Few Restrictions Against Them : South Africa: Golfers can play almost anywhere they please, boxing goes on and Formula One auto racing might resume soon.

Golf in South Africa is still enjoying the privileges tennis used to have. And there is no sign that this will change.

South African nationals such as Gary Player, Mark McNulty, Fulton Allem and David Frost come and go as they please. International players play on South Africa’s thriving Sunshine circuit, which runs during South Africa’s winter--the Northern Hemisphere’s summer.

For the most part, there are no restrictions on golfers. But there are exceptions. In 1988, the Spanish government banned all South Africans from competing in sports events in that country, sending the Spanish Open into controversy when the tournament director refused to bar six South African golfers. New Zealand, Canada and most of Asia and Africa have similar policies.

Sweden’s prohibition is more broad--the country denies a visa to any athlete who has competed in South Africa. Sweden’s two tour stops are minus several dozen players because of this.

Many players don’t mind the restrictions and say they will never give up the South African tour.

Mark James, a European Ryder Cup player from Great Britain, is a longtime player on the Sunshine circuit. He played in the Protea Assurance South Africa Open in Cape Town in January and had no apologies for being there.

“First of all, I’m no politician,” James said. “I’m a golfer and I go where I can play golf in civilized conditions. And despite what views people have of South Africa, it is a civilized country both on the golf course and off it.

“I’ve been coming to South Africa during our winters for the past eight or nine years and I find it prepares me for the tough European tour. I can relax in the winter sun of South Africa, and unless I’m formally ordered not to tour, I will continue to spend my winters here.”

There are only a few sports left where international sanctions don’t exist. Boxing is one, auto racing another.

Professional boxers may compete anywhere they please and frequently fight in South Africa or Sun City, a nominally independent area. Not all choose to do so, however. Lloyd Honeyghan relinquished his World Boxing Assn. welterweight title in 1987 rather than fight South African Harold Volbrecht.

Of the five international governing bodies for professional boxing, the World Boxing Council is the only one with an official policy toward South Africa. The WBC will not sanction South African fighters, and any WBC boxer who fights in South Africa will be dropped from the WBC rankings, never to be ranked again.

The WBC even extends its policy to non-active boxers: In 1988, the WBC voted to censure former middleweight champion Jake LaMotta because he visited South Africa.

South African heavyweight Gerrie Coetzee, a former WBA champion, sidestepped much potential criticism during his career by condemning apartheid early on. Coetzee, who is white, frequently fought black boxers and hated the color-conscious reference of “Great White Hope.”

“I want to be the people’s champ,” Coetzee told Sports Illustrated in 1984. “I want to get rid of this rubbish of black champion, white champion. We’re all human, praying to the same Lord, going to the same place if we are good.”

Auto racing has only one place to go in South Africa, the Kyalami race track, which has been on the Formula One circuit. In fact, Kyalami is the only licensed motor racing circuit in Africa and has been refurbished this year to conform to Formula One safety standards. Kyalami has not staged a Grand Prix since 1985, because of safety problems.

If it reopens, Kyalami might stage its future Grand Prix with neighboring countries, so it might be called an African, not South African, event.

“Within the world political context, the feeling of a new era of reform in South Africa will make it easier for our application to be considered,” the track manager said.