About 

Golf Lessons & Camps

The Vusi Golf Academy (VGA), founded in 2001 to promote golf in schools, merged with the South African Black Golfers Association (SABGA) in 2014. The academy was officially established in 2004 by Vusumuzi Mthethwa.

Vusi was a member of Evaton Golf Club in 2003–2004, where he worked as a golf developer before joining SABGA.

I, Vusumuzi Goodman Mthethwa, was born 1971 in Meadowlands Zone 7, Soweto. My golfing journey began in the late 1970s when I became a caddy at the age of seven. I was first exposed to the world of golf in 1978 through my mother, who worked as a laundry lady at Kensington Golf Club. During school holidays and weekends, I accompanied her to the course, and that’s where I fell in love with the sport.

Inspired by a young white golfer I saw in Golf Park, I dreamed of playing professionally. Unfortunately, the golf management at the time told me I couldn’t play alongside white golfers—I could only become a caddy. I spent two decades as a caddy, and during that time, I practiced with a single club and a few balls in township soccer fields.

My mother bought me an old club from a retired senior golfer, but it was too heavy for me. I was only 13 or 14 years old at the time, in the mid-1980s. Still, I managed to practice, even if not every shot was perfect.

In the early 1990s, a program called “Vodac Caddy” was introduced by Vodacom in partnership with local golf courses. It allowed caddies to play on Mondays when the courses were closed. This program, however, didn’t truly benefit us. While it made some people wealthy, we remained unchanged.

In 1994, Vodacom partnered with the Sunshine Tour, but again, it failed to support Black golfers meaningfully. It was hard to qualify without financial assistance or proper development. In 2000/2001, a man named Vusi Ngobeni launched a tournament to help Black golfers gain entry to the Sunshine Tour. After his passing, the initiative fell into the wrong hands and lost its direction. Many talented Black golfers were left without support, and even after qualifying, they received little to no game time.

I played in the tournament twice—in 2000 and 2001—but quickly realized it wasn’t going to take us anywhere. So, we met and formed SABGA in late 2001, and by 2004, I had founded my own academy to identify and support young golfers in schools.

During this journey, I met a sincere white gentleman who was genuinely invested in helping Black golfers gain exposure and access to recognized tours. He encouraged me to blend talent with education. Through his guidance, I took various short courses to become accredited as a professional organization.