Respect is a key word in golf, it embodies the spirit of the game

On July 7, 1923, Arthur Tannahill convened a meeting at Nairobi Golf Club, now known as the Royal Nairobi Golf Club.

The aim of the meeting was to form a Golf Union in East Africa. There were 13 representatives present from golf clubs in Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda. The Golf Union of East Africa was formed and it was from this original venture that the present Kenya Golf Union owes its origin.

A few years later, during a meeting held by Golf Captains in 1928, it was clear that the Golf Union of East Africa had ceased to operate on an East African basis and that was the year that the Kenya Golf Union was inaugurated. The original six member clubs were Eldoret, Gilgil, Kiambu, Kitale, Nairobi (Royal Nairobi Golf Club) and Muthaiga. The membership of the Union today consists of 42 clubs.

A question often asked by golfers, more so by new recruits to the game is, “what is the Kenya Golf Union and what does it do?” The answer to that is very simply, the Kenya Golf Union is the coming together of the golf clubs in Kenya in order to control their own affairs and to promote the interests of the game of golf. To put it even more simply, the Union is the golf clubs.

One of the objectives of the Union from back in the day has been to maintain a uniform system of handicapping. A golf handicap should not only be a numerical measure of the playing ability of a golfer, but also be an indication that a golfer has a basic knowledge of the rules and etiquette of the game of golf.

GREATEST LESSON

Golf Captains, through the handicap committees, are supposed to ensure that all the new golfers that are handicapped from their clubs understand the rules. However, we know that in most of the clubs the Captains don’t bother to issue new handicaps.

Is it any wonder that the etiquette of golf, a valuable precept of golfers, is not taken to heart by golfers anymore? There was a time when the greatest lesson that a new golfer learnt was not how to beat bogey but the spirit of the game. For those that may not know it, the spirit of the game is encapsulated in the word “Respect”.

Respect for the golf course: Leave the golf course as you would like to find it. Repair of pitch marks on the greens or raking of bunkers is something that new golfers think is someone else’s responsibility but not their own. Respect for fellow golfers: never distract other players. Be courteous, sportsmanlike and courteous.

Respect for the game: golf has been played for hundreds of years in a certain way. It is a special game played mostly with no referees. You are the custodian of the game while on the course. Learn the rules and etiquette. Now back to the issue of golf handicaps. The Union reminded captains that it is their duty to carry out a handicap review of all golfers in their respective clubs.

Royal Nairobi Golf Club has immortalised Tannahill, a past Captain of the club, by holding a tournament in his honour every Easter for the last 91 years. It may be valuable for Kenyan golf captains to look back at those who went before. Those selfless, stalwarts who did so much to foster the real spirit of golf.