Dean Furman, who played 58 times for Bafana Bafana from 2012 to 2020, was a keen golfer when he was still living in South Africa. Since Furman moved to the UK post-PSL career, he's played mainly in golf days and shares that that is when it's his time to shine.

When the midfielder was in South Africa playing for SuperSport United in the PSL, he would have his regular once-a-week game with Bradley Grobler – and Furman says he still dreams of those 'favourite' days at Glendower or Houghton.

'I fancy myself tee-to-green, but my putting is atrocious,' he tells us from Manchester just after completing the morning school run. 'I would say I'm more of a 14 or 15 handicap these days,' says Furman, who now works for the Professional Footballers' Association.

Furman believes that the golf in South Africa is unmatched. While Britons often head to Portugal or Spain owing to the shorter travel distance, the 37-year-old sings South Africa's praises when it comes to the vast array of stellar golf courses which are on offer.

'I tell them if you want the most incredible golf holiday, with courses you just wouldn't imagine, South Africa is the place to be,' says Furman, who lists his top three local courses as Leopard Creek, his home course of Houghton, and Glendower, which got him excited to play as it was always immaculate. His regular four-ball comprised ex-teammates Grobler, Darren Keet and James Keene, which made for 'entertaining' ties.

'Keeno got competitive on the course that's for sure,' he says. 'He wasn't scared to show his emotions and he did walk off on me once as his partner during a round – he was having a stink bomb after six holes.'

Furman and Keene also played together against Joey Rasdien and Barney Girnun in the Houghton Club Championships. The former pairing were five up after five and still managed to lose the competition that day.

While there wasn't a strong golfing culture within the Bafana Bafana set-up during Furman's playing days, himself and Keet always found an opportunity to chase the little white ball.

'Myself and Pops (Keet) actually snuck out and played a round when we were once in Morocco. Gordon Igesund was the manager at the time and I don't know whether he knew we snuck out,' he says. Furman and Keet had an early morning flight to catch back to Europe but their love for golf meant they still managed to play 13 holes.

In terms of golf clubs, Furman says that he has always been a TaylorMade fan. He owns an M4 driver and, while it's not one of the newer models, he says it works for him.

When it comes to iron play, Furman makes use of P790s and for his putting he says it's so bad he could just use a Putt-Putt putter. 'When it comes to putting, I have got a bad case of the yips. I don't know where it came from and how to get rid of it,' says Furman, who is left-handed but plays right-handed. Furman is now considering putting left-handed to see if he can remedy his putting woes which are hurting his overall game.

Putting pressures aside, Furman says that golf offered him a mental escape at the peak of his football career.

'It allowed me to switch off completely from football, with training and games being so intense and all-consuming. Golf gave me those five or six hours to forget about everything else and it allowed me to take my mind off things,' he recalls.

For a boy from Camps Bay in Cape Town, captaining his country on the world's stage was a dream come true. 'It was a privilege to represent my country and I always remember my first cap against Brazil and will be forever grateful to Gordon for the call-up,” he says.

'To have played 58 times and captained the country on a number of occasions was the highlight of my career,' adds Furman, who is still playing the game for Warrington Town, a semi-professional club in the Northern Premier League.

Though Furman grew up idolising Tiger Woods, who he describes as the 'greatest of all time', he is a huge Rory McIlroy fan. He says he revelled in watching the Northern Irishman complete his career Grand Slam by winning the Masters at Augusta National in 2025.

'I remember watching that Sunday last April and I don't think there has been a moment in sport when people have been as emotionally invested in someone else's journey,' he says. 'It was special to see Rory get over the line in that sudden-death playoff, after earlier missing a five-foot putt on the 18th hole.'

DEAN FURMAN | GETTY IMAGES | VISIONHAUS