Two years ago, Zané Kleynhans said she wanted 5 000 golf balls for her birthday.

“What on earth for?” her mother Shannon asked.

“To practise,” said the young aspirant.

Now aged 17, Kleynhans’ passion for the game remains undimmed. Her climb to the upper reaches of amateur golf – she’s ranked second in the junior and women’s divisions in South Africa – has been rapid. Her trophy cabinet is heaving.

She’s reeled in three wins in the past two seasons, chief among them the All Africa Junior Team Championship, plus a top-20 finish at the Toyota Junior World Cup. Other highlights saw her claim second in the Flight Division at the SA Amateur, aged just 13, losing 3 & 1 to a 31-year-old.

She was also ladies club champion at Centurion for 2021-22 (A Division) and has won several other junior and open events.

With a world ranking of 368 (as at 27 September), the ladder is long, but Kleynhans has begun her climb with the grit you suspect she will need. “Her dedication, ambition and drive are amazing,” says Shannon, who dotes on Zané and homeschools her in a manner designed to free her up to pursue golf and acquire a good education.

Shannon herself was a hockey and netball player, but golf courses through her family tree. Branden Grace is her cousin; Darren Fichardt is married to her cousin; and Michiel Bothma is another cousin.

It all began for Zané when as a toddler she would join her father Len at the driving range in Ermelo, where they lived, her Tiger golf set in hand. “You know, she’s got talent,” he told his wife one day.

Even so, Kleynhans’ life was consumed by modelling. She was precocious and pretty, winning an array of pageants including Little Miss Petite SA in 2016. She modelled for seven years and then came home one day saying she was going to hang up her tiara. She wanted to be a golfer.

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She had grown up in Ermelo, but the two-and-a-half hour treks to Copperleaf for training were arduous. Even so, she played often and first entered tournaments at the age of eight, competing at Mpumalanga’s “Rising Stars” events every month.

She eventually quit school and her mum stepped in with homeschooling, something that has worked exceptionally. Together, they’ve navigated the challenges of balancing school, golf and a demanding lifestyle.

The family’s small-town reality demanded a switch and in 2019 they moved to Serengeti, on the eastern fringes of Johannesburg, to give Kleynhans every chance to develop her game and be closer to the action.

The move has proved rewarding, with her form in the past two seasons, which includes 18 top-10 finishes, suggesting the emergence of a striking new talent.

She harbours professional ambitions, but plans to enter the paid ranks in 2025 have been pushed out at the urging of her coach Nicole van Pletzen, who has asked Kleynhans to wait another year.

Her mom has gently threatened to break the piggy bank for hair treatments – “too many grey hairs” – as a counter to the inevitable pressure that swamps a starlet like her daughter. However, she believes the team that surrounds her, chiefly Zané’s coach, her mental coach (Shaun Landsberg) and her family, is well-equipped to offer the required comfort and support.

“We have to balance it, otherwise it will all fall over,” says Shannon. “But Zané knows how to achieve balance.”

Much of her foundation was built within the vibrant GolfRSA environment. Kleynhans began in the C Squad and has spent the past three years in the Elite Squad, shaping her game and learning the soft skills required to succeed. Shannon says the work done by the team, particularly Susan Andrew (Womens Golf SA president), Val Holland (GolfRSA National Squad head coach) and Costanza Trussoni (GolfRSA National Squad performance coach), is “amazing”, having provided countless opportunities and life lessons for her daughter.

There are no guarantees in a sport as hyper-competitive as golf, but Kleynhans appears to have the key qualities to give her every chance of success. What’s more, with a safety blanket provided by her team and GolfRSA, any wrong turns or missteps can be corrected.

It’s a good place to be for a model golfer who is on the cusp of an exciting adventure.

IMAGES: ERNEST BLIGNAULT/GOLFRSA