Our Long National Nightmare is Over Invitational and Family Picnic

To celebrate Billy's birthday, and the victory of Hope over Despair, we decided to make our monthly round a family affair.



Namulonge is a perfect place for a family outing, acres of space, security, nice people...and a golf course (of sorts), what's not to like!

The fairways were long after a lot of rain and the usual " the tractor is not yet fixed". the green were as bumpy and as unpredictable as always.

Big thanks to uncle Gary for his driving and BBQ skills

Uganda Golf Club: Kitante, Kampala

This course, at Kitante in Kampala, is widely regarded as the best course in Uganda, and at the moment, it certainly is! Hosting the Interregional tournament in August 2008 means that the course is in fantastic shape in July.

A great deal of effort has been put into the course and clubhouse facilities over the last few years, and it really shows. The greens are fast and true, the tee boxes are shaved, bunkers raked, rough mowed to a reasonable level, (they are punitive normally) and other facilities have been upgraded.

The showers for example, are the best anywhere in Uganda, unlimited hot water, seats to rest on and even monogrammed towels!

The wealth concentrated in Kampala allows the club to charge 2 million UGX as a joining fee, and membership is 1 million per year. Those fees plus some corporate sponsorship allow the club to maintain the course and clubhouse to a very high standard. The downside of course, is having billboards splashed all over the course, and clubhouse:



They do the basics right, things like built in sprinklers, and proper tee boxes



but the attention to detail is also well done, with things like numbered flags and tee markers with benches



I have seen the course in drier conditions, but never in such peak shape, the greens are immaculate (below left) and holding, even in the dry conditions. You get extra roll when it's dry, I hit driver and then just a 5 iron into the downhill par 5 8th (below right), normally a driver/5 wood/wedge hole for me.


What makes this course such a thorough examination of your golf game is the layout in a valley, which gives lots of hilly lies and slopes to hit towards for a favorable bounce. Kitante Creek runs through many of the holes, and it's possible to hit into the water twice on several of the holes (I have done it many times). The front nine is easy compared to the back side, which is much steeper and fatigue enters into the equation at about the 12th hole, which I think is the signature hole on this course.

12 (right) is a longish par 4, with trees left and right off the tee, O.B. right, swampy hazard left, Kitante Creek running diagonally right to left across the hole, and a large Mango tree in the fairway. The hole plays more like a par 5, as a short drive makes you think about laying up, or aiming a long iron/fairway wood at the big lipped bunker short and right of the green.



If you carry the bunker (left) and land in the 5 meters or so just past it (or aim at the pin, and risk going in the water), you will have a birdie putt on a green that slopes right to left and back to front.I parred this hole as part of "Golf Around Uganda: UG Golf Quest 2008", thats only the second time in 3 years I have gotten a par. There is no place to miss here, as over the green is very bushy, guaranteeing a lost ball. Four is an excellent number here, and IMO is not the hardest hole on the course (that's #15 in my book).


This is urban golf, with some interesting cityscape views, including my favorite of the Kibuli mosque, and Garden City, which is O.B. on two holes.



I would join this club in a heartbeat, if they had a pool for my kid. Another downside is the amount of play that Kampala gets. Weekends a round of golf takes ~6 hours, far too long IMHO, slow play on the part of the members is also part of the problem. Fridays are often reserved for corporate tournaments, so the course is closed often.

Caddies are "professional", they have a dress code (of sorts), set fees (6k, but give them 10), and are alloted by a Caddie Master, unless you have a favorite, then you can specify who you'd like. Ask for Henry, if he is not there, Pius or Nelson are also good.

Monday is Caddie Day, they play for free, but only have one set for dozens of guys. The caddies are, as usual, generally better players than the members. There are one or two tournaments for caddies annually, some have turned pro, but very few have sponsorship to do so. Caddies aren't allowed to play in some tournaments, in many cases, they are treated as second class citizens, both in person and as a class.

UGC has lots of good young players, I see groups of youth practising on occasion, but do not know the details of the Youth Program. I played earlier this summer with a 14 year old girl who kicked my butt!

Lira Golf Club

To call this place a golf course is extremely generous, although once it was a colonial course, it now has 9 "holes". Where once stood a clubhouse, complete with swimming pool, there is now trees in the pool and remnants of a foundation. Apparently the club was a victim of a battle between the Obote and Okello forces, as it is adjacent to the barracks. (click on pictures for larger image)

Golf in Lira has been victimized by war and poverty as has much of Northern Uganda. There are ~30 members, some who live in Kampala, and are not active at all. CPAR built on part of the course, but the club has come to an amicable agreement with them to use part of the building as a clubhouse for events. Grazing and teaching school are other more common activities on this land these days, but golf is played, although not regularly.

My sense is that without active support from the corporate community in Lira, the course will continue to struggle. Here are shots of the first tee and green.

If you want to play, contact the Captain of the club, Okai Wilson (0782326268), an extremely helpful man, and he will arrange caddies and a tour. Mr. Wilson and others try to teach the kids, how to play and caddie, but has no kit for them to use.

Membership is 60k per year, green fees are 5k, membership is 60k per year. At the moment, members are being asked for additional donations for diesel and tractor hire. You can see why in this photo:

Thrashing is done every 3 months allegedly, but it looks like longer than that to me. Greens are temporarily sand "browns" that you don't putt on, you just add 2 and pick up your ball. The second hole has an actual hole tho, so you can putt out there.
The original greens are still there, but are barren, in need of seed, fertiliser and care.

A football stadium, complete with corrugated roofing fence has been built on a par four, so that you have to hit over (or into) the "stadium", threading the needle between the two trees. I hit a monster draw into the gap, amongst cries of "playah" and "U de Man!" from the bodaboda cyclists who formed my gallery for that hole. I was pin high in one, chipped on and picked my ball and par at the same time. This is signature golf at it's most absurd, a unique hole, to say the least.



The UN is once again feeding people in Lira, due to last year's floods, but lots o folks have bikes here, and they cost 150k each, so there is some economic activity going on. The road to Lira is shocking, all the more reason to fit two truckloads of stuff onto one truck!