Developing talent for future more urgent than winning
Mutahi Kibugu, who is 15, follows his tee shot during Victoria Cup golf tournament in June this year: His inclusion in the Addis team was met with protest. PHOTO | FILE
As you read this, Kenya’s elite amateur golf side is in Addis Ababa Golf Club, Ethiopia participating in the annual East Africa Golf Challenge.
Kenya last won this event in 2013 at home; in 2014 and in 2015 Uganda proved the better side winning back to back. The Ugandan team tee up in Addis as the defending champions and clear favourites.
I have said before that this event forms the perfect basis to nurture golf talent in Kenya, and that the Kenya team should be purely a development side made up primarily of junior and young golfers.
However, the selection of the team to Addis by the Kenya Golf Union, has placed more premium on fielding a ‘winning’ team as opposed to a ‘developmental’ side.
And examples of this rationale is prevalent in sports. Take the South Africa rugby team, for example, that comes for the Safari Sevens. Every year, SA send in what they call the ‘Emerging Boks’, a development side.
In football, CAF have the African Nations Championships (CHAN), which does not allow the inclusion of foreign-based players, again, giving room to talent to grow.
In each example, the development of players for the future is more important than winning a single event, not exactly rocket science.
For many decades now, Kenya’s golf leadership has failed miserably in the development of young players. And the team composition to Addis is clear evidence of this.
Two issues; firstly, this is a largely aged team. Robinson Owiti is 41 years old, Alfred Nandwa is 29, John Lejirma is 26 and Simon Njogu is 28.
And while these players made it through the KGU selection and are good golfers by their own right, they offer zero for the future of golf in Kenya. Their prime amateur days ended a long time ago, and what would be their professional golfing days are gone too.
So, with all due respect, these golfers have no future as touring professionals and simply wasting premium slots on the Kenya team.
Secondly, the inclusion of 15-year-old golfer Mutahi Kibugu in the Addis team was met with protests from some aging players, who were more concerned with the missed plane ride.
Why does the KGU lack the mettle to declare that the Kenya elite amateur team to both the EA Challenge and the Africa Golf Championship shall include only juniors?
Or at the very least, young golfers with a future? Daniel Nduva is 21 years old, Edwin Mudanyi is 22 and Agil Is Haq is 16, now this group has some hope of a future golf career – it is their age mates that should be occupying the slots.
What glory is there for a man who should be at university to keep competing in nursery school and declaring himself champion?
Each year, at the Africa Golf Championship, Team South Africa fields a relatively new team, with new younger players included; on the other hand, Kenya has continued to field the same old, aging amateur golfers.
It is an insult and blow to the development of golf; something that must be condemned.
I would rather see a young team of 18 to 22 year olds compete in Addis; let them go and get wiped, they will learn. And this experience will help them growing, and a few years later they will grow, play better and graduate to the professional ranks.
Continuing to field a team of grandparents is retrogressive. And just for the record, some of the top picks in the PGA Tour 2016/2017 season are Byrson DeChambeau, 23 years old, Jon Rahm, 21 years old – he finished T2 at the Canadian Open and Cheng Tsung Pan who is 24 years old.
Rory McIlroy is 27 years old, Jordan Spieth is 23, Adam Scott is 36, Jason Day is currently the world number one and is 29.
If you are 40 and still playing elite amateur golf, what future do you have in golf? Stick to weekend golf and allow the juniors through, your time is over.
