Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ON his ninth birthday, Munashe Chimhini received a rather puzzling gift from his father Shupi.
But five years on, the puzzle has been solved in an extraordinary manner.
At just 14, Chimhini is on the brink of making history as the youngest Zimbabwean to compete at the World Amateur Team Golf Championships which tees off in Singapore from October 8-11.
His birthday present is now making sense for the young golfer who has set and broken records in the last two years he has been playing.
Yet Shupi, a lawyer by profession, had no intentions of converting his son into a top golfer.
All he wanted was to be with Munashe, his last of three kids at the golf course regularly.
“Munashe started playing golf at the age of nine when I bought him a set of golf clubs as a birthday present.
“He joined me at the range and pro Nyasha Muyambo walked to him to teach him how to hold the club. The two clicked at first instance,’’ Shupi said.
“From there, we could not get him off the range even when it was raining. Coach Nyasha noted Munesu was “a natural”. A few months later he told me “the boy has exceptional talent and deserves every support you can give him.”
He was impressed by his ball strike and that he was an all-rounder.
“Within two years, the boy was a scratch player.
“It is encouraging to see Munesu make modest progress in his game. His hard work and disciplined approach is paying off with fairly good results. But it is still a long way to go if he chooses to stay in the game for the long haul.”
Munesu’s progress and consistency would force Shupi to retire so that he could concentrate more resources on the St George’s College Form 2 student.
“I look at his progress in two ways; first is whether he is putting his best foot forward and giving it his all to be the best he can be , and second, checking how he is doing against the best in the business and not just the local scene. Remember only less than one percent of the talented athletes make it to the top.
“His continued interest and endurance is what I am most proud of. He is completely unbothered about what happens next door.
“He does his own thing and stays in his own lane and runs his own race,” added Shupi.
“I really like this about his attitude. Those who know him will tell you he is mostly unfazed about how others play. He minds his own business. As a result, he can easily turn around a bad round. He is also not carried away by good rounds.”
Munesu’s development wasn’t without steeps as in the beginning there was a general lack of appreciation by some stakeholders of the critical importance of having kids play golf according to age categories so they can develop the mindset to play under par golf.
This forced the player’s parents to travel to South Africa and Europe to get Munesu into highly competitive events within his age group.
And now the boy has become “a man’’, aged just 14.
“I have been to the Mail & Guardian Junior Championship in Portugal at age 12 and to the Daily Mail World Junior Golf Championship in Spain at age 13 and early this year. I know this is a much bigger event but I feel I understand that these events expose you to very high levels of competition,’’ Munesu said.
“I will play this tournament just the way I play when I am at the big tournaments. I will try to do the best. I always learn with each tournament. I know I will have fun while at it.”
Strikingly Munesu is also an excellent footballer and plays cricket too.
Academically he is up there too and he said he has always strived to strike the right balance to always bring his best at each call.
“I try to do my best in everything I do. When it is time for sports I focus on it . When it is time for school work I give it my best effort. At times my mom works with me on my school work early in the morning to catch up,” said Munesu.
“I play soccer and cricket and I enjoy them a lot. I am lucky that the two sports are played in different terms so I only have to balance one of the sports with golf in each term.
“On golf, I should say I just loved the game from the moment I hit the first golf ball. It became my passion when I noticed I was not bad at it.
“When I realised I was probably one of the longest hitters of the golf balls in my age group ( against anyone anywhere in the world ) I got inspired to work more on my game and I love it . I like that I hit the ball long and I find the fairway a lot of the times. I am also enjoying how my short game is catching up with my iron game. This makes the game enjoyable even though some days can be bad. This is the challenge that golf is.
“Hartman House and St George’s College have been very supportive. The school allows me time to practice as much as I need to, and to compete at the level of competition I play at.
“I am also grateful to Callaway for taking care of my equipment.”
Munesu’s mother Pelagia, who is a banker added “His school , St George’s College has also been a big factor in instilling the values that influence his approach to life . I am grateful that he is at one of the best schools in Africa and that this has given him a firm base to develop as a young man and not just a talented athlete. Life is more than just sports!’’
