Golf can be a hustler’s game if we demystify it

Golfing in the rain at Vetlab Sports club in Upper Kabete. Notice the “ambiance.” Hustlers too can play golf if it’s demystified. Photo by XN Iraki

One of the lasting legacies of the British rule in Kenya is the introduction of new sports. That includes soccer, now capturing our attention in World Cup with Croatia meeting France in the finals.

The tiny Croatia with a population of 4.2 million only became a nation in 1991 after the collapse of Yugoslavia, held together with an iron hand by Josef Broz Tito who died in 1980.

Croatia is headed by a lady president, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovi?. She is often seen watching World Cup matches in Russia. We should emulate this young nation possibly by electing a woman as president. That might be the shortcut to the World Cup. Have you noted how Croatian and Russian names end with v or c? They are all Slavic and related.

Enough digression. Golf is the other game Britons introduced. Not so surprising because Kenya attracted lots of upper-class Britons after the two world wars. Their titles such as majors, colonels, brigadiers and generals are indicators of their high positions in the military. The size of the houses they built reflected their ambition and positions in society. Further research shows they went to Eton or Oxbridge.

The houses were not their only footprints, their names live on in the former White Highlands. Some names were corrupted beyond recognition. General AR Wainwright, who arrived after World War I and lived on the northern edge of the Aberdares, became “Njeneri”. Major Robert Francis Carnegie who lived near Ngobit and is buried there became “Kaniki” with a village bearing that name. Why was his grave dug up and who did it?

There are other examples of names that are barely recognisable in the former White Highlands. Bowman, which became Mboimani, other mzungus got strange nicknames like Mbiyu who was Delap.

Warukira was Johanna Elizabeth Crous, Kihuko was Wilfred Kenneth Nunn. You can share other corrupted names and nicknames. Afrikaans (Boers) also lived in Kenya around Eldoret and Nyahururu. It is not clear if they played golf and why Kenyan historians have given them a blackout.

Britons left golf courses, another indicator of their upper-class status. The courses were mainly in the White Highlands. They include Thomson Falls, now Nyahururu, Nyeri, Nanyuki, Vetlab, Royal and many others. Some “disappeared” after uhuru.

The fact that only mzungus played golf may have mystified the game further. One Onesmus Kinandu who golfs in Nyahururu and is now in his 80s talks of those old days when caddying was the only thing Africans could do in a golf course. He helped revive Nyahururu Golf Club whose founders include General AR Wainwright (1874-1970).

After uhuru, only a few upper-class Africans played the game. There were few efforts to demystify the game. That mystery and mystic behind golf remained. In fact, lots of ordinary people equate golfers to members of a cult.

Most Kenyans think golf is not for them. The location of golf courses hidden from the public by fences with games rarely broadcast live like soccer adds to the mystery of golf. To be sincere, golfers also mystify the game with attire, from gloves to caps and shoes and occasionally the way they hold the golf club and hit the small ball. Most golfers will spend lots of time explaining how expensive and difficult the game is. We can’t rule out the deliberate act of reducing “club dilution”.

Yet in reality, it’s a game even hustlers can play. Really? It depends on your “class consciousness.” A golf kit with 14 clubs can go for as low as Sh50,000 or cheaper if second hand, or as high as Sh500,000 if you are determined to intimidate your fellow golfers but not necessarily with good scores. The kit can last for 10 years if you are not fancy. But the suppliers from Cobra, TaylorMade, Ping, Mizuno and others keep updating their clubs just like clothes or cars and marking prices higher.

The membership entry fee can range from as low as Sh50,000 for golf courses outside the city to Sh1 million for exclusive clubs. You pay once in a lifetime. The other charges like annual fees total around Sh50,000 paid quarterly. Tournament entry fees are affordable, about Sh500 per game which gives you a chance to win prizes.

Acres of empty land

Anyone who takes alcohol regularly can afford golf. It’s a better addiction. In USA golf is not that mystified with several golf courses even in small towns. I learnt to golf in a historically black university, Kentucky State University, not in an Ivy League university. That is a clear indicator it can be a hustler’s game. Interestingly, golf is taught as a unit in undergraduate, further demystifying the game.

Why can’t we do the same? Some universities own hundreds of acres of empty land. Building a golf course in such campuses would raise their profiles. Some high schools like Lenana and Nairobi School owned golf courses. Can more join that club?

Lately, economic laws of supply and demand are pricing hustlers out of the game. In Kenya, the joining fee of most clubs is going up; we rarely build golf courses particularly for the public. The demand is rising faster than supply. Lots of young men and women have discovered the game is not for elderly men and women only. We need to thank Tiger Woods for making golf a hustler’s game.

We can learn from others in demystifying golf. The success of golf in South Africa is driven by their attempt to simplify and demystify it. Instead of insisting on 18 holes or par 72 courses, they have small courses which make the game accessible to more people. I once played on a par 29 course in South Africa, but do I say. That is in about 15 acres. Lots of Kenyan farmers could convert their shambas into mini-golf courses.

If we started such small courses, golf would become accessible to more people and get demystified. Some counties have lots of land which would make them golf Meccas. Our weather is also very good for golf without worrying about long dark winters. Incidentally, the long summers attracted me to golf in the USA. The sun was setting at 9pm. I looked for something to do in daylight after 5pm! 

Let us be blunt, we all aspire to have the best things that life can offer, that includes golf. We should, therefore, develop this game for enjoyment by maximum number of Kenyans. There is no reason we can’t partner with counties which should provide land with private investors providing the financing. Economics will come into play, more golf courses and competition will lower the cost of the game. What happened to Kasarani Public Golf Course?

There is another reason we need more focus on golf, it is now an Olympic game. With all our sunshine, we should successfully compete with South Africa and Zimbabwe. We need medals beyond the marathon.

The “Windsor Model” where natural forests are preserved within a golf course can be extended. That would convert Kenya Forest Service and Kenya Wildlife Service into sporting entities. If SGR can pass through a national park, why not less threatening golf courses? We can combine golf with conservation. Imagine a golf ball being eaten by a hyena. There is no reason leisure and nature can’t coexist. What about golf tourism throughout the year?

There is another reason why more Kenyans irrespective of their socio-economic class should play golf. Unlike football that has a “small window” (we rarely play soccer beyond the 30s), one can play golf into their 90s. Duncan Ndegwa in his 90s or Prof Ole Mbatia or Onesmus Kinandu are in their 80s and doing well on the course. Golf will also lead to healthier living, with lots of physical exercises. Golf increases “our” product lifecycle. Physical fitness lowers the cost of healthcare. The game is for both genders.

In economics-speak; golf will also give us another choice, away from soccer and its invasion by betting. In silence, golfers too bet.

—The writer teaches at the University of Nairobi  

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