Michael Vlismas
In the highly professional and technical world of modern golf, the 70-year-old Isaac Mahoney is a rare breed.
In his world, there isn’t too much use for digital devices, technological aids or complicated teaching drills to build what many consider to be the perfect golf swing.
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As a golf coach for the South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB) since its inception in 1999, he’s used anything from an old duvet hung on his wife’s washing line to a broomstick to even the action of drinking a cooldrink to help teach the hundreds of underprivileged kids he’s helped discover golf.
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And that’s because Mahoney isn’t looking to create the perfect golf swing. Rather, he’s looking to use golf to help create an almost perfect life for these children.
“Golf is the reward. The end result of whether they become superstars in the game doesn’t matter to me, just as long as these kids starting playing golf. I don’t care whether they are A Division, B Division or C Division champions. I just want them playing golf,” Mahoney said on the driving range at Devonvale Golf & Wine Estate on Thursday during a golf clinic for the SAGDB golfers with the Sunshine Tour professionals competing in this week’s Vodacom Origins of Golf tournament.
Mahoney’s simple approach to golf is borne from the simple and uncomplicated manner in which he first discovered the game.
“I grew up in Worcester. There was a golf course in what we called the township, and I lived behind it. Naturally I was a caddie. I always joke that golf estates are not a new thing in South Africa. We had golf estates back then already. We used to make clubs out of wire and then bend the face open or closed to create the different lofts. We made our own golf balls. And then we’d play through the backyards of the township. That was our version of a golf estate.
“So I use simple techniques to teach the kids. Golf coaching is often too technical for them. I try and make it as simple for them to understand. I explain it to them using examples they can relate to. For example, I tell them if you lift up a cooldrink can then your elbow and wrist action looks like this, which is a good action for the golf swing as well. I take what the top professionals do, and then I think how I’m going to explain it to a kid from the Boland so he understands it.”
And with every lesson, Mahoney has a life lesson attached to it for his young golfers.
“The simplicity of the golf swing is the most important for me, and together with that the life lessons I can teach the children. These kids will grow up and remember the lessons of golf one day. That’s more important. I teach them about avoiding the hazards on a golf course like avoiding the hazards of life. And if you find yourself in a hazard like a bunker, you need to equip yourself to get out of it. As in life, if you make a mistake you need to have the tools to correct it. I tell them that in their lives, it’s about not lying about a mistake. Tell the truth, and then you’re out of the bunker, so to speak. The children understand that language far better than the technicalities of a swing.”
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Since the start of the Vodacom Origins of Golf series in 2004, the series has always included an SAGDB golf clinic with the Sunshine Tour professionals to help show these young children the world that golf can open up to them.
And in his decades of teaching, Mahoney has also witnessed many examples of how golf has changed the lives of young people.
“The kids are all over the place, but as soon as they start playing golf they change. Their whole personality changes. You see changes at school and at home, and you see how they change the people around them. That’s just because of the game of golf. It’s just about playing the game that changes them. I had one girl who just wasn’t performing anywhere in her life. She started playing golf and it changed her entirely. Today she’s a member of the SAPS and plays golf for the police.”
For Mahoney and the kids at the Vodacom Origins of Golf clinic, it comes down to a simple philosophy.
“We can offer golf nothing, but golf gives us everything. It’s up to us to get the kids into golf and to teach the lessons of golf. The game will then decide where they go with it. But the life lessons will always be there for them.”
