Secunda training official enjoys golf

Daniel Nyathela’s love for and interest in golf began when he was 12 years old and worked as a caddie at the Benoni Country Club.

The golf player for whom he was caddying, taught him how to play golf.

Nyathela obtained a bursary to train as a mechanical artisan in Johannesburg after matric.

During this time, Nyathela saved up money, bought his first golf set and began playing golf every weekend.

He worked in Johannesburg for five years until he received a Sasol bursary and relocated to Secunda to work at Sasol in instrumentation and analysis.

Nyathela first joined Walkerpark Golf Club in 1991 and later Kinross Golf Club where he was a member for seven years.

He later joined the municipal golf club in Secunda which eventually became Graceland Hotel, Casino and Country Club.

He won the Graceland Championship in 2017 and also played for the senior provincial golf team for several years.

Nyathela represented South Africa in the BMW Amateur Global Golf Tournament in 2016.

He thought his golfing career was over after he was involved in a vehicle accident in 2011.

His foot was seriously injured to such an extent that he lost a few toes on his left foot and had broken the tibia and fibula in his right leg.

However, Nyathela managed to recover and is still a force to be reckoned with on the golf course.

Nyathela likes to be a teacher. He currently works as a training facilitator at Sasol and because of his love for teaching people, he has a soft spot for less fortunate learners at schools in the area.

This drove him to initiate a project that unites his two favourite things, golf and teaching.

This project includes hosting an annual golf tournament specifically to raise money towards needy learners in the area.

The Charity Golf Tournament was hosted at Graceland Hotel, Casino and Country Club earlier this year and 14 of the 36 players in the group donated money for this cause.

When Nyathela is not on the golf course or working, he is lecturing at two local colleges.

His love for teaching began when he was 15 years old and went through the mathematical paper with his fellow high school learners to help them prepare for the next test or exam.

At one stage, 200 fellow learners came for help from Nyathela.

“I realised then already how much I enjoy teaching and now with my job as a training officer, I also have the opportunity to teach people.”

Nyathela’s dream is to see current, young, black golf players compete with the likes of Ernie Els, Brendon Grace and Louis Oosthuizen of the future.

“I never had the opportunity in my childhood to do that,” said Nyathela.