Numbers was the reason Nyambi spent 10 years at Statistics South Africa and numbers was why he partnered up with Norman Mashaba to start Shandukani, a management company guided young amateurs like Maketha Mazibuko, among others, into the pro ranks.
After a decade of playing with numbers, the Kimberley native switched gears. His love for the game of golf finally won out and these days, Nyambi is earning his stripes on the IGT Challenge Tour.
You won’t find him among the wave of young professionals and amateur hopefuls playing on the country’s premier golf development circuit, though.
The 40-year-old began an internship at the start of the season to train as a tournament director and right now, he is staging, starting and scoring.
On Tuesday, he also experienced his first case of ‘abandoned play’ when torrential rain forced the organisers to cancel the second round of the Race to Q-School #17 at Randpark Golf Club.
Nyambi will have to pitch up at the crack of dawn on Wednesday for the final round at the Firethorn Course, but he says he is having the time of his life.
“I followed the IGT Challenge Tour since it first launched back in 2010 and I watched the tour blossom,” Nyambi said.
“This tour gives our amateurs a realistic bridge between the amateur and pro ranks. Here they learn to cope with the pressure of the pro ranks, they build confidence and gain experience and they can make informed decisions about their future with the statistical data the tour provides.
“All these aspects really appealed to me. When I decided to get more involved with the administrative side of golf, the IGT Challenge Tour was a great fit.”
Nyambi has started right at the bottom, the only place he says, where you learn things the right way.
“I’m shadowing Cois du Plooy, the commissioner of the IGT Challenge Tour, who started this tour and learning the ropes from him,” Nyambi said.
“The only way to can tell people what to do is if you’ve done it yourself. So I’m learning everything there is to know, from marking tee boxes and pin positions; from starting to scoring and the rules of golf in between so I can sit the R&A Rules Exam next year.”
Mazibuko applauded the IGT Tour’s initiative to pull Nyambi into the fold.
“You won’t find a more passionate and committed guy than Tshepo,” Mazibuko said. “He supported me out if his own pocket when I first joined the pro ranks and I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for guiding me over the hurdles in those first few months on Tour.
“I think it’s fantastic that Tshepo is getting stuck into golf administration and especially on the IGT Challenge Tour, where he can guide a lot of the up-and-coming black golfers.”
Nyambi said his ultimate goal is to keep young golfers in the industry.
“Once I am qualified, I hope to train more golf administrators with Cois,” he said. “We lose many golfers every year who don’t have the talent, the means or the opportunities to turn pro or to make it into the pro ranks.
“We need to keep those golfers involved by bringing them into golf administration; teach them to run tournaments, to do the rules courses and so on. We should be doing everything we can to keep people with a passion for golf in the sport.”
Du Plooy also hopes Nyambi’s appointment will motivate more previously disadvantaged golfers to look to administration as a way to stay in the sport.
“Tshepo’s appointment corresponded with the deal between ourselves and the Sunshine Tour to host the 30-strong group of Gary Player School of 2017 members on the IGT Challenge Tour,” Du Plooy said. “He can dialogue with the players and his input has already proven invaluable, since he can provide us with great feedback on the day-to-day challenges that this group of players face. His passion and commitment for the game is infectious and we are excited to have him on board.”
ARTICLE: LALI STANDER
