Only South Africa is more advanced from a golfing perspective.
In the 2017 Golfer of the Year Series calendar to date, two events have been held, the prestigious Sigona Bowl and the Mount Kenya Championship.
At the Sanlam SA Amateur, the winner Chris Woollam finished at 15-under after two rounds!
When our elite Kenya amateur golfers travel to the Africa Amateur Golf Championships, these are the golfers they face.
For many years now, I have used the South African golf standards in comparison with Kenya.
I have looked South to find comparisons in amateur golf standards, pro-golf standards, the condition of golf courses and even golf course living. I use South Africa for perhaps three main reasons:
First, in Africa, only South Africa is more advanced from a golfing perspective.
Second, South Africans are a global golf powerhouse. Their golf courses regularly feature in the top 100 courses of the world and their professional golfers have made a mark at the very pinnacle of the sport — and perhaps more importantly, South Africa continues to produce a steady stream of professional golfers.
Lastly, I know South African golf well, I have travelled extensively in the country, playing golf from Limpopo to Rustenburg to KZN to Cape Town and along the Garden Route. I have been lucky to play on some of the best courses in Johannesburg and Pretoria and I have attended some of their top golf events over the years.
This past week, I followed a discussion among golfers on the Kenya Golf Union (KGU) signature amateur event, the Golfer of the Year Series. Discussions ranged from handicap limits to whether lesser mortals like Walter Onyino, George Wakaba and myself should be allowed to participate in this essentially elite competitions.
In the 2017 Golfer of the Year Series calendar to date, two events have been held, the prestigious Sigona Bowl and the Mount Kenya Championship.
Limuru’s John Karichu was victorious at Sigona, with a gross score of 221. He did not register a single round in the 60s, no player in the field did. Among the top 10 players, one did not break 80 on one of the rounds.
In Nyeri, the winner was Mike Kisia with a commendable score of level par after two rounds. In South Africa, I looked at two competitions, the 72-hole South African Stroke Play Championship held at the Kingswood Golf Estate from the February 7-10 and the Sanlam SA Amateur Championship Qual held at Humewood Golf Club from February 19-20. Edgar Catherine was the winner at the SA Stroke Play with a score of 11-under par. He posted scores of 66, 68, 65 and 70. The top 14 players in that contest broke par and most of their rounds were in the 60s.
When I counterchecked the winner and many of those top 14 players against the South Africa Golf Association ranking, I was shocked to find that most of them were ranked poorly. In other words, these were not the top amateur golfers in SA.
At the Sanlam SA Amateur, the winner Chris Woollam finished at 15-under after two rounds! He was tied with Dan Brown. The top 62 players finished under par. Again, these were not the best SA elite amateur golfers.
Consider this, when our elite Kenya amateur golfers travel to the Africa Amateur Golf Championships, these are the golfers they face. Indeed they face better players from South Africa. How then can we expect them to compete. The winning scores at the KGU events are many points over par, whilst these SA boys are posting 15-under through two-rounds. It is simply day and night.
How do we get our amateurs to that level? I do not have the answers, but I suspect that the solution will not be found among our old and aging elite amateurs. The answer must be sought from junior development.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
