Fans follow the action during the Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship at Karen Golf Club in Nairobi recently. PHOTO | SILA KIPLAGAT | NMG
The recently concluded Magical Kenya Open in Karen was very colourful and local golfers were very proud that the tournament became part of the prestigious European Tour. Due to that, the event attracted stars from all over the world, fans, tourists and sponsors.
The overall winner was 22-year-old Italian Guido Migliozzi, who pocketed a total of Sh20.5 million after finishing with an impressive 16 under par. The young man has a great future ahead of him. Kenya is an attractive golf tourism destination as it is one of the countries in Africa with the highest number of golf courses.
The courses are spread across major towns in the country and Nairobi alone has more than seven. People play golf for varied reasons.
There are those who intend to compete and win prizes, others to keep fit while many from the corporate world join golf to help them build important networks as it brings together decision makers across all industries. Golf is a gentleman’s game that requires honesty, confidence, soberness, concentration and patience.
A full round of golf takes about four hours and while walking with other golfers your will be able to understand their personality and connect in a way that you cannot easily achieve in an office setting or while meeting in a boardroom for 30 minutes.
While in Karen, I saw how some Kenyans had little understanding of golf and to them it was a challenge understanding how the game was played and scores made. Golf is a game that involves four things, the most important of which is the golf course that can either be a nine hole or a full course of 18 holes.
Golf ball
The second thing is the golf ball that needs to be moved from the tee box to the hole in the putting green with the least number of strokes. For instance, a par-3 hole requires three strokes for a par score.
To play the ball, you need golf clubs which come in a set of 14 that fit in a golf bag that every golfer must have.The fourth important thing is the caddy who carries your bag in the course and watches where your ball lands. Amateurs will understand how important this is. Caddies also play golf and some of them end up being pros. At Royal Nairobi Golf Club where I play, caddies compete on Mondays.
Going back to the Kenya Open, it was amazing to see two Kenyans excel and make a cut to play till the last day of the tournament. Simon Ngige especially finished strong at 5 under par and definitely didn’t go home empty handed.
However, we needed to see more, better performance from our pros. Year after year, the Europeans, South Africans and other elites come and dominate our local profesionals on our own grounds and take away all the top prizes while we watch and cheer.
We have good professionals, all they need is exposure abroad to help them handle the pressure that comes with such big events. They are ready for the challenge but they lack sponsors. Golf is expensive but the rewards are very big.
Renson Kitur, Nairobi.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
