State Mines Country Club’s Kiara Dicks might only have started playing golf in 2019, but her list of achievements would make one think she has been at it for much longer. She won the B Division of her club championships and has not looked back since.
The 16-year-old’s achievements include several Eastern Gauteng Union tournaments, being invited to play in the Women’s GolfRSA Nomads Championships, getting called up to compete in the Standard PRO AM and representing the Ekurhuleni Women’s side.
With the sport played by her family members, it is safe to assume golf runs in their blood.
“My family started playing golf, and I was on the course in my mother’s stomach,” she said.
“I was just hitting shots now and then (when I was younger) towards the end of 2019. I told my mom and dad that I should play golf seriously now. So far, I’ve achieved several things.”
Despite how well she has played, golf is not the only thing she focuses on.
“Like my parents normally say with golf and everything, ‘Golf is a difficult and fun sport, but education must come first’.
“So, with me playing golf, I still want to achieve my goals for school. That’s me achieving a top 10 every term. So it’s not just golf, but also doing well at school,” she told the Herald.
Of course, she does want to go far in her beloved sport.
“All the pros I have seen on TV and playing in the Standard Bank has built my confidence. I have shown myself that this is what I can do when I’m older,” said Dicks.
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The youngster does have short-term goals.
“What I want to achieve next year is defending my title for the club champs at State Mines,” she said.
Having only taken the sport seriously four years ago, and considering 2020 was a year when not much golf happened because the Covid-19 pandemic put a halt to things, one can only wonder how young Kiara has been able to do so well.
“The secret is if you go to the golf course, just put your mind to one goal and tell yourself, ‘I’m going to do this today’. Let’s say you make a double bogey on the first hole. That’s fine. There’s still another 17 or 35 holes to go. Don’t let that one hole get you down. Just focus on your tipping and putting,” she said.
She also had advice for youngsters wishing to start playing golf.
“You have to enjoy the game. You can’t be forced to play; you must enjoy it and have fun. All you can do is practice because practice makes perfect,” said the State Mines player.
