A golfer at the Muthaiga Golf Club. The course is among the best in Africa. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
With some of the best links in Africa, country must move fast tap full tourism potential.
Many golf publications routinely attempt to rank and rate golf courses around the world. In a recent discussion with a non-golfing friend, I was sked how Kenya’s golf environment ranked in Africa.
Quite frankly, and in my not so humble opinion, Kenya as a golf tourist destination is only second to South Africa on the continent.
Kenya is home to some of the best golf courses on the continent and our all- round sunny weather, availability of tee times and affordable caddies and green fees makes the country a potentially great golf tourism destination.
Why Kenya does not get many more golf tourists from around the globe is a topic for another day.
How golf courses are rated is a controversial subject — and whilst golf courses like Augusta National, home to the Masters Tournament, are highly rated, many pundits agree that it is difficult to get an objective opinion on a golf course that is literally inaccessible to every day golfers.
While using rating methods that rely on the assessment, often very subjective assessment of weekend golfers, it is difficult to rate highly exclusive golf courses like Augusta in Georgia or Leopard Creek in South Africa.
In a two year old CNN Travel rating of golf courses in Africa, the Fancourt Links, in George, SA. was rated as the best golf course in Africa.
This course hosted the 2003 Presidents Cup that is best remembered by the tie between Tiger Woods and Ernie Els in the playoff.
The Gary Player Golf Course in Sun City, SA is ranked eighth. Surprisingly, Leopard Creek did not make it into this Top Ten list.
The Cascades at Soma Bay, Hurghada, Egypt was ranked second. Designed by Gary Player, this 7,000-yard par-72 layout is curved from the desert and it has the Red Sea as a water hazard on five different holes.
The Heritage Club and Le Touressrok in Mauritius were both ranked third and fourth respectively, aptly reflecting the growth of golf on the Indian Ocean Island.
The Mazagan Golf Club in Morocco was ranked fifth. This links course is built along the Atlantic Ocean and offers serene views of the beach and dunes.
The Windhoek Golf and Country Club in Namibia was ranked sixth and the Lemuria Golf Course in Seychelles seventh.
The Flamingo Golf Course in Tunisia finished ninth and the Leopard Rock Golf Resort in Zimbabwe completed the rankings in 10th position.
According to CNN Travel, there are about 900 golf courses across Africa; about half of those are located in South Africa. Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Tunisia and Zimbabwe are all recognised as good destination for golf tourists.
Kenya has over 40 golf courses, and on paper, another dozen or so are under construction— at least according to the glossy brochures.
But why didn’t Kenya golf courses make it into the CNN Travel Top Ten ranking? The likes of the Baobab Course in Vipingo, Sigona, Nyali, Windsor, Royal, Karen, Great Rift Valley Golf Resort, Muthaiga, Vet Lab and Leisure Lodge all rank fairly highly in my own private ranking of African golf courses.
Indeed, the Baobab Course in Vipingo, Karen and Muthaiga have similar attributes to the very best golf courses of the world. Fast bent-grass greens, kikuyu grass tees and fairways, excellent weather, competent caddies – what more do you need?
How would you rank your home club?
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
