstone Racetrack in the UK during the 2021 season.
The incident saw Verstappen violently crash out of the race after being nudged off track by Lewis, leaving him to take the chequered flag despite having incurred a stop-go penalty for causing Verstappen’s crash.
Despite no longer being a Hamilton fan as a driver, I am not happy with the manner in which Verstappen won the Driver’s Championship title last season – we all know what happened there, and that incident has since been ruled by the FIA as a “human error”.
At the same time, while no longer being a Hamilton fan, I do support Lewis the person and what he represents in world sport.
Hamilton was distraught. He had a massive social and all other media blackout after losing that race (I suppose we can now say robbed of that win) – and by extension, a record 8th consecutive Driver’s Championship Title.
At the time, I celebrated Verstappen’s win, and I didn’t quite consider why Lewis took the loss so hard. But his protracted silence was so deafening it made me ponder on this. And it's only when I watched the latest season of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, a behind the scenes docu-series detailing the inner workings of the mega-machine that F1 is, that it struck me.
In one episode, Lewis says something profound, referencing the Abu Dhabi incident, “I’ve always had a target on my back”.
At face value, this might seem like an innocuous state of professional rivalry, with Lewis always being the driver to beat. But I can’t help but feel that this statement is loaded.
After giving it some thought, the magnitude of that elusive 8th consecutive title dawned upon me. Not only would that win in Abu Dhabi have set a new record, but it would also have been set by a black man.
And to my knowledge, the only black Formula 1 driver ever – while simultaneously unseating the legendary Michael Schumacher from the throne, whom Lewis currently shares the title with for the most Driver’s Championship titles won by any individual.
Realising this, I also recalled a statement made by former F1 boss Bernie Eccelstone when he was posed the question about Lewis’ prospects of winning an 8th title.
Eccelstone was asked by RTL.de if Hamilton would be the greatest if he won his eighth championship.
His response was, “No, not at all. In fact, I am surprised that Lewis hasn’t said at the beginning of this year, “I am going to stand down. I don’t want to win more races than Michael or more championships than Michael. I rather Michael keep that honour than me.”
This baffling opinion is one that Eccelstone still echoes today. He even expressed his happiness at Max winning last season’s championship instead of Lewis, thereby preserving Schumacher’s record.
I wonder if Eccelstone would feel the same if it was Michael’s son Mick who was on the cusp of breaking his record? I think not.
While mulling over this depressing state of affairs in Formula 1 and developing increasing amounts of empathy for him, I was also in the process of researching the journey of an aspirant amateur golfer in South Africa.
And this is where the parallels on the issue of a lack of diversity and inclusivity converge.
Through my research, I came to understand that in order to achieve a GolfRSA ranking or to be eligible for selection into the GolfRSA squad that competes in national and international amateur golf tournaments, a predetermined number of “counting tournaments” have to be competed in during a season.
There’re approximately 30 or so competing events in a season that takes place across South Africa. A minimum of five such events must be competed in, and two of those (one each) must be played in a “coastal” and “inland” tournament – for example, a tournament each in the Western Cape and North West Provinces.
This seems fairly unprejudiced, right?
But perhaps not. Because it doesn’t help the less-resourced HDI youth from areas such as Athlone, Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain, Butterworth, Alexandra, or Soweto.
It instead serves as an institutional barrier. Because a good golfer from communities such as these could compete in the requisite number of five tournaments, but all in either a coastal or inland region, win all of them but be disqualified from receiving an official ranking or be eligible for selection in the GolfRSA squad because they did not compete in both inland and coastal tournaments.
And while this might seem like a trivial issue to some, I know how hard it is for them to travel – especially now with record fuel prices and the ever-increasing cost of living. And yes, I mean fuel prices because these kids can't even think of taking a flight. It’s never an option for them.
I know of parents who drove their kids from Cape Town to Gqeberha and from there to the North West or Jhb, sleeping in their car – just so that their child can compete in these events.
Since starting this column, several parents and interested parties have written to me over recent weeks, hopeful that I’d be able to assist them to raise funds to help their amateur, and even pro golfer child or friend, to progress their careers.
While I certainly do try, the need is far greater than the effort of a lone good Samaritan who loves this sport. Hopefully, Mitchells Plain Golf Club’s PRO-AM Golf day fund-raiser on 29 May at Erinvale will raise enough funds to enable us to help some of these ambitious youths.
I feel that the structural/policy environment of all sports must be as enabling as possible to afford all competitors a fair opportunity to progress and thrive, and not add to the constraints already present. It’s hard enough as it is for black youth to breakthrough in a professional sport that remains largely under-transformed – and from the outside looking in, it appears as if it’s been designed this way.
IOL
Follow Jehad’s Far From Par series every Tuesday.
Far From Par is a series about the grassroots development of golf in South Africa. For decades golf was a sport reserved for white men for both leisure and professional expression.
Sadly, after nearly 30 years of democracy, apart from it now being open to all, not much has changed to foster meaningful transformation.
This series explores his experience on the importance of, challenges faced, and status quo of grassroots golf development and transformation in South Africa.
If you’d like to find out more about Mitchells Plain Golf Club, here’s how to: www.mitchellsplaingolfclub.org.za or @mitchellsplain_golfclub on Instagram, or contact Jehad on +27 723654037 or [email protected]