Virtual Golf Around Uganda

In order to share part of my experience during Golf Around Uganda: The UG Golf Quest 2008, I have created a virtual tour of golf (and a few other non-golf places) in Uganda which can be played in GoogleEarth. In order to view this tour, you will need to have Google Earth (or it's ilk) installed. If you are in Uganda, please take the file from here. If in another country, this link will be faster.

Enjoy!

Entebbe Club

It's the longest course in Uganda, beating UGC by 350 yards. It has 2 very long par 3's, the longest par 4 in UG, and 5 par 5's. Play in the cool of the morning and bring water....lots of it.

Water is a main attraction here, although there is none on the course itself, Lake Victoria is just a short par four away, and you get beautiful views from many of the holes (bad light today, so maybe a picture next week). In addition, you play along the Rhino enclosure and near the chimp island of the Zoo, so that's a bonus, as is the view of State House and a lovely old chapel and the cricket oval, with its art-deco pavilion lies in the middle of the course. You get the occasional jet fighter screaming overhead as well. All in all a busy visual golf experience.

It's got some very cute tee markers, the holes are named after club members

as usual, clicking on the small image gets you a large one

I've played Entebbe many times, even won a prize at a tournament last month, but never looked at it with a critical course design eye before. Entebbe is a monster, long, heavily bunkered and full of mature trees. Despite the dry conditions (I hit a 390 yard drive today!!!, well 290, with 100 yds of roll) the course still plays long. On 17, the longest par four, I hit a very good driver and a well struck 3 wood, and wasn't quite pin high. I even had to hit fairway woods on 2 of the par 3's!


Besides length Entebbe also defends its honor with dozens of bunkers in the fairways, rough and around the greens. They are well raked now, but it's heavy lake sand, not the light fluffy stuff, which makes for a harder sand save, especially if you try to "pick it clean". I'm a decent bunker player, and I was in the same bunker on 2 different occasions ON THE SAME HOLE today. Thank God it wasn't this one (left).

The Main challenge however is the trees and the high grass that grows around them in the rough. New stands of pine have been liberally planted around the course, which are a real menace to play out of. It's the mature trees that are the real obstacle though, forcing you to shape your shot around them or avoid them altogether. Besides the usual driving into a gap, several of the par 3's holes here force you to hit OVER very tall (and wide) trees or stands of trees .



If you go to Entebbe, bring plenty of ammo, you WILL lose balls here, and you WILL spend a lot of time looking for them. I guess that's part of what makes it so tiring. It's a real slog, but they do have a cart they will rent you for 30k UGX, they seem amenable to negotiate this price ;-)



The clubhouse is large, has a limited, though very good menu and a well stocked "pro shop". Snooker has it's own room (which seems par for Uganda), which it seems to be sharing with the flags for some reason. Perhaps they were lonely on the course?!

There are plenty of caddies here, but not early in the weekday mornings. Caddy Day is Monday, and caddy fees are 4/6k for Junior/Senior caddies. There are 5 caddies who own their own clubs (hand me downs), and all the caddies share them. Green fees are 4k if you are a UGU club member, 30k for non members. Clubnite is Fridays, and it's 5k (going up to 8k soon). I like Entebbe, it's a laid back, never busy and has a lovely setting. I think the termite damage to the greens may be the only thing that keeps it out of the top echelon of Uganda courses.

Mary Louise Simkins Memorial Golf Course: Namulonge

Namulonge is a private course 32 km from Kampala. It's in fantastic shape (except for the greens, which are UG standard shaggy). The layout is set in the midst of the National Agricultural Crops Research Institute, 12km from Gyaza. M.L. Simkins was a USAID spouse, living on the grounds and she was the driving force behind either it's rejuvenation or building, depending on who you ask. I had always heard it was built in colonial times, but my caddie told me that Mrs. Simkins did it.

It's not a club as such, but a private course where green fees are 5k, and caddie fees are 3k per nine. Ball boys get 2k per nine, but will try you on for 3. No special day for the caddies, but they play free whenever they can, which is whenever balls and clubs come their way.The course is available for rental, as are the bungalows surrounding it. Both Sheraton and DFCU have organised tourneys here in the past, but there are none scheduled this year. (click pictures to see full image)

There are two swimming pools on the grounds, neither of them operational, but I'm sure that Mrs. Simkins had them well run. There is an eco-tourism resort 6km away, but also guest houses on the grounds which rent for 15k per night (bring your own food). Ask at the administrator's office (above right).

The course itself is lovely, and well tended, as one would expect from agriculturalists. There are mature Kyatuns, Mavula and Mango trees, as well as some flowering shrubs. Allegedly greens are cut on Fridays, but I played on a Saturday and they were still too long. Fairways are in immaculate shape however.

The challenges here are tight driving holes, and smallish greens, it's a shortish course, so one has to think your way around, which is difficult for a "grip it and rip it" power hitter like me.

The signature hole here is #4, a short par four (above right) that would be easily drivable IF there wasn't a HUUUGE tree directly in front of the tee box that forces you to play a dogleg left. You CAN try to punch low iron thru the trees or hit a lofted wood over the trees, but the risk is high, and reward unlikely.

All in all, a lovely course that is easily reachable from KLA, is great value for money and deserves much more play than it gets. This is especially true now that the roughest parts of the murram road to the course is being fixed.

Murchison Falls; the Ultimate Water Hazard

While at the top of MF, I hit some old balls over the falls, to this "island green". I designed a 3 holer in my head. Since the footbridge has long since been swept away, this course will remain a thought experiment, but what a hole this would be!

4 courses in 4 days seemed a bit rushed, so I gave myself a treat, and overnighted at Paraa Lodge in Murchison Falls National Park.

I am very glad I did, as the place is gorgeous, and full of beasties, including a herd of 37 Tembo at the ferry to Paraa. Seeing this many elephants in one place is unusual at MFNP.




In addition, there are loads of birds, baboons, hippos (this one charged a stupid girl who still has no idea how close she came to being killed), giraffe, antelope of all sorts, warthogs, monkeys, sausage trees and a variety of other lovely things to see and do. (click on small pix to see larger versions).

Elephants come to the swimming pool at Paraa Lodge to drink:
















game drives bring you face to face with these majestic animals.















This has got to be the best park in Uganda, the boat trip to the base of these incredible falls, where the Nile rages through a 10 foot defile, is a must.

Lake Bunyoni

If in Kabale, Lake Bunyoni is THE place to stay, despite a number of good accommodation options within walking distance of the golf course.








I stayed at a cozy little place, Crater Bay Cottages, directly across the bay (a 5 iron) from Bunyoni overland Camp.
















The only completely crocodile, bilharzia and hippo free lake in Uganda, I actually swam in this freezing water.












I can see a gorgeous golf course here, with shots over bays, island greens, canoes as golf carts, etc.













While it was hazy during my stay, and not great for photography, the terraces of Kigezi District are beautiful, not to be missed!

Queen Elizabeth National Park

QENP is a must visit if you are in Southwestern Uganda, the crater lakes, ease of game viewing and beautiful lodges are all easily seen in a day. I entered at the Queen's Gate, with this pavilion and a cyber cafe run by Conservation Through Public Health, an excellent NGO.

















After a drive on a rough track through a series of crater lakes:

ones gets to Mweya Lodge:

Where you can do some game driving, but as there are warthogs, mongoose, tembo and birds at the lodge, game drives are hardly needed.


















The concessionaire's of this lodge have proposed building a golf course on the Mweya peninsula;


They already have a cart, the first seen on "UG GolfQuest2008, GolfAroundUganda"


As it's elephant/lion habitat, I think the proposed location is a non-starter. However, since the UWA HQ is leaving Mweya soon for a spot close to Katwe, the land that houses the UWA will be available for a golf course.

From Mweya, the launch trip is good value and let's you see birds:

hundreds of Nile Paarden:


















Waterbucks and other ungulates (thousands of buffalo)

Crocs

and elephants;