When South African professional Brandon Stone sat in the office of Nick Jonsson, the CEO of Jonsson Workwear, their biggest connection was not around their shared love of golf. It was around work.
Jonsson is a man who has dedicated his business to recognising and validating the purity of the working man and woman’s daily efforts to provide for their loved ones, and to designing the workwear that allows them to do that at their best. So when Stone sat in his office talking about work in golf, it piqued his interest.
“I said to Mr Jonsson, if you look at the history of golf, it started with workwear clothing. When golfers wore three-piece suits and ties on the course, they wore the long socks over their trousers purely because they needed to keep their trousers clean for work afterwards. Jonsson Workwear have launched their new golfers’ shirts, and while designed to play golf in, at the same time you can go to work in them because they look smart and respectable while being purpose-designed for work. Mr Jonsson looked at me, and it made sense for him,” Stone said as he walked the fairways of Durban Country Club in a practice round for this week’s R6-million Jonsson Workwear Durban Open on the Sunshine Tour and HotelPlanner Tour, which tees off on Thursday.
It's why Stone now proudly wears the Jonsson Workwear brand. And it’s why he speaks so passionately about a deeper connection to work in his own life.
“I’m fortunate that my work takes place on a beautiful lush golf course. But everybody is fighting their own battles – whether that’s the man working on the Durban docks or the professional golfer trying to make par from the bush at Durban Country Club. Obviously there are different levels of struggle, but I’ve gone through my own struggles of losing my card on the DP World Tour and having to start from the beginning and earn my privilege to play again. I’ve done that.”
Stone has also always recognised the hard work of those around him, starting with his parents.
“This week, my mom is the CEO of Durban Country Club and my dad works with the Matkovich golf course maintenance group, and they’ve both been here at 4am every morning to make sure this tournament goes according to plan. That work ethic from them has been passed down to me. I’ve always felt I need to put in the work and earn the right to play out here. Hard work is the essence of the Stone name and I’m proud to carry that.”
While the connection between what Stone does as a professional golfer to what the man working on the Durban docks does may seem too far-fetched, the realities of life are the leveller between the two.
“A few years ago my mom had life-threatening health issues. It’s no secret that everybody out there is going through something. My mom’s started playing golf now. In December my brother was visiting and we played a round of golf as a family. My mom never thought she’d ever be able to play golf with her boys. That was a special moment for all of us.”
Work comes together in a beautiful way in the game this week.
The work Nick Jonsson has invested in reviving Durban Country Club to an even better version of its former glory, and personally overseeing the complete revamp of this golf course.
The Sunshine Tour’s own vision that the work done on these fairways represents their belief that “GreatnessBeginsHere”.
The work Stone is doing inside the ropes on these fairways, and the highs of lows of his journey in this game. And the red brand name on his golf shirt that connects it all under the banner of good works.
For Stone, it’s about doing the work this week. For himself. For his family.
For the man on the Durban docks, that’s something he understands as well.