Let pros handle golf course designs

Several years ago, a former colleague bought a car a few months after she received her driving licence.

The day after she took delivery of her “new toy”, she offered to give me a ride to a meet a client. Our offices were on the very busy Mombasa Road.

When she joined Mombasa Road from our offices, she immediately drove into the lane on the right forcing a driver, who was probably racing to the airport to apply emergency brakes to avoid rear-ending us.

I on the other hand, had my feet firmly on the floor applying imaginary brakes and my heart was in my mouth bracing myself for a collision.

The lady continued talking nonchalantly about the client we were going to see, blissfully ignorant of the fact that she had nearly caused an accident.

She was very surprised when the driver of the car hooted in disgust at the inconvenience she had caused.

“Haiyaa! What is wrong with him?” she asked, dumbfounded at his reaction.

This scene is repeated every day on our roads today. Many drivers have no idea about showing courtesy to other road users and you will normally see the consternation on matatu drivers faces if you happen to hoot in disgust after they cut you off.

With many schools “guaranteeing” that all their students receive licences, is it a wonder that we see drivers with no clue of the rules?

Isn’t this the same mentality that we witness once in a while on our golf courses? It is worse when those that are entrusted to manage the affairs of the clubs display this same attitude.

It almost seems as if that once elected chairmen or captains, some people become overnight gurus in the Rules of Golf and course architecture. They change the existing water hazard to a lateral water hazard and put a dropping zone in an area that will favour them.

Some have been known to construct ponds in the hope that it will be a lasting legacy. Since they are not well thought out, the next captain orders for the pond to be filled up at great expense to the members of the club.

I had the great honour of meeting the 1989 Kenya Open Champion, David Jones, the man behind the design of The Professional Golfers Association (The PGA) accredited golf course, Vipingo Ridge.

He is also been behind the redesign of the Karen Country Club greens.

Having studied architecture in college and played in several courses around as tour professional for several years, Jones found golf course design as a perfect progression at the end of his illustrious career as a tour player.

After being involved in the construction of 20 new golf courses, and the re-design of over 50 golf courses, Jones, understandably, has amazing insights. He had the following advice to anyone (read captain or chairman) who intends to carry out work on golf courses:

One, show respect to the environment and traditions of your club. The captains should ensure that they have the moral authority to use the natural resources as they plan to before proceeding with any work.

Two, recognising the potential is one thing, but doing it right without shortcuts is most important. Many projects are the hallmark of planners who are penny wise and pound foolish. Shortcuts are very expensive in the long run when the projects have to be redone.

Three, the clubs should ensure that they are resourced to maintain whatever they undertake. There is no point in installing an irrigation system for example if the golf course does not have a reliable supply of water.

Four, plan three times and build once. There is no point in keeping up with the Joneses (no pun intended). Find out first what will work for your unique golf club before undertaking any changes. Just because it worked in another club doesn’t mean it will work at yours. You cannot beat the land into submission.

Five, clubs need to use professionals in all areas. To a hammer, all problems look like a nail. You need to get the right people to deal with your remodelling otherwise you shall get a Frankenstein of a golf course.

For many years we have blamed the high death toll on our roads to the matatu culture.

A turn-boy is asked to park the matatu at the terminus and the next day he is driving without any more training. This seems to be the trend when we have a golf captain, a golfer who has only played the game for five years, being allowed to make decisions on remodelling the golf course.

It is wise to consult with professionals before pouring the hard-earned cash of the members into projects that may not be sustainable.