NICOLE GARCIA
altin van der merwe
Freddie Tait Cup winner
UPPING HER GAME
The top-ranked South African on the Ladies European Tour has truly found her groove. Clinton van der Berg
Arriving at Nicole Garcia’s home at Ebotse, in Benoni, there’s a flurry of activity. The painters are in, furniture is askew and the house is festooned in Christmas decorations.
It’s a happy place, as it should be. Garcia has just moved in – the view from the outside deck over the links course is spectacular – and her game is in supreme shape. Husband Grant Veenstra, the renowned coach, is also flushed with recent success. His clients, among them Dean Burmester, have been in scorching form.
“I really feel as if I’m hitting my peak,” says Garcia, who at 33 is about to enter her 10th professional season. Five top-10s in the past year point to a golfer whose game has fully come together.
“I was immature emotionally,” she says of her early years. “I could hit, I was an unbelievable striker of the ball. That’s why I liked golf. But learning how to play, to really play, has only come in the past three years.”
She’s come a long way from her early years, including finishing stone last at her first event, the SA Amateur, which happened to be won by good friend Ashleigh Buhai, who turned pro the following week.
CHIP SHOTS
Garcia’s top five.
chip shots
Garcia’s top five.
Growing up, who were your heroes? I didn’t have any. But when I started, probably Ashleigh [Buhai].
What is the best part of playing internationally? Travelling the world with fellow pros – my best friends.
Who is the coolest person you’ve met? He’s not the coolest, but Donald Trump, when I played the Trump National in Florida. I also got to play with Bryan Habana and Victor Matfield and they were pretty cool.
What are you reading? A lot! I get through probably 40 books a year. My best read of the year was Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.
What is your favourite course? I have to say the Ebotse links [below]. But George Country Club is the most fun. I’ve been to many major courses, but George stands out.
I could hit, I was an unbelievable striker of the ball. That’s why I liked golf. But learning how to play, to really play, has only come in the past three years
I could hit, I was an unbelievable striker of the ball. That’s why I liked golf. But learning how to play, to really play, has only come in the past three years
Having first qualified for the Ladies European Tour in 2014, her first year as a pro, Garcia has since won the Aramco Team Series (2022) and in 2021 finished third at the Investec SA Women’s Open. She’s happily played the Ladies European Tour and Sunshine Ladies Tour, enjoying the adventure of travel while paying her dues on the local circuit.
She’s come through a debilitating hip injury, not uncommon among golfers, that wrecked her golf for 12 months, only for Covid to further impede her. Yet when she returned in 2021 she often found herself in the top pack and felt far more consistent. Her game has since flourished.
While she plays in Europe and South Africa, both Tours are vastly different.
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Nowadays Garcia draws strength from knowing how much better she can be. Self-motivation thus drives her and the possibilities inspire her
Garcia sees the Sunshine Tour as the “baby tour” – just 11 years old – with limited tournaments and no ranking points, but fast growing and also an attraction to Europeans looking to hone their game. She credits Investec, her sponsor, with helping put women’s golf on the map, together with others.
It’s an important detail because, as she points out, there were no women golfers she admired while growing up. How could she? There was no women’s golf on television, and coverage of the game was sparse.
Garcia once played with the legendary Se-ri Pak, at the US Open in 2014, and had no idea who she was.
The Ladies European Tour (LET) has been through some financial trauma, almost collapsing, but under the stewardship of commissioner Alex Armas, assistance from the LPGA Tour and the men’s Tour and a heap of Saudi money, it appears to be on an even keel.
“You can make a very good living on the LET if you don’t want to go to the US,” says Garcia. “Europe now competes with the LPGA and has done for at least the past three years.”
For all the appeal of international travel, the life of an itinerant golfer isn’t always glamorous. Garcia travels alone and thus gravitates towards her fellow pros as travelling companions. They often share houses and support one another, only to then joust on the Tour courses.
“It’s a nice dynamic, but not normal,” she says.
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The daughter of a Spanish father and English mother, Garcia grew up in Benoni where she wallowed in sport. Golf took her fancy as did squash, where she became one of the province’s top players before finally throwing her lot in with golf in her late teens.
Progress has come in modest spurts, but Garcia is comfortable that she can hold her own with the game’s elite. She played at events in 2023 with Danielle Kang and Nelly Korda, among others, and finished just a handful of shots back. “The more you compete, the more you feel you belong.”
She’ll start the new year with a Zoom call with her caddie, Doug Pirie of Scotland, where they will map out her plans, talking schedule and game improvements. Qualifying for the Majors remains a priority, so too the Aramco and Saudi events, alongside the Ladies European Tour and the Sunshine Ladies Tour, important given her status as an Investec athlete.
Her maturing as a golfer has seen her motivation change over the years. It was something she struggled with early on, but nowadays Garcia draws strength from knowing how much better she can be. Self-motivation thus drives her and the possibilities inspire her.
“I’m excited about how I play,” she says. “I’m hoping the next 12 months will be the best ever.”
Garcia relishes travelling around the world through golf, which is well-documented on her social media. Follow her on nicolegarcia72.
Image by antonioli on Freepik
TRISTAN JONES/LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR/TYRONE WINFIELD/TROY WINFIELD/SUNSHINE LADIES TOUR