Stanton Fredericks, who was an early trailblazer for South African footballers in Europe, had golf instilled in him by two of his uncles. While growing up without a father, the young Fredericks would operate as their caddy, but he has since morphed into an accomplished golfer himself.

The 49-year-old, who is a member of Ruimsig Country Club, is currently playing off a 6.3 index and recently participated in the Legends Golf Cup.

He captained the Bafana Bafana Legends and guided the team, which comprised the likes of Neil Tovey, Shaun Bartlett, Brian Baloyi, Mark Williams, Jimmy Tau and Bongani Khumalo, to a second-place finish. The football legends lost to the Springbok Legends at Pearl Valley Golf Estate in October after a count-out, having both ended on 11.5 points, which Fredericks joked was a Springbok-biased decision from the judges.

'It was nice to see that we could get a team together that could be competitive,' says Fredericks, whose dream four-ball would consist of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Kevin Hart. 'I did say that the guy who was in charge of the scoring at the Legends Cup was probably a rugby fan because they didn't tell us how the count-out happened, but all is fair in love and war.'

Fredericks has come agonisingly close to a hole-in-one a few times, but has yet to achieve the feat, and an albatross has also been more elusive than an AFCON title victory for Bafana.

Fredericks, who plays with Cobra clubs, tries to hit the course at least once a week and his long-term goal is a 4 index. However, along with his business interests – he runs an electrical and security company with Derrick Spencer – and his commitments for SuperSport TV, there simply isn't enough time in the day. That said, the competitive edge has never left the former midfielder, who earned 24 caps for Bafana and was part of the team that beat Brazil at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Fredericks was keeping his phone close, hoping to get an invitation to play for Team South Africa in the Icons Cup at Fancourt in December.

'Honestly speaking, I don't think my game is at the level it needs to be right now. You don't want to go into a tournament like that and make up the numbers,' says Fredericks.

He will however be looking forward to seeing how his former Chiefs teammate, Jimmy Tau, fares at the event which pits Team South Africa, captained by SA icon Ernie Els, against Team World, led by Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal.

Aside from Ruimsig, Fredericks reveals that he tees off most often at Eagle Canyon Golf Estate, which is his favourite course. His second best in Johannesburg is Parkview which he says is a proper course. He also enjoys Fancourt and has played the Montagu and Outeniqua courses, while Pearl Valley holds a special place in his heart after those recent exploits at the inaugural Legends Cup.

At the infancy of his golfing journey, Fredericks' most amusing tales come from Ruimsig Golf Course. Back then, they were really strict at the clubhouse and his crazy hairstyles and colourful golfing attire earned disapproval. 'I took my cornrows out and had this big hair,' Fredericks says with a smile. 'I was also wearing some loud colours and was told to tuck my T-shirt in.' When Baloyi played with Fredericks, he got the same treatment when he wasn't wearing a collared shirt.

'Brian sent the guy off to the Pro Shop to buy him a collared T-shirt and when he came back he said, 'Thank you but I don't like this colour. Can you go back and get me another colour?' Safe to say the guy never came back and we finished our round in the rain with Brian playing in his top.'

Fredericks says that the environment is more relaxed than it was before and LIV Golf has shown that the game is definitely changing. 'We'll have to wait and see if LIV has a future in the game, but the way the game is played opens it up and tells the world that golf is not for the rich and elite.'

He says that golf needs to become even more accessible because it's such a massive game. 'LIV really shifted the gauge and it opened up a different world of golf.'

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