Chidi Tobias is the only professional at the Ikeja Golf Club but he rose to the top of the Nigerian game playing with a deformed hand, writes ’TANA AIYEJINA
This is Chidi Tobias, despite his handicap, he is not handicapped,” said the Master of Ceremony, while introducing Tobias at a ceremony tagged ‘Pro Development Foundation’ to raise new and young professional golfers for Ikeja Golf Club, Lagos, last month.
Truly, despite a deformity of the left hand, Tobias is the only professional golfer the famed Ikeja Golf Club boasts of at the moment.
And he’s among the top ranking PGA of Nigeria players in over a decade, dominating the local scene alongside the likes of No.1 Oche Odoh and others.
He has won major titles, including the Mary Slessor Charity Golf Tournament, Wuraola Memorial Golf Tourney, and several other events on the local scene and competed against Africa’s best on the continent, despite his handicap.
Two years ago, he also claimed top prize at the Francis Olo Invitational Tournament in Otukpo, Benue State, his first major title after the Mary Slessor tourney.
Interestingly, Tobias, like most Nigerian kids, began his sports sojourn as a footballer before fate retraced his steps to golf.
Born and bred in Shogunle, Lagos, the 43-year-old’s home is just a stone’s throw from the Ikeja Golf Club.
But as a kid, he never had the intention of becoming a golfer; rather he played football with his peers just beside the golf course.
Playing football alongside the likes of Pius Ikedia, who later went on to represent Nigeria at different levels, including featuring at the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup, Tobias loved the game and had fun with his peers.
“I lived across the road in Shogunle. All we did was just cross the road and the rail line and we were in the club (IGC).
“Then I played football for my school, Bolade Grammar School, Shogunle and played with Ikedia at the PWD pitch. As little kids, we never knew where it would take us, now it has taken me to professional golf.”
How did he become a golfer?
“It’s a long story,” Tobias said. “The PWD pitch, where I played football is just by the golf course. “It’s from there I came to the golf course and the golfers said, ‘small boy, what are you doing here?’ I took interest in the game and that’s what made them like me the more.
“But I used to be a bag carrier when I started at the club, I carried bags for other golfers and from there I picked interest in the game. I didn’t care about how much I was paid, I just wanted to know how to play golf and play it very well.
“I was a caddie for six years before Dr Awa Ibraheem said to me, ‘you seem to love this game, I want to make you a member of IGC. That’s how I became a member and I played tournaments with them and there was none that could beat me. Some said, ‘this boy, you have to leave us alone.’”
Of course, turning pro was just a matter of time, after his superlative performances.
“From there another person picked interest in me and said, ‘I want you to be a pro golfer’, which I am today. The man registered me under his company and was paying me monthly salary even though I didn’t go to the office. I only went to the golf course and every month he paid me salary. I turned pro 2007,” Tobias added.
Tobias was born with a deformed hand and faced his fair share of difficult times as a kid growing up in Shogunle.
Golf, however, allowed him to seclude himself, away from the questions, stares and remarks that usually greeted people with disabilities.
In a country where people with disabilities are often treated as second-class citizens, Tobias has been able to distinguish himself as a top performer in his chosen field.
“This is how I was born and I never thought of it as a disability,” he stated.
Playing and mastering the art of playing golf wasn’t a problem, right from when he decided to become a golfer.
“I play golf with my two arms. I play more with the right hand, with the left supporting for alignment. That’s why my best moment is when I swing well, especially when I went to Port Harcourt and I lost a tournament by one shot, I never regretted it.
“It’s a lesson and I enjoyed myself in the midst of people who are complete, so they call themselves. They look at me as one-hand pro but I’m not. We are all colleagues,” he added.
Golf is seen as a game of the rich, with many shying away from the sport because of the huge expenses involved.
Tobias agrees.
He said, “I won’t lie, golf in Africa is expensive. In Nigeria, the economic situation and foreign exchange hasn’t helped at all. We used to buy golf equipment for like N2,500 in the past but the shirt I bought for N2,500 10 years ago is N25,000 today. The golf pant I used to buy for N7,500 is now N35,000. Golf shoes used to be between N35,000 and N45, 000, now the cheapest golf shoes are about N80, 000, while the cap, which is the cheapest, is between N10,000 and N15,000.
“Your kits alone are N155, 000, that’s some people’s salary for two months. So, golf is expensive. The complete bag is grade by grade. If you are going for the best, you need over N2m for a complete bag. And some people usually say, ‘why should I use money that I could use in buying a plot of land to play golf?’ That’s it.”
His daily routine includes giving private golf lessons to an ever growing clientele and gets paid for delivering golf services. He plays a lot of golf too, and gets paid to do it, but it hasn’t always been par for the course.
Bottom line: he’s living his dream and has no regret quitting football for golf.
“At 43, no one will sign me anymore (as a footballer) but here I am still playing golf, so no regrets. I’ve played with Amos Cobbler, Ghana’s No.1, who has featured in the British Open. I played with him in Ghana, Gabon and Cameroon, as well as with Nigerian No.1 Ochei Oddo and other big golfers. People love to see me play golf and I love the game, it’s what I do for a living and I’m very proud of it. The only challenge is sponsorship,” he stated.
“Being a pro golfer isn’t a day’s job. The name goes far and wide. If you are a General and you get to the golf club, you keep your rank at the gate. The owner of the golf course is the professional. I make my money daily from golf. When you come I train you, you pay me. If I go for tournaments, any money I make is mine. That’s what pays my bills.”
On the standard of golf in Nigeria, the father of two daughters, whose ambition is to play at the British and US Open tournaments, added, “We have a long way to go. There are a lot of young guys who want to come in, but when they hear memberships of golf clubs in the country is over N1m, they run away. Instead of paying such money, they’ll rather invest it in business. There’s a lot to gain playing golf, but you have to come inside first. But that’s not their priority, they think, ‘what’s my benefit?’ If you are not one of them, you can’t get inside. You have to be one of them.”
Last month, the IGC instituted a professional development fund to help in producing young and talented golfers who will turn pros.
Tobias is happy to be part of the initiative to raise new pro golfers.
“I hope it continues that way, we’ve picked the boys and PGA of Nigeria has opened a qualifying school for them. I told my captain about it and we are going to register them. I’m happy I got in early, but I’m not getting younger, the earlier they recruit young ones the better because IGC used to have the best pros back in the day. Ikeja was leading and winning tournaments. Now I can’t do it alone, I’m the only one attending tournaments, I need backup, and at 43, I’m not getting younger.” ,,
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