After 43 years of playing golf at Houghton Golf Club, as well as playing professionally at home and overseas for 18 years, Richard Kaplan only wants to give back to the club that has always been there for him.
The 55-year-old who won the Royal Swazi Open and Royal Thai Classic in Thailand in 1996 and represented South Africa at the World Cup in Kuala Lumpur in 1999, was elected Houghton’s men’s club captain last year.
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In his two-year stint, Kaplan hopes to promote the sport on the same greens he played on as a boy with his father, and on which his son later became club champion.
Sometimes sitting quietly behind a desk at the pro shop making sales, and sometimes coaching beginners of the great game, Kaplan is willing to do whatever the club requires of him.
Usually though, this veteran of the sport spends much of his time organising golf days and tournaments, always trying to make the golfing experience memorable for others.
“Golf is a wonderful sport,” he smiled before teeing off.
“I love the open air, playing with friends and the self-satisfaction that comes when I get it right. I feel unbeatable.”
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Kaplan said while earlier in his career he played professionally and for a living, now he just played socially and focused on his role as club captain. “It is a great honour for me to be captain of the club I have been at my whole life.”
Kaplan was also awarded the Central Gauteng Golf Club Professional of the year in 2015 and 2017.
When he talks about golf, it is easy to see why his passion for the sport has never faded.
“Golf is not like other sports. In team sports, you can rely on others but in golf, everything is up to you. And in other individual sports if your opponent plays poorly, you still have a chance.”
He said this was rarely the case in golf.
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