SOUTH African real estate entrepreneur TT Mbha, whose real name is Thato Mbha, hosted the first ever TT Mbha Caddy Golf Day on Tuesday, 6 September.
The event took place at the Soweto Country Club in Pimville, Soweto.
Many public figures attended the event and played some golf honouring the caddies, as it was their special day.
This event was once meant to be the First Soweto Youth Golf Day on Youth Day last year, but it was cancelled at the 11th hour due to unrest in the area.
Attending the event were the likes os soccer legends Stanton Fredericks and Brian Baloyi, Soweto parliament president Nhlanhla “Lux” Mohlauli, TouchHD CEO Tbo Touch, and entertainment entrepreneur Ryan Rigney.
Speaking to Daily Sun, Fredericks, said: “Firstly, I’d say this has been the greatest opportunity and I am honoured to be part of this amazing event to give back to the caddies, though the first one was sabotaged, but that’s history. That just shows you TT’s perseverance, even though the first one was sabotaged.
“I am just happy that he fought for this day to happen which, as you can see, it’s bigger and better. As a golf player, I understand that the caddies are important.
“They look after the golfer and they’re trying to make a living. So this event tries to highlight the importance of a caddy,” he said.
Mohlauli said it felt amazing to be invited to such an event, which speaks volumes about development and bringing dignity back to the caddies.
“It feels amazing to be invited because you can’t just speak of development, you have to action out development and this is part of it. Happy to see some corporates and public figures supporting these caddies,” he said.
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One of the caddies, Patrick Mngoma, told Daily Sun that he was grateful for the initiative and the support.
“I’m very happy to be here and to be part of this initiative. When I started being a caddy, I was only 16 years old and I was still at school. So I would be a caddy during the holidays and weekends, just to make some pocket money,” he said.
Soweto Country Club manager Matthews Phala said: “This has to be one of the biggest, most amazing thing that could happen to a caddy. What TT Mbha has done for them is just amazing. I won’t lie, you know this will be an eye opener to the people in the golfing industry that caddies are not only people who carry the bag, but they’re also motivational figures to golfers,” he said.
TT Mbha told Daily Sun last month that the purpose of the event had everything to do with dignity.
“As social golfers, we decided to host this event to bring back dignity to the caddies as people never acknowledge the critical role they portray towards the game,” he had said.
