MY OTHER LOVE

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Proteas opening batter and captain Laura Wolvaardt is becoming as comfortable hitting a small stationary ball as she is smashing a bigger moving one to the boundary​​​​​​​ 

BY GRANT SHUB​​​​​​​ 

South African women's cricket captain Laura Wolvaardt, who has been bitten by the golf bug since the start of the year, says that her interest first developed when she was on tour with the Proteas in India and didn't have much to do outside of cricket. She has summarily discovered a whole new world.


Wolvaardt says she has really enjoyed playing golf in the last six months and it's been a great addition to her life. When it comes to the Proteas Women, unlike their male counterparts, there are not too many that play. But Wolvaardt and Nadine de Klerk are playing more golf than before and Tazmin Brits is also pretty handy. Brits used to be a long drive champion so she hits the ball a distance.

Wolvaardt, who has earned plaudits for her elegant cover drive, has a smooth swing.


'I can definitely draw parallels between the two games,' Wolvaardt says, while away on international duty. 'It's the basic hand-eye coordination which pretty much all of us cricketers have got.' However, she says that she finds she's still got a bit of a slice over the covers when she's trying to play golf so has to sort that going forward. The Proteas opener notes that she is able to hit the ball far, but her short game needs a lot of work and that is where she's stuck at the moment.

'We have been trying to fix my swing but it's definitely still a work in progress, and in golf, as you fix one aspect of your game another one emerges.'

Aside from technique, golf has taught Wolvaardt so much patience. She says that golf is very different to cricket in that it's slow-paced. 'There is so much time to over-think in golf, whereas in cricket it's a bit easier to switch on and off again for the next ball.' She adds that in order to excel at golf you need to be mentally tough because, for her, it's a sport which can be frustrating at times.


Milnerton Golf Club remains her home course, having played there the most when growing up, but she's not officially a member at any club at this time. When she's home, she plays as often as three times a week, but when on tour, it's once every second week depending on her schedule.


The TAG Heuer Golf app tells her she's playing off a 17 index but she says she's not yet an official handicapper. Wolvaardt is still in the embryonic stages of her golfing journey and she says that her brother, Luca, is actually more of the golfer in the family. In terms of her national teammates, she says that playing with De Klerk and now Annerie Dercksen on tour has been fun. The Protea Women sometimes get access to top-notch golf courses through cricket connections and Wolvaardt says that there have been plenty of funny stories of some really bad shots from them.


Wolvaardt, who has Leopard Creek and Pinnacle Point on her bucket list, is a Southern Guards GC ambassador. 'It's really nice to be involved with LIV Golf and the South African team,' she says. 'Hopefully we can do cool things together in the future and it can prove a long partnership.'

Wolvaardt reveals she has not been able to attend a LIV Golf event as yet because she is always on cricket duty at the same time, but can't wait to experience a LIV tournament. She draws similarities between the LIV Tour and the IPL in terms of offering entertainment, while still delivering high-end performance.


Women's cricket continues to evolve and Wolvaardt, who plays with Callaway clubs, says the same can be said for women's golf of which she is watching more.


A childhood friend of hers, Cara Gorlei, a professional who has played on the Ladies European Tour, is her most famous golfing connection. The pair have played a few rounds together and she would be Wolvaardt's first pick when it comes to her fourball. She says she would also love to play with Casandra Alexander, and Tiger Woods, a legend of the game.


'We have been trying to fix my swing but it's definitely still a work in progress,' she says. 'And in golf, as you fix one aspect of your game another one emerges.' Wolvaardt is working on using the lower half of her body more so that she's not all-arms when she next takes to the golf course.

INSTAGRAM | @LAURAWOLVAARDT