Promising golfer Isabella Heber, 12, an all-round sporty girl from Athlone, is making her mark on greens across the city, winning last week’s Royal Cape club championships and becoming one of the youngest, if not the youngest, players to win a club championship title in the Western Cape.
This, according to her father Wesley, himself an avid social golfer who says his daughter has already caught the eye of those following the game and one or two big name golfing brands.
Introduced to the game at an early age, young Isabella, a Grade 7 pupil at St Anne’s Primary School in Southfield, practically grew up on the golf course, following in the footsteps of her father, and later playing alongside him at the driving range at the River Club in Observatory.
She started playing competitively at the age of six and while playing golf is her main focus, she’s also a keen swimmer, karateka, netball and soccer player who has impressed in all of these sporting codes.
At the weekend, she represented King David Mowbray (KDM) Golf Club in a women’s league match against Durbanville.
The two sides played to a draw in the four-match competition, winning two matches each. Two matches take place at home and two matches are away. Isabella was declared the winner in her match after winning the first 10 consecutive holes against her northern suburbs opponent.
“I started playing in SA kids and Anna’s Squirrels competitions when I was younger,” she said. “When I turned 8, I started competing in the WP junior competitions. I have also played in grown up GolfRSA competitions on a provincial and national level.
“One of my biggest accomplishments thus far is making the WP girls squad that played in the Nomads, the SA Girls’ Championships, at Sun City last year. I was the youngest in the squad at 11 years old, playing in the silver division,” she said.
“By far my biggest accomplishment was winning a higher handicap club champs division in 2021 and then going on to win the provincial competition to move on to the national level to represent team WP at Kyalami Golf Course in Johannesburg, where I competed against the other provincial winners. I finished second in that competition but I did get an honourable mention for being the youngest to ever participate in this event,” she said.
Coach Kurt Stripp, who has worked with Isabella for almost as long as she’s been playing, describes his student as “an amazing young golfing talent.”
“She has grown into an outstanding young woman who is intelligent, mature, dedicated and a joy to be around.”
“It is rewarding as a coach to work with someone of Bella’s talent and work ethic,” Stripp said.
“Her ball-striking is without question the strength of her game. She hits the ball with determined authority and her ball flight is penetrating and impressive to watch, he said.
While Stripps’ work with the young player concerns her physical attributes, Gavin Fish, a former teacher and principal, helps out with the mental side of her game.
“I have been working with Isabella for the last nine months as a life coach and mentor. There is no disputing that she is a rare golfing talent, both in physical ability and sporting temperament.”