Why Par-3 hole 16 will be tricky for golfers as Kenya Open starts
Golf
By
Ochieng Oyugi
| Mar 18, 2021
Karen Golf and Country Club in Nairobi is the venue where the 52nd edition of Magical Kenya Open and the Kenya Savannah Classics tournaments will be held this morning.
It is a par 71 course with 18 holes spread across 6921 yards (6329m) area.
About 156 golfers from across the globe will be combing these fairways in search of glory and one with the least strokes in the four gruelling days will emerge champion to command the lions share (Sh20 million) of the Euro 1million prize money in the Open.
The location of the holes and pin positions will be key to success in the tournaments.
While some holes will be so easy to conquer, some will be Herculean task to deliver.
Most challenging ones to maneuver are either dog-legged in nature, stationed near heavy barriers like the sand bunkers or are located at the water bodies.
As the golfers will be looking for glory, there’s one hole that will be very important to the local players. It is also the trickiest even though it’s drive is not very long. It’s the par-3 hole 16.
This hole drive is only 175 yards (160m) long but always carries the heaviest of prizes.
Any local player who will manage to sink the ball with a single shot in this yard will be showered with lots goodies by the Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL).
“Any player who will be lucky to sink a hole-In-one shot at the challenging par-3 hole-16 will be rewarded with the rarest finest prize which is a Johnnie Walker Blue hamper worth Sh20,000 in cash,” noted Catherine Maribei, KBL Senior Brand Manager Reserve.
In 2017, Finland’s Oliver Lindell made history in the 49th edition of Kenya Open held at Muthaiga when he sunk an eagle at the par-3 hole 13 to walk away with a Sh6.9m Ford Ranger WildTrak.
Golfers will need stamina to conquer holes with the longest drive in Karen.
Par-5 6th is the longest in the front nine at 552 yards (411m) long.
Par-4 1st (452 yards/ 413m), par-4 3rd (521 yards/476m) and par-4 5th (449 yards/411m) will be other pieces of work to do in the first nine.
Longest drives in the back nine is the par-5 11th which is 566 yards/518m.
Others are par-5 12th (524m yards/479m, par-4 15th (472yards/432m and par-4 18th (442 yards/404m.