About Lantè

My name is Yolanda Duma, nicknamed Lantè. My nickname Lantè comes from some of my creative friends. We never liked the common nicknames for Yolanda such as Yolie, Yola, Yolz etc, so they came up with Lantè because it is unique. It's special because it sets me apart and makes me easily recognisable.

I was born on the 9th of March 1990 in the Mdantsane township in East London in the Eastern Cape. I started golf when I was 3 and a half years old. My father and brothers used to play golf, I watched them play and when at home they used to talk a lot about golf and always watch it on tv. I never used to understand what they were talking about, but it looked and sounded fun and interesting, and that was when I knew for sure that I also want to play this sport and be the part of the golf talk.

I have an older sister who started playing golf at the same time as me, so it was very easy to develop the love of the game because everyone in the house played golf other than my mother. My father did not really like my sister and I going with them to golf at that young age. He said we were too playful and made too much noise on the golf course, but my mother pushed for us to go even though my dad did not really like it. My father was a taxi driver, and my mother was a school principal.

My father had taxis at home and when he and my brothers went to play golf, he used to drive one of his taxis to the course because it had more space for golf bags. When he did not want us to go to golf with them, my mother used to pack lunch for us and tell us to hide at the back seat of my dad’s taxi until we got to the golf course and when he found us there, there was nothing he could do but let us play.

Fortunately, there was a man by the name of Algy Kitsman, who saw me swinging and hitting the balls. He went to my father and said that his little girl is so talented, and that he would like to coach me. Luckly, that man was a South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB) coach and from that day in 1996 I started to take golf seriously. In 1996 I joined the South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB) and received coaching from Mr Algy Kitsman for 2 years until 1998 after which I moved to Ms Michelle De Vries who is a PGA lady professional.

As I was working with Ms De Vries, she introduced me to Border Ladies’ Golf, who granted me a membership at Westbank Golf Club in East London and in that same year I received my Border Junior Colours. In 2005 I was granted membership to the Ernie Els Foundation which later changed into the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation. In the foundation they sponsored everything for us; golf, school, clothing and accommodation. I used to live on their premises in Fancourt and we used to get coaching, gym and go to school that side. While in the foundation I had the opportunity to play in the South African Games and I came 2nd in the ladies’ section.

In 2006 I made the team which went to Chicago to play against the Tiger Woods Foundation, our team won all matches and tied 1 match. In that same year I represented the Border Junior team in Alwal North where I won the girls’ division. I also won 4 Southern Cape Junior Golf Foundation Tournaments (girls’ division). In 2007 I made the Senior Colours of the Border ladies’ team, thereafter I made the Border ladies’ team to play 72 holes at Port Elizabeth Golf Club. In 2008 I made the Border ladies’ team which played inter-provincials in Cape Town and in that same year I finished my matric. Unfortunately, I could no longer be with the foundation anymore as back then the rules were that when you finished your matric, then you graduated from the foundation.

In 2009 I made the CPUT (Cape Peninsula University of Technology) ladies’ team to play in the SASU Games (South African Sports University) in Pretoria. In 2010 I made the team to represent South Africa in Spain in the World University Sports where I earned South African colours. In that same year I also won the Border Ladies’ Championship Match Play at Westbank Golf Club (East London). In 2011 I made the CPUT ladies’ team to again play in the SASU Games in Stellenbosch. In 2013 I won Dordrecht Ladies’ Open, then I made the Border ladies’ team to play in Port Elizabeth in the inter-provincials. I also won the Dordrecht Ladies’ Open followed by Queenstown Ladies’ Open then I made the Border ladies’ team which played 72 holes in Mossel Bay in which we came 2nd. I then made the team again, and we won the B section of the inter-provincials in Cape Town making history as Border ladies’ golf have never before won a division.

In 2015 I won the Queenstown Ladies’ Open. I made the ladies team to play in Pretoria and we won it after winning the 72 holes B section in East London. In that same year I also won the Katburg Ladies Open. In 2016 I came 2nd in the Dordrecht and Queenstown Ladies Open. I went to play for Border Ladies in KZN at Umhlali Golf Club in the inter-provincials and I won the stroke play (individual event overall). Then later that year I decided to turn professional, and I've been playing in all the Sunshine Ladies Tour seasons from 2017 and I've been improving in each year. I also played in the PinkStig series and made 1 top 10 finish where I came 8th and 1 top 20 finish where I came 11th. I came 6th in the Joburg Ladies Open a Sunshine ladies tour event in 2019. My lowest round in a tournament as a professional is -1 (71) in Soweto County Club in the Joburg ladies Open, and it is one of my favourite Sunshine Ladies Tour events. In 2021 I won the Standard Bank series Pro-Am in Eagle Canyon. In 2022 I tied second in the Standard Bank Pro-Am at Sun City.

In September 2020 I was granted with the R&A bursary to enrol in the PGA diploma that would start in 2021. Towards the end of 2020 in November, I was lucky to find a mentor at Bryanston Country Club, Leigh-Jane Middleton. It has always been my dream to have a PGA qualification, so that I am able to do other things within the golfing industry other than just playing, such as growing golf, especially women's golf, not only in South Africa but in Africa as a whole, nurturing young talents especially the ones that comes from unprivileged backgrounds.

I am passionate about coaching underprivileged children golf because I believe in the transformative power of sports. Growing up in a modest background, I personally experienced how golf provided me with essential life skills like discipline, focus, and perseverance. I want to give these children the same opportunity to learn and grow through the game, just as it positively impacted my own life. Thank you.