From becoming a scratch golfer at 16, to caddying in the Ryder Cup, Ballito store owner Micky Hough has had multiple careers in golf.

Born into a sport-mad family in Zimbabwe, Hough initially had no affection for golf and played most other sports until the age of 13.

“I was walking the course with my dad one day and decided to take a few shots out of the bunker. After hitting the lip twice, the 3rd one went into the hole and I was hooked!”

Once he developed a love for the sport, everything else faded away and he became a scratch golfer within 3 years, later representing Zimbabwe in the junior golf world cup in Japan.

After studying at Griffith University in Australia, Hough moved to South Africa to try and become a professional and obtain his Sunshine Tour card.

A car accident ruled him out of qualifying school, but he was able to qualify and play in the SA Open at Humewood in 2006.

“I decided to head to the UK and qualified for the EuroPro Tour (the 3rd highest level of golf in Europe), where I played for a year and a half. When I ran out of money I decided to look at caddying.”

Hough arrived in Spain for an event, hoping to find a pro in need of a caddy and was hired by Welshman Stuart Manley.

After 6 months with Manley, Hough got a job with Spaniard Pablo Martin, well-known to South African golf audiences after winning back-to-back Alfred Dunhill Championship titles at Leopard Creek.

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“Pablo was quite an interesting character and I particularly remember one event where he was leading going into the final round in Spain.

Second placed Lee Westwood birdied the first 5 holes which totally threw Pablo off. He had a nightmare back 9 and finished 41st, so naturally I got the flick as often happens with caddies and coaches.”

Depending on the golfer, caddies can have a huge impact. Aside from carrying the bag and providing course information and yardages, caddies are often also tasked with on-course psychology.

Good chemistry is therefore crucial.

Hough had a short stint with José María Olazábal and Christian Cévaër before being hired by legendary Spaniard, Miguel Ángel Jiménez.

“He got knocked out in the first round of the World Matchplay tournament, then finished last at Doral before missing the cut in his own tournament. I thought I had no chance of keeping my job!”

Luckily, a strong performance with Jiménez finishing 12th at the Masters steadied the ship and the duo won the French Open 3 weeks later.

Hough was also on the bag for Jiménez in the 2010 Ryder Cup, where he took 2 out of 3 possible points with Europe winning the event 14.5 to 13.5.

He later permanently moved back to South Africa to try his luck again on the Sunshine Tour, before becoming the director of golf at Mt. Edgecombe in 2017.

He is now a co-owner of the House of Golf, which has stores in Ballito and at Cotswold Downs and has settled at Mt. Edgecombe.

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