From the ScoreBoard, Kenya has 8,019 handicapped golfers, both male and female, including juniors.
This number increases to 8,104 when you add 50 golfers from Thika Green and 15 from Ndumberi Golf Club as reported by the KGU Chairman Muchau Githiaka.
How many golfers are active in Kenya? For many years, the popular number was 5,000 and I am not sure when it was suddenly decided the number was 10,000; anyway, suffice it to say, no authoritative figures have been forthcoming.
In the same breathe, I guess we could also ask, how many golf courses are there in Kenya? How many are under construction? How many old golf courses have ceased to exist?
A few years ago, the Kenya Golf Union subscribed to the Master ScoreBoard a UK based service that maintains handicaps online for over 2,000 golf clubs and societies. The majority of Kenyan golf clubs are listed on Master ScoreBoard and the data for handicapped data there gives forth the following information. From the ScoreBoard, Kenya has 8,019 handicapped golfers, both male and female, including juniors. This number increases to 8,104 when you add 50 golfers from Thika Green and 15 from Ndumberi Golf Club as reported by the KGU Chairman Muchau Githiaka.
Data from Magadi, Molo, the Mt. Kenya Safari Club, Makuyu, Aberdares and Mugie was unavailable at the time of going to press;
From the ScoreBoard, male golfers in Kenya make up 83 per cent of the total number. Unfortunately, the ScoreBoard does not give data for junior golfers. Vipingo and Malindi have the highest percentage of lady golfers, 39.7 per cent and 38 per cent respectively. Among the bigger clubs, the Karen Country Club has the highest percentage of lady golfers at 25.5 per cent. Sigona Golf Club has a lady population of 7.3 per cent whilst the Limuru Country Club has a lowly 12.2 per cent.
At the KGU AGM, golf clubs are allocated votes according to the number of registered golfers; clubs with up to 50 members are under Category A, those with 51 to 150 members are in Category B, those with 151 to 300 members are in Category C whilst those with 301 to 425 members are in Category D. Clubs with more than 425 members are in Category E.
At the 2016 AGM, Royal, Sigona, Muthaiga and Karen were in Category E, they will now be joined by Thika Sports Club, Limuru Country Club and Vet Lab Sports Club. Interestingly, just six years ago, in 2011, Thika was in Category C, (151-300 members) the same class they were in 2016.
Has Thika actually recruited 125 golfers in under 12 months? More than they did in the five years from 2011 to 2016? Vet Lab was in Category C (151-300 members) in 2011 and Category D (301 to 425 members) in 2016. According to Master ScoreBoard, Vet Lab now has 870 golfers making them the second biggest golf club, just seven golfers shy of the 877 lead of the Muthaiga Golf Club. Did Vet Lab actually recruit over 400 golfers in one year? Is that even possible? If we compare the KGU records in 2016 and the Master ScoreBoard today, Vet Lab more than doubled the number of golfers handicapped there. Really? My guess is that one of these numbers is wrong.
Nyali, Kiambu and Windsor have 382, 314 and 362 handicapped golfers, moving them from Category C in 2016 to Category D in 2017.
Eldoret (209), Ruiru (210) and Nakuru (265) will also move from Category B (51 to 150 members) to Category C (151 to 300 members).
Kenya Airforce (134), Green Park (98), Kakamega (63) Kitale (97), Nandi Bears (71), Nanyuki (64), Nyahururu (61), Malindi (74) and Vipingo (63) will also move from Category A (up to 50 members) to Category B (51 to 150 members).
So whilst not exactly accurate, there you have it, Kenya has 8,104 golfers; of whom 83.2 per cent are men.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
