A rising golf star
Local amateur golfing star Likius Nande won the 2018 Sports Star of the Year award at the annual Namibia Sports Awards held in Swakopmund on 27 October.
LIMBA MUPETAMI
Likius Nande beat the likes of marathoner Helalia Johannes and amateur boxer Jonas Junias to the line and was named Sports Star of the Year at the Namibia Sports Awards recently.
The golfer said attending the awards for the first time caught him off-guard.
“I was just kind of confused, but I was confident that I will get an award because I had a fantastic year,” he said.
Last year he won eight out of 10 local tournaments and this year won all five tournaments that he competed in.
He also became the first Namibian golfer to win the prestigious Africa jacket (Windhoek Lager Africa Championships).
The 21-year-old Nande is a member of the Rossmund Golf Club, which he joined in 2011.
His journey into the sport started at the age of 10, after he was introduced to golf by his uncle Eddy Angula, who is a professional golf teacher and also at that time ran a successful academy at Rossmund.
Nande has not had a coach since 2016, but has worked with the likes of Angula, Ben du Toit, Steve Basson and Marlon Swarts (South Africa). “These guys are the reason for everything. They are the reason behind my success, because I to this day follow what they taught me since 2007,” said Nande.
He announced he will definitely secure a coach next year to help him reach greater heights.
He said all of this is expensive, but he does not misuse the little money he receives and saves most of it to enter competitions.
He makes sure that he wins, because winning promotes him and also builds his confidence for the next tournament.
Nande said he has not encountered any issues, challenges or mistreatment for being a black golfer and has received support from everyone he encounters.
Some of his favourite golfers are Trevor Dodds, who is the only Namibian to make it to the USPGA, and the likes of Americans, Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler, and South Africa's Charl Schwartzel.
Apart from golf, Nande is a music lover and deejays occasionally.
He also manages Swakopmund's DJ Normano. “Although I still don't get paid for doing this, I'm working on making it big,” he added optimistically.
Nande's practice sessions start on Tuesdays until Sundays, and he rests on Mondays.
Practice includes jogging but mostly hitting golf balls and working on his mental game. “This is very important,” Nande stressed.
The golfer who uses Titleist golf gear said he has already started giving back what he has learned to young children at the golf club.
“I mostly focus on children that can't afford the game of golf, since it's expensive. You never know who the next big thing is, so taking the chance to search is needed.”
He further encouraged upcoming golfers to work hard and not forget that confidence is key. “Golf requires a lot of mental strength and if you are not good at it, it's going to be hard to make it. So the more you practice, the luckier and better you get.”
The game
Golf is a game played an open field called the golf course, whereby golfers used the least number of shots they can to get the ball into the 18 holes.
Likius Nande beat the likes of marathoner Helalia Johannes and amateur boxer Jonas Junias to the line and was named Sports Star of the Year at the Namibia Sports Awards recently.
The golfer said attending the awards for the first time caught him off-guard.
“I was just kind of confused, but I was confident that I will get an award because I had a fantastic year,” he said.
Last year he won eight out of 10 local tournaments and this year won all five tournaments that he competed in.
He also became the first Namibian golfer to win the prestigious Africa jacket (Windhoek Lager Africa Championships).
The 21-year-old Nande is a member of the Rossmund Golf Club, which he joined in 2011.
His journey into the sport started at the age of 10, after he was introduced to golf by his uncle Eddy Angula, who is a professional golf teacher and also at that time ran a successful academy at Rossmund.
Nande has not had a coach since 2016, but has worked with the likes of Angula, Ben du Toit, Steve Basson and Marlon Swarts (South Africa). “These guys are the reason for everything. They are the reason behind my success, because I to this day follow what they taught me since 2007,” said Nande.
He announced he will definitely secure a coach next year to help him reach greater heights.
He said all of this is expensive, but he does not misuse the little money he receives and saves most of it to enter competitions.
He makes sure that he wins, because winning promotes him and also builds his confidence for the next tournament.
Nande said he has not encountered any issues, challenges or mistreatment for being a black golfer and has received support from everyone he encounters.
Some of his favourite golfers are Trevor Dodds, who is the only Namibian to make it to the USPGA, and the likes of Americans, Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler, and South Africa's Charl Schwartzel.
Apart from golf, Nande is a music lover and deejays occasionally.
He also manages Swakopmund's DJ Normano. “Although I still don't get paid for doing this, I'm working on making it big,” he added optimistically.
Nande's practice sessions start on Tuesdays until Sundays, and he rests on Mondays.
Practice includes jogging but mostly hitting golf balls and working on his mental game. “This is very important,” Nande stressed.
The golfer who uses Titleist golf gear said he has already started giving back what he has learned to young children at the golf club.
“I mostly focus on children that can't afford the game of golf, since it's expensive. You never know who the next big thing is, so taking the chance to search is needed.”
He further encouraged upcoming golfers to work hard and not forget that confidence is key. “Golf requires a lot of mental strength and if you are not good at it, it's going to be hard to make it. So the more you practice, the luckier and better you get.”
The game
Golf is a game played an open field called the golf course, whereby golfers used the least number of shots they can to get the ball into the 18 holes.
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