A giant Baobab Tree marks the entrance to the Mowana Safari Resort and Chobe Golf Club

The Mowana Safari Lodge, on the banks of the Chobe River in Northern Botswana, plays host to the Chobe Golf Club.

Set on the floodplains of the Chobe River, this is a gem of a course,  and with one of the highest concentrations of animals in Africa, there is a good chance you could see some of the local inhabitants during your round.

The Chobe National Park is renowned for it massive elephant population, estimated at around 50 000, making it one of the best places to see these spectacular mammals in the natural habitat.  Cruising the Chobe River at sunset is probably the best way to spot them and at the same time standing a chance to see many other species, including Hippos, Crocodiles, Buffalo, Lions, Wild Dogs, the indigenous Puku antelope, and many bird species.

Teeing off on the 1st Hole

The cruise is one of my favourite activities in Botswana and I always recommend it to guests in my group, as it never fails to provide amazing wildlife viewing and an incredible sunset.  Another advantage is the three hours of free time it gives me, which on this occasion I managed to get nine holes of golf in, instead of the usual grocery shopping and paperwork!

To be honest, I have been eyeing out the course at the Mowana Safari Lodge ever since the first time I visited Kasane nine years ago, and until now, I haven’t been able to get out on it.  I didn’t know much about the course, so after dropping the group at the jetty for their cruise, Ruan, my colleague and I pulled the truck in to the golf club parking and went in to find out how much it would be to play.

159m, Par 3, 2nd Hole, playing down to the Chobe River

The green fees, we were told, would be 100 Pula ($15) for 9 holes, and the club rental another 100 Pula, which we thought was fair.  Fortunately I had my Golfers Survival Kit with me, so didn’t need to buy any golf balls or tees and before we knew it, we were standing on the 1st tee.  As with most courses I have played in Southern and East Africa, caddies were available and due to the lack of golfers out there, were very keen for us to make use of their services, but being on the budget we were, we thought we would attempt the course without them, and if we needed them after a few holes we would pick one up.  A definite possibility if the rough was as unforgiving as that in Livingstone and our if balls were disappearing too rapidly.

Warthogs on the 3rd Fairway keeping the grass neat!

The rental clubs were decent, although the driver in my bag was a Ladies Miscela, so I was a bit tentative to try it on the first hole, especially with thick trees all the way down the right hand side.  Having learned my lesson with altitude last year, I decided that at 700m (2200 feet) above sea level, my irons would do the trick.

A long second shot over water is needed to reach the 3rd Green

The first few holes, were possibly the most beautiful on the course, numbers 1 and 2 playing down towards the Chobe River, the 2nd Green sticking out, half island like in the river itself and the 3rd, a long Par 4, the Stroke 1 hole, playing over a dangerous water hazard into the green.

That is not taking anything away from the rest of the course though, with enough water to keep it green all year round and a myriad of animals to keep the grass trimmed at no cost, the course was in beautiful condition and I truly enjoyed being out there, especially in September when the intense summer heat has yet to arrive and the possibility of afternoon thunderstorms is at a minimum.

You’ve Been Warned! The 133m Par 3 7th Hole has it’s own unique hazard.

The golf started well, paring the first two holes and bringing in a string of bogeys thereafter, I was able to enjoy my round, avoid any baboons, hippos and crocs on the course and come in with 44 on the card, then still get back to camp and start preparing dinner before the group got back from another successful cruise.

Now I can’t wait to get back to Kasane to have another round at the Chobe Golf Club, maybe trying the alternate tees that make up the Back Nine.

Until then though, keep an eye out as The Shoestring Golfer makes his way back to Cape Town and brings you more insight into the affordable golf options the Mother City has to offer.

Trees all around the Par 5 5th Green

What I want to tell you about today is not necessarily a new way to do this, but a way I have been playing golf for many years and one I was reminded of on my recent holiday in Canada.

Woody & I heading up the fairway after our tee shots

As on all my travels, I made sure I had my trusty ‘Golfer’s Survival Kit’ with me and while staying with my friend Woody and on our last night in Vancouver, my first golfing opportunity presented itself.  He couldn’t get out of work before 5pm, so we made a plan to meet him at the Mylora on Five golf course in Richmond, which was just a couple of blocks from his office and closer enough to the Skytrain Station to only add an extra $8 to the travel expense.  We had booked our $18 tee time for just before 6pm, but because we were there and ready to go a bit early, we got out on the course before then.The advantage of only starting at that time, and the main focus of this blog, was our ability to make use of the Twilight Rates on offer.  This is a very seasonal occurrence, and something that we in South Africa are not all that used to, as daylight variations in our seasons are not as drastic, but in a place like Canada where the difference between sunset in the summer and winter can be up to five or six hours, it has huge value and can allow you to be on the course until almost 9 or 10pm.

Looking over a putt!

Normally if a club offers twilight rates, they will stop differentiating between nine and eighteen hole green fees at a certain time, charging one flat rate and allowing you to play as many holes as you can before it gets dark, or when the course closes.

I know I have spent many a Friday evening in the summer at Rondebosch Golf Club, in Cape Town, trying to get around before the mountain has totally stolen all the light from the sun, coming down the 8^th or up the 18^th in almost pitch black conditions to a few bemused faces in the bar who are already on the second or third beer.  In terms of value though, the 4pm starting time, couldn’t be trumped.  The only downside is the popularity of this time, especially on a Friday, when Capetonians like to knock off work at about 3pm anyway.

Woody and I set off on this Par 57 Executive Course, which is made up of mostly Par 3’s, with the aid of Anastassia behind the camera, on ball watching duty and diligently marking the scorecard.

The round didn’t start too badly for me, although as we neared the end, Woody decided that in order to make it a fairer contest, the first three holes, and the fourteenth, shouldn’t go towards the overall result!

As it always turns out though and no matter the score on the first seventeen holes, the 18^th Tee provided a ‘winner takes all’ scenario, made even more interesting when we both hit the green of the 101yard Par 3.

Woody teeing off on the 8th

We both stood over our putts, mine at about 18 feet and Woody’s maybe an extra foot or two on top of that.  Following his putt towards the hole and watching it go in; he broke out in a celebration reminiscent of Happy Gilmore, having sealed the game.  His victory was short lived though and his heart dropped quicker than my ball on the way to the bottom of the cup, as I sunk my putt, carding our only two birdies of the day and levelling the game!

Sometimes bad light isn’t the only thing that stands in your way when trying to complete a round of twilight golf.  As the sun gets closer to the horizon and starts to lose its strength, those pesky clouds that have been hanging about all day suddenly become more ominous, blocking out what little light is left and adding to the challenge with some rain.  This was the case for my second, and final, round in Canada.

Back in Toronto, I had been offered to play a round with my friend, David.  Anastassia was teaching yoga for the afternoon and evening and I was given the go ahead to get in another round.  While the budget golf options are few and far between in the Greater Toronto Area, we managed to find a great twilight deal at the Cardinal Golf Club’s newest, and nicest, 18 hole layout, Red Crest.  The $40 green fee for our post 5:30pm tee time was half the usual cost to play here and although we only teed off at just after 6pm, we were confident that we would make it around the course by 9pm, when it had been getting dark.

Red Crest @ Cardinal Golf Club

This all changed after the first two holes, when we saw the dark clouds covering the horizon and what had been a perfect afternoon, turned into a less than ideal evening!

It didn’t start to rain until about the 6^th hole and it wasn’t coming down to hard, persistent, but not torrential.  When we got to the club house after nine, we decided to keep going, not letting the rain dampen our mood, enjoyment of the round or the beautiful golf course, an amazing layout worthy of the Country Club courses I spent a few years working at in the USA.

The level of play wasn’t too badly affected either and we managed keep the ball going straight enough to find it after losing it into in the bad light, if not on the fairway then close enough.

After the 14^th we decided to call it a night, the rain was coming down a bit harder and we were down to almost zero visibility. It was only 8pm, so we had done pretty well to get as far as we had, and with the extra hour we were expecting, we would have definitely finished our twilight round.  The only casualty of the adverse conditions was my inability to take any photos while out there, but by having a look at their gallery you will see what a beautiful course it is.  I wish I could have played there on a good day, not only to be able to post the photos for you, but also for my own collection of beautiful courses.

And with that, my vacation was done and with only a few days in Cape Town before I start guiding my next tour up through Southern Africa and with the bank balance substantially reduced; I think the Shoestring Golfer may need to take advantage of another Twilight Round, if the weather allows it that is!

Taken some time to chill while visiting the Reclining Buddha in Ayatthuya, Thailand.

Not nearly as many as I would have hoped though, but at least my journey through Thailand and Cambodia didn’t prove completely fruitless and I managed to get in nine holes in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh.

But for that you will have to wait…..next month I will be featuring a short guide into The Budget Golf Options in Thailand & Cambodia.

Today though I had the pleasure of playing another nine holes at The Royal Livingstone Golf & Country Club.  We arrived in Livingstone yesterday, but only had one day for activities before heading back into Botswana, but Dave and Ron, from my tour group, were keen on playing, and I was more than happy to escort them for a few holes.

Anastassia and I sitting atop the lookout point on Ko Nangyuang, near Ko Tao, Thailand

They still only have nine holes open at the course, but the grass is not quite as long now and it is a little browner than it was in February.  That being said, we decided to take a ball spotter from the start, the 10 000 Zambian Kwacha (US$2) for the caddy, well worth what we would save buy not losing so many balls.

My round started well, with a birdie, and apart from one bogey and one double bogey, I managed to negotiate the ‘rough around the edges’ course and carded six pars, to finish with a two over par, 38, which after only 27 holes in the last two months, I am very happy with!

Thommanom - one of the lesser visited ruins in the Angkor Complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Before leaving for Thailand I got to play at Mowbray Golf Club in Cape Town, where I shot my best ever score for nine holes, a 1-under par, 35 on the back nine to finish with 80 and draw me and my partner even on points in our fiercely contested match.  So it seems while I am not able to play as often as I would like, I am still able to keep up my game and hit some really good shots in both that round and today.

The course today was not superb, the greens are bumpy, the rough more unforgiving than most Major Championships, but at $20 for nine holes, including our clubs, it can’t be beat.  I can only speak for myself, but I had a lot of fun. As you know, I love golf, anywhere, and a day like today just brings that home for me!

A great day on Ko Samet to rent a scooter!

Tomorrow we are heading back into Botswana and continuing our tour back to the Kruger Park and then to Jo’burg, where hopefully I will get to play another game while waiting to start my next tour.

I hope you enjoy some of the photos from my amazing trip I shared with my friend Anastassia in Thailand and I look forward to telling you more about the shoestring golf options on offer there in my next post!

The Shoestring Golfer

During the months away, I was at least able to find a few new places to tee it up, Nairobi being a huge surprise in its quality and quantity of affordable golfing options. My last blog was all the way back in November, when I scouted out the little gem of The Gilgil Golf Course in The Great Rift Valley, but since then I have been on the road almost every day and had no time to find any new courses to play, barely finding the time to just swing my lob wedge on the beach at Lake Malawi!

Looking back down the 9th Hole

Coming down from Nairobi I had been chatting with a few of the people in my group about the golfing opportunities en-route. The best option looked like it would be the halfway point of the tour at The Livingstone Royal Golf & Country Club and Pete, Johnny and Lindsey decided to join me on one of our days in Livingstone.

We had to carefully plan around which night we were going to do the Sunset/Booze Cruise on Zambezi and which morning we would be feeling the least hung over.

One of the major changes since the first time I played here in September, was that it was now the rainy season. So what were dry, brown fairways and rough, were now lush green grass and rough at about five feet tall!

Lindsey, trying to get her ball out of the 'long grass'.

When we arrived at the Pro Shop, Victoria, informed us that only nine holes were open, as they could not afford to keep the full course maintained during the rainy season, with very few tourists playing and the grass growing really quickly, and that if we wanted to play eighteen holes, we would need to play the same nine twice. We decided to just pay for nine holes to start and decide after that if we wanted to go around again.

After the first hole took us about half an hour, a four man search needed after each shot to try locate the ball, whether it was in the rough or not, we realised that it was a good thing we were only playing nine holes.

The total cost for balls overtook the nine hole green fee after about 4 holes when my three playing partners had to go back to the proshop to buy more balls! At about this time we also acquired a spotter to help look for balls, which probably helped get us around the remaining holes with the few balls we had left and also our sanity barely intact. On one hole, after finding my ball, I left my bag to mark the spot and went searching for the remaining three, the problem came when I had to try find my bag/ball again, which was almost completely hidden in the long grass!

Trying to find where I left my bag!

The nine holes turned out to be only 8, playing a combination of the front and back nine holes which have been maintained to allow play in this rainy time of year, again probably a blessing in disguise.

Sitting in the clubhouse after we were done, I decided that instead of counting scores to determine a winner, a better reflection of the day and the most accurate scoring method would be to count the number of balls lost in the round……..and so, after 8 Holes…..in 4th position with 8 balls lost, Johnny, in 3rd position, with 5 balls lost, Pete, in 2nd position, with 4 balls lost, Lindsey and in 1st, only narrowly with 3 balls lost, Me!

I think the most important thing is that we all had a great time, and if I can try encourage as many people to get out there and make the most of the amazing facilities they have available at The Livingstone Royal Golf & Country Club, it will go a long way in helping them to be able to afford to keep the course in good condition, for the enjoyment of local and foreign golfers. It is still the cheapest activity in all of Victoria Falls, by a long way!

Johnny, trying to keep his ball in the 'short grass'.

It didn’t take long for me to get out on the course again once back home, playing already one round on the Mashie Course at The River Club with my dad and brother on Friday afternoon and then out at Paarl Golf Course (Boschenmeer) on Saturday morning, where I was pleasantly surprised to shoot, after a fairly substantial break from the game, a decent round of 86.

This next week is sure to hold a few more rounds, while I try to make up for lost time and also look for more shoestring golf options around Cape Town for you.

Next month I also have a trip to Thailand planned which I am looking forward to ………

All golfers accounted for at the end of the round, no one lost in the long grass!

The small town of Gilgil sits on the main highway between Nakuru, in the north, and Nairobi, in the south, in what is known as The Great Rift Valley.  The Rift valley starts officially in Lebanon and makes its way through the Middle East, 6000km down the eastern side of Africa and ends in Mozambique.

One of the most well known sections of the Rift Valley is here in Kenya, where the ancient tectonic activity has created an area full of beautiful lakes, volcanic craters, awesome rock formations and generally, just amazing scenery.

On the road heading to Hell's Gate

A few weeks ago I started looking at the possibility of doing a short golf tour through the region, in an attempt to find more information on the golf options The Great Rift Valley holds.  As the search for up-to-date information proved futile, it further solidified the need for this trip to take place.  What I realised though, was that going on my own was going to be too expensive and I needed to find some people to share the rental car expense with.  This would mean however that I may have to compromise on all the golf I wanted to play.

Fortunately for me, one of my guiding colleagues, Alfie, arrived in town and he and one of the guests from his last tour, Todd, were looking to get away for a few days too.

Game spotting from our bikes in the park

We decided to head up to Lake Naivasha, where we could visit the Hell’s Gate National Park, which despite being home to a number of dangerous predators, allows you to enter both by bicycle and on foot.  We chose to hire some mountain bikes from the lodge where we were staying and spent an amazing day cycling through the park, taking in the beautiful surroundings and getting to see some cool animals from the seat of our bikes.
The guys were happy to go along with part of my earlier schedule and agreed to join me in Gilgil, so I could at least get one round of golf in, and as it was only a short drive out of the way, it wouldn’t cost us too much time, or petrol money.

Before I left Nairobi, I searched on Google Maps for the Gilgil Golf Club and scribbled down some rough directions that I hoped would get us there, like all the other numbers I had found and tried to call, theirs was not working, so I wouldn’t be able to phone and ask for directions if we got lost….which we did!

After a few kilometers of scenic side roads, we asked a local lady if she knew where the club was, which she directed us to with no problem.  As she was heading in the same direction as us, we gave her and her young daughter a ride back to the main road, where she pointed out the Golf Club, right where we had turned off.  In our defense, there was no signage on the front gate posts, so it was quite easy to miss.

The 337 yard Par 4 1st hole, crossing the C77 between Gilgil & Nyahururu!

The club house seemed quite deserted, but we found someone to help us and who said it wouldn’t be a problem to play, the problem we did have though was that they had no rental clubs.  After a quick phone call, one of the caddies agreed to come down and to rent us his clubs if we wanted them.

Sinking my par putt on the 2nd 'Brown'

When he arrived a few minutes later, his set was a mix of different irons ranging over a period of about 40 years at least, some duplicated and others missing completely.  What he had though was better than nothing and Alfie and I decided to give them a go.

Alfie admitted he had never really played golf before, but when the Green Fees turned out to be only KES300 (US $3) for nine holes, he said he would give it a try anyway. Todd was happy to put his feet up in the lounge of the club house and wait for us there!

When we stood on the first tee we realised we had actually driven straight through the course, as the 1st Hole actually crossed the road we had driven past on!

Coming in to the Par 4 3rd 'Brown'

I won’t go in to too much detail about the course, only to say that it was absolutely amazing!  They only have nine holes and no greens, only ‘browns’ which were a hard clay type surface, covered with  thin layer of fine black sand, which looked almost like poppy seeds.  After getting used to the speed of the ‘browns’ there were actually quite true and I was surprised how well they played, it did take me a few holes to realise that you can’t fly the ball up onto them though, otherwise the ball just bounced off the back, but rather you need to land the ball on the fringe in front and run it on!

Playing off the overgrown railway line on the 450 yard Par 5 6th Hole

Our caddy, who’s clubs we were using, must have been a magician in a past life, cause he miraculously found our balls on a number of occasions after they disappeared into ridiculously thick grass and bush!

Without him I think we probably would have got lost ourselves, as a maze of pathways led us from one hole to the next and with no markers, his information regarding the length and par of each hole on the tee box was crucial.

On the 8th green it started to rain and was coming down quite solidly as we played the last hole, but the experience had been fantastic.  Including the Caddy Fee and the rental of his clubs, the nine holes had come to only $8 each, a budget golf option any golfer on a shoestring can afford.

And if you need a tip on how to find it: Just after you drive past the Pembroke House School, you cross the 1st Fairway and the entrance is on the left!

Enjoy it, but take a few extra balls!

Looking back down the old railway line and the 360 yard Par 4 4th Hole

The reason I titled this blog ‘The Final Nine’ is because unlike my first experience here on the front nine, and like many big screen films, the sequel was a little dissapointing.

The weather again was rather gloomy, as Nairobi seems to be at this time of the year, and it started to rain gently just as we arrived.  Undeterred, we made our way up to the Proshop, where we were told our socks (the same ones I wear for every round of golf) were too short and that three of the four of us would each have to buy a pair of $10 Foot Joy socks, of the correct length.

Immediately this put our backs up, but after speaking to the Club Captain, he agreed to let us play (this time) on account of the fact that we are all tour guides and aren’t able  to carry sufficient knee length socks with us around Africa in our backpacks.

Looking up the 407 yard Par 4 12th Hole

There was still a light rain falling, but we tee’d off on the 10th hole, none of us hitting particularly good balls, but we were off.  My two new playing partners, GP and Kobus, both work with me as CEO’s (Tour Leaders) for G Adventures, and neither of them have played golf of late, or much at all to be honest, but we were going forward.

By the time we reached the 10th Green, a two-ball had caught up to us, so we waited for them on the next tee and let them through.  Up on the 11th green, as we were getting ready to putt, we heard yells from the fairway behind us and saw balls flying rapidly our way.  As we continued to complete our hole, a rather irate woman, of European origin and accent, came marching up the fairway yelling at us that we were playing too slowly and we should have let them through, to which I  ‘kindly’ informed her that we were going to complete our hole and then do just that, and that she should not expect to play through a group who is already on the putting surface.  At which time she marched off to the 12th tee, her playing partner, walking behind her, was visibly embarrassed  by her behaviour.

GP and Alfie walking up to the Par 3 17th Green

At this point my annoyance from the Proshop incident was increased and I found it hard to enjoy the rest of the round.  As we played up the 15th hole, we were met by one of the club house staff, who had obviously been given an earful by the ‘friendly’ member we encountered, on the completion of her round.  We explained to him our side of the story and assured him we would let faster groups through, at the correct time, if we needed to.

The rain came and went for most of the morning and part of the early afternoon, which our rather slow nine holes had taken us into, but it was never hard enough to force us to think about stopping.

I don’t know whether I was just looking through slightly tainted eyes on the back nine that day, but it didn’t seem quite as pretty or enjoyable as the front nine had only a week earlier and while  the front nine was one of the most enjoyable and prettiest nines I have played in Nairobi, this probably was my ‘Final Nine’ at the Royal Nairobi Golf Club, I can do without the attitude when I am going to have fun, relax and play golf on my time off.

The 18th Green and Club House

King George V once commented, “Golf always makes me so damned angry!”

Today I had the exact opposite feeling, and I am pleased to say that almost every day I play golf I can say that.  Maybe it is because I do not get to play as often as I would like, so when I do play, I appreciate it and make the most of it.  Maybe it is because of my last fifteen rounds, eleven of those have been on new courses and have been in three new countries, or maybe it is just because I am happy with the level of my game and besides not practicing or playing regularly, I am able to maintain a similar standard of play…….or maybe its a combination of all three.  Whatever it is, I love it, I love golf and I love being able to share my passion with whomever may be out there reading this article.

Since getting back to Nairobi a few day ago, I have been looking at all the golfing opportunities again and trying to decide where my next round would be.  I decided to call The Royal Nairobi Golf Club, to confirm their rates and check the availability of play for today.

At the club entrance with our caddy, Nicholas.

It was then that I had the privilege of playing nine holes at the oldest golf club in Kenya, The Royal Nairobi Golf Club.  In 1906 a nine hole course was developed and in 1922 they extended it to eighteen holes.  During his reign as King (1910 – 1936), George V made a number of visits to Africa, and on one such visit he made a stop here in Nairobi and had the chance, like me, to play the course.  In 1936 the club was bestowed with the title of Royal Nairobi, and reciprocates with other “Royal’ clubs around the World.

There have been quite a few other guides hanging out here at the camp over the weekend, so I was happy when Alfie, a guide with a different overland company, decided to join me this morning.
We left here in a taxi this morning under grey skies, but hoped we would make it through before any rain came down.  As always the traffic in Nairobi was a mess, but we still got to the club quite quickly and were able to tee off before 10am, and with only a few drops of rain having fallen on the car windshield.

We weren’t sure if we were going to play nine or eighteen holes, so just paid for nine to start and again picked up one of the caddies who had followed our car in from the gate.
The guy in the Pro Shop said we could share a set of clubs and he got what I guess was their best set out of storage for us.  An important part of this blog, apart from reporting on the conditions of the course and to the extent it conforms to the ‘Budget Golf’ bracket, is the quality and availability of the rental equipment.
Let’s just say that I think these were the same clubs King George used on his visit here almost a hundred years ago.  Okay, so maybe that’s an exaggeration, but the Ping Karsten III blade irons, from 1976, that were handed to us, were not the best set I have played with and I knew already I would have trouble hitting the Titleist 905 9.5 degree Driver, with stiff shaft, off of the tee box.  Sharing the clubs did reduce the cost though, as we split the KES500 (Kenyan Shillings) (US$5) fee and who knows what their second best set would have looked like!!

Coming in to the 9th Green

The Green Fees for nine holes were also very affordable at KES1000 ($10) and the caddy fee would work out to KES250 ($2.50) for each of us over nine holes, making a total of KES1500 ($15), which can be exactly doubled for eighteen holes.

As we walked towards the 1st Tee and waited for The Starter to bring us a scorecard, I could see already that it was going to be worth it, the fairways an emerald green and the trees bright purple with Jacaranda blossoms, it was a beautiful sight.

That damn creek on the 3rd Hole

Nicholas, our caddy was missing for our first shots, but fortunately mine had found its way deep down the fairway, even if it never got higher than six feet off the ground.  I started off with two pars again, but on the 3rd hole I pulled a dodgy drive into a small creek running across the hole and had to drop out and ended with a double bogey.  I was annoyed with myself, as the hole was only 347 yards and I really didn’t need anything more than a 5-iron off the tee to leave a wedge into the green, but the damage was already done and the score carded.

Standing on the 4th tee I knew I need to try create some extra club head speed with the driver to get the ball up in the air, so I tee’d it up a little higher and really threw my hands at the ball to try get it going.  Now I know the tee box is not the place to be trying new things with a set of new clubs and the safer option would have been to tee off with an iron, but the result was fantastic and the ball sailed down the fairway, over running it slightly and unfortunately leaving me a tricky approach from behind a tree.

The beautiful 376 yard Par 4, 5th Hole

Walking up onto the 5th tee, was one of those great moments in golf when you just go “WOW!”, what lay ahead was a beautiful hole which fell away to the creek at the corner of the dogleg and then rose up again to the right.  The hole was only 376 yards, so I knew if I cut the corner slightly I would end up close to the green, and so with renewed confidence in the driver, aimed up the right side.  Contact was good again, but I pulled it slightly, overshooting the corner of the dogleg but ending up in a nice position with an open approach to the green.

188 yard Par 3, 6th Hole

The first of the Par 3′s was the 188 yard 6th hole, which was playing shorter than the card suggests, with the tees up a bit and running downhill all the way to the green.  I decided on a 8 iron and allowed a little for the right to left breeze and when I hit it, it all looked good.  Starring it down I watched it bounce almost on the flag stick, but then roll out just off the back of the green.  My putt from just off the green almost dropped and I had a one inch tap-in for another par.

Playing away from the Kibera slum on the 7th Hole.

The most noticeable thing about the 7th hole was Nairobi’s massive Kibera slum sitting only a wall away just behind the tee box.  The Par 3 8th was a good one for my playing partner, Alfie, who got his only par for the day and trumping my bogey.

After just missing my par putt on the 9th green, I turned to to Alfie to see if he wanted to continue onto the back nine, but he said he was done for the day, so we packed up and headed into the club house for a drink while we waited for our taxi to arrive.  The Golf Gods must have been on our side, cause no sooner had we sat down on the veranda overlooking the 18th green, when the rain clouds that had been threatening all morning decided to release a downpour all around us.  Good decision Alfie!

Of the three courses I have played in Nairobi, this has definitely been my favourite so far.  The course is in excellent condition and the bright colours of Bougainvilleas and Jacarandas lining the fairways gives it a real special feeling.  I was very happy with my round again and came off smiling with another 42.  King George’s feelings couldn’t have been more wrong for me on this day.

In the next week I hope to return to Royal Nairobi to play the back nine and from there head north to see what golfing opportunities I can find in The Great Rift Valley.  Until then, let me make it clear that Kenya is definitely turning out to be a good stop on The Shoestring Golfer’s quest to find affordable golfing options in new and exciting places.

How time flies when you’re having fun!

Since my last round here in Nairobi, at the Kenya Railway Golf Club,  almost a month ago, I have successfully completed my first solo tour of East Africa, negotiating the highways and byways of Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia to arrive at Vic Falls with everyone still in one piece, well fed and happy!

Classic Serengeti

My group of 22 leaving Nairobi was cut down by one during our trip in the Serengeti when I had to escort one of the guests out to the hospital in Arusha and unfortunately leave her there to recover while we headed off to Zanzibar.  I need to note that it wasn’t my cooking that put her in that position in the first place and since then she has returned home and is on the road to recovery.

The time in Zanzibar was just as amazing as the first time, the beach empty and the water warm, but still no golf course!

A 'peek' at Africa's highest peak - Kilimanjaro

Our group was cut again when the first leg of the tour ended and only 9 were continuing on with me to Vic Falls.  Lake Malawi provided some expected amusement at our Kande Beach Dress-Up Party, although with the skimpy outfit that was chosen for me it was more of a Dress-Down Party.  After leaving Kande Beach we arrived in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, in the early afternoon, opening it up for a quick nine holes at the Lilongwe Golf Club.

That day on the truck I had been chatting to Len, who was more affectionately known as ‘Dad’ on the trip, about my blog and my master plan for golf tourism in general.  So when the opportunity came up later that day, he accepted my invitation and became the first official guest of The Shoestring Golfer!

I made a quick call to the club to check the prices and then we made the 10 minute walk down the road to the club entrance, where we were met by two of the caddies who were vying for our business.  Before needing their assistance though we had to stop at; The Reception; The Cashier; The Pro Shop; and then The Starter, only then did we get onto the 1st tee.  The Green Fees for nine holes were again very affordable at MWK1150 (Malawi Kwacha), which is about US$6.  Unfortunately we had to pay the Daily Membership Fee of MWK1800 ($9.50), which if we had had more time, we could have made use of the Swimming Pool, Tennis Courts, Bowling Greens and Soccer & Cricket Fields, but we didn’t, so just had to suck it up!  Our Rental Sets were MWK750 ($4), which brought the total to MWK3700 ($19.50).  The Caddy Fee was an extra MWK1000 ($5) for nine holes including tip. If you wanted to play eighteen holes, the total cost would work out to MWK7200 ($38), which relative to some of the other courses I have played recently, is a little more expensive, but when you think that this is the only 18 Hole course in the whole of Malawi and home of the annual Malawi Open Tournament, it is still a pretty good deal.  I guess the proof would be in the proverbial pudding and the quality of the course would determine whether or not it was a good deal.

Downhill on the 500m Par 5, 3rd Hole

We only ended up taking one of the caddies, Charles, who carried Dad’s bag and showed us around his home course.  His guidance must have been pretty good, as I parred the first two holes and was doing well with my rental clubs off the tee and from the fairway (when I found it).  On the first hole, when deciding on my club selection into the green, I asked him what the altitude of Lilongwe was, so that I could avoid the mis-adventures of my first round in Nairobi, but I don’t think my question translated too well and I didn’t get a concrete answer.  I decided to go with the middle club, neither sea level nor high altitude and it worked out perfectly.  Only after the round was complete I found the answer to my question……1050 meters or 3445 feet above sea level.

An unusual sight on the 6th Green, "Len...you had your rabies shots, right?"

The round continued to go well and I could see Dad was enjoying his game, only his third round for the year, but he was pulling some nice shots together.  The course was in good condition, which is bound to improve, as they are installing an irrigation system at the moment, which will help them maintain the course all year round.

A big tree guarding the 490m Par 5, 7th Fairway

The light was starting to fade and I was keeping an eye on my watch, cause I knew I had to get back to make dinner for the group, but we were still on track and on the 9th tee I strained my eyes to watch my drive fly beautifully into the distance and only as we started walking up the fairway could I see it sitting almost pin high on the right of the green, turning around as I reached the ball I looked back towards the tee 315m (350 yards) away and smiled.

With a chip and two putts I parred the last and was more than happy on the walk back to the campsite with a score of 42.  We were back by 6pm and dinner was served just on 7:30pm, perfect!
I knew Len had enjoyed the round as much as I had and on our last dinner together in Livingstone, as we all shared our favourite memories of the tour, I know he was tempted to mention his round in Lilongwe with The Shoestring Golfer, it was one of mine!

In 1921, the wife of the Kenya Railways manager, Mrs Couper, established a Golf Club for the Kenya Uganda Railways staff and in 1924 it opened its membership to non-railways staff.
The course still revolves heavily around the railway line, which passes straight through the middle of  the course.  The only hole though where it comes into play is the 2nd, where your tee shot could cause some damage to a passing train if not connected well!

The 9th/18th Green at The Railway Club

When I arrived at the club in the morning, the weather was looking rather ominous, but I was assured by my taxi driver that it wouldn’t rain again today.  The rain wasn’t the only thing stopping me though, when I checked in at the Pro Shop I was informed that I would only be able to play nine holes, as there was a tournament going off at midday, and as it is only a 9 hole course, I wouldn’t be able to turn once it had started.

The green fees were again very reasonable at KES1500 ($15), which is the same whether you play 9 or 18 holes, a caddy is compulsory though and costs an additional KES300 ($3) for 9 holes or KES500 ($5) for 18 holes.  That being said it is still a very affordable option in the heart of downtown Nairobi.
As I was about to tee off on the 1st hole the starter asked me if I wanted to join up with one of the members, which as it turned out would allow me to play 18 holes instead of just 9, either way I wouldn’t have minded joining him, as I am very used to teeing up with locals or other visitors where ever I play.

View of the Nairobi Skyline from the 13th Tee

I rented a driver again, this time for KES500 ($5), but it was almost identical to mine at home, so was happy to pay a little extra to have that familiarity and off the 1st tee I had a very familliar push into the right hand rough to start the round!
My playing partner was both twice my age and handicap and was retired from the Kenyan Ministry of Finance, where he had worked for more than 30 years.  He is now a member of the Club and normally plays here three times a week, so was a good guide for my first time on the course.

The round started relatively well and on the second hole I almost drove the green of the 322 yard Par 4, but after that it took me another five holes before I parred the Stroke 1, Par 4 7th, playing 457 yards.
To be honest I was struggling to come to terms with the distances I was hitting the ball again, for some reason I am just not used to teeing off on a 200 yard Par 3 with a 7 iron!

Playing up the 7th/16th Hole towards the Club House

Once we got to the 9th, the tournament had started and we had to wait a while before there was an opening for us.  While we waited, our group grew to three, as Peter, a Canadian pilot with KLM Airways, joined us for his back nine as well.  In the end we tee’d off on the 17th (8th) hole, which also runs away from the club house, and by the time we finished the 18th, the 10th was free for us to go!

The 17th changed from the 387 yard Par 4 8th, to a 237 yard Par 3, which I somehow put pin high next to the green with a 5 iron.  The rest of the back nine was again a struggle, the fairways being quite narrow and the thick trees on either side rather unforgiving.

The 3rd/12th Green, with the railway line in the background

My rented driver was causing me more trouble than it was worth and for the last few holes I put it away completely, something I probably should have done a lot early as my 4 iron was going 250 yards off the tee anyway.  Probably the biggest shock of the whole round was the 180 yard 9 iron for my second shot on the 12th hole.  “Can I take this altitude home with me? Please!”

The course was in great condition though, and despite the light rain that was falling for most of the back nine, we had great conditions!  Playing out of the trees on almost every hole though was getting a little tiresome and at one point I was feeling pretty beat up by the course, a feeling a haven’t felt since playing the Berhampore course in Wellington, New Zealand a few years ago!

This was definitely a step up from last weeks round at The Golf Park at Ngong Race Course, but with the mandatory caddy, it came to almost double the cost, which is still only KES2000 ($20) for 18 holes.  Shoestring?? I think so!

Crossing the Line on the 2nd/11th Hole

I will definitely come back to the Kenya Railway Golf Club again, if for no reason but to improve on my poor score from today and to do it without a driver in the bag!

On Sunday I start my next tour, three weeks back through the Serengeti, across to Zanzibar, down Lake Malawi and finishing at Victoria Falls, which will hopefully be the next round for The Shoestring Golfer, maybe this time on the Zimbabwean side….

"Picture Perfect" Wildebeest and Zebra in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Along the way I had the opportunity to meet some amazing people, both the blessing and curse of the life as a tour guide, see some amazing places and experience a whole new part of Africa I had never before witnessed.
As expected, the golfing opportunities were not forthcoming, but when my colleague, Mia, showed an interest in a few golf lessons along the way, we purchased the only club we could find, a 60 degree wedge, and some balls at a supermarket when entering Malawi.  The first practice opportunity came on the beautiful, long, Kande Beach on the shores of Lake Malawi.  I think I made use of the club a lot more than she did and one or two impromptu lessons followed, one in the middle of the night after our Fancy Dress party, my outfit of tight brown leggings and Leopard print blouse, probably not regulation on the PGA teaching circuit, but they proved effective and the results spoke for themselves.

Beautiful sunset off the coast of Zanzibar

I was hoping to find a course on Zanzibar Island, but the old club closed down many years ago and they have yet to develop anything new, the affordability of a new course on Zanzibar would probably be out of the range of the Shoestring Golfer’s budget, but I can hardly think of a more beautiful setting to play golf in.
Once back on the mainland, we had a few long days of driving to get across to Arusha, the springboard for our adventure into the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.

A solitary Cheetah in the Serengeti

With more game viewing experiences already under my belt than most people get to have in a lifetime, I was still looking forward to this excursion, where I had heard the wildlife viewing was amazing….and it didn’t disappoint!  In the two days we were game driving, we saw more than 50 Lions, 5 Leopards, 3 Cheetahs, a Cerval Cat, Elephants, herds of Wildebeest, Buffalo &  Zebra and a number of Hippos, all with the backdrop of the endless African plains of the Serengeti and the out-of-this-world Ngorongoro Crater.

Before I knew it, we were in Nairobi and the tour was over, my first East African Experience a truly memorable one.  What lay await was a couple of weeks of chill and prep time before my first solo tour heading back south to Victoria Falls, there would also be time to scout out some of the budget golf options available in this massive African city of 3.4 million people, the first of these, The Golf Park at Ngong Racecourse.

Set inside the race track, The Golf Park is a tight 9-hole layout with alternate tees to make a slightly different back nine available if you want to make the turn.  As you know, my last round was at The Livingstone Royal Golf & Country Club and cost a shoestring $20 for 18 holes, so I was hoping The Golf Park would be just as affordable, and at KES1100 (Kenyan Shillings) it worked out to around $12 for the 18 holes!
I had borrowed a set of irons from one of the guys who works at our Nairobi workshop, but decided to rent a driver for an extra KES100 ($1), and although it was a rather low-tech Spalding 1-wood it did the job quite well.

The Par 5 7th/16th Hole doglegs right as the back straight makes its turn

Unlike my round at Vic Falls where it took me six holes to realise I was playing at altitude, this time I checked beforehand and saw that I would be playing at around 1700m (5500 feet) above sea level, that being said, I still had a hard time coming to terms with hitting my sand wedge 130 metres.  The front nine was a bit up and down, but I managed to shoot 40 on the Par 35 layout of three Par 3′s, four Par 4′s and two Par 5′s.
I had been given a tip that the samoosas at the Half-Way House were particularly good (which they were), so stopped briefly to refuel before playing the 30 metre shorter back nine.

Par 3 8th/17th Hole

I always feel on courses like this, that the second time around should be decidedly better, but as is usually the case, the little bit of course knowledge I had gained was totally equalised by the inconsistencies of my swing and the inability to hit the ball where I am aiming!

I wouldn’t be a true South African rugby supporter if I didn’t make some reference to yesterdays upsetting loss to Australia in the World Cup Quarter-Final, so let me just say that my reading of the greens was about as bad as Referee Bryce Lawrence’s reading of the yesterday’s game, and while my lack of judgement only led to a number or disappointing three putts, his lead to the Springbok’s early departure from the tournament.

'The Final Straight' The Par 5 9th/18th Hole running parallel to the grandstand and finish line.

 Fortunately I was able to put these extra putts behind me and managed to par the last four holes and come in with a 41 and a total of 81.

My taxi fare to and from the course came to almost double my green fees, but it was worth the trip through Nairobi’s notoriously bad traffic to enjoy this basic, yet enjoyable Shoestring Golf option, and with another week here in Nairobi, I hope to find at least one more affordable course, otherwise I might head back for another day at the race track.