GOLF TRAVEL
Fairmont Fairways:
Kenya Where The “Game of Kings” meets the “Kings of Game”
Renowned as one of the world’s foremost safari destinations, Kenya also offers some world- class golfing experiences. Fairmont Hotels are focusing on bringing golfers to this vibrant tech-savvy African nation to sample the golf and game. As Charles McLaughlin writes, you are invited to come to Kenya for the Big Five and stay for the Par Fives! Photography by Charles McLaughlin
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The 2nd hole of Muthaiga Golf Club
M
ention golf in Africa and people naturally focus on the South. As we’ve related several times in these very pages, destinations like Capetown, George and Sun City offer fantastic golf in beautiful surroundings, in the home of legends like Ernie Els and Gary Player. However, as with South Africa, Kenya is another destination where the reminders of a colonial past include some wonderful golf courses, especially in and around the capital Nairobi. Of course, golf isn’t the first thing that springs to mind when thinking of Kenya. It is home to some of the most spectacular safari experiences on earth, with the Maasai Mara National Reserve deservedly hailed as one of the world’s finest. Drive off on a golf course or take off on a game drive? Decisions, decisions! Luckily, you don’t have to choose one over the other. 54
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On a recent trip to Kenya, HK Golfer was invited to visit three destinations: Nairobi, Mount Kenya and the Maasai Mara to experience the amazing range of experiences this beautiful destination has to offer. We were hosted by Fairmont Hotels who own iconic properties in each of the three locations we visited. Perhaps more relevant is their desire to attract visitors who want to include golf in their itinerary. As a part of this, the Fairmont provides brand new top of the range TaylorMade clubs free of charge to guests. In addition, should you bring your own clubs to Nairobi, they will store these for you whilst you head up country, where very strict, low baggage allowances make taking your own clubs a challenge.
FAIRMONT THE NORFOLK
After an entertaining ride through the bustle of the city coming from the airport, entering Fairmont The Norfolk was like putting on noise cancelling headphones on a long flight! Dating back to 1904, it’s hard to convey the serenity of this oasis, set in 4 acres of gardens. Instant relaxation. Fairmont correctly sees The Norfolk as the centre for a trip around Kenya, a “home base” as it were. Starting and ending a tour with a night or two here makes perfect sense. An ideal trip would entail arriving with everything you need and play a couple of rounds in Nairobi. Then travel on by small local aircraft with a sub-set of your luggage to Mount Kenya and the Maasai Mara, then return to your “base” where another round plus visits to local attractions awaits. HKGOLFER.COM
NAIROBI
Undoubtedly the home of golf in Northern Africa, and home to the second-oldest national championship, Kenya boasts the largest GDP in central Africa. Whilst still producing the tea and coffee that were the traditional backbone of the economy, thanks to improved air links the country has seen massive growth in supplying fresh flowers to Europe. In addition, the country has seen a huge expansion in the technology sector and has gained a reputation as the “Silicon Valley” of the continent, with many high-tech companies like Google, IBM and others having their regional headquarters in Nairobi. It is immediately clear how advanced the take up of technology has been locally. Everywhere one looks there are signs for M-PESA, which is a mobile phone-based money transfer, financing and microfinancing service. More simply put, everyone pays for goods and services using his or her mobile phones and cash usage is plummeting. Against this backdrop, it’s no surprise that a growing middle class are taking to golf and Nairobi has several great tracks to choose from. Most clubs are “members only”, but the Fairmont concierge will be able to sort you out. In general, weekends are obviously trickier and also every club, it seems, holds competitions on a Wednesday afternoon, so avoid if you can.
KENYA OPEN
The Kenya Open was first held over 50 years ago, in 1967. The list of past champions includes any number of European Ryder Cup players, but remarkably also boasts three Major winners - all Masters champions - in Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam and most recently Trevor Immelman. Throughout its distinguished history, the event has been held at Muthaiga Golf Club over forty times with Karen Golf Club hosting for another ten. Obviously, these were the tracks to play first.
greens, in particular, are renowned and didn’t disappoint. With several tricky doglegs and tough tee shots, a good caddie is essential. Ideally, try to get more than one round in, and leverage your hard-won experience of where to position yourself off the tee! The clubhouse isn’t as charming as one might expect of such an old club, and the walk over a footbridge to the driving range and starters hut is a bit disorientating. However, once past all that, this is a super course, with plenty of wildlife around, including monkeys and even maribou storks lining the fairways. Standout holes include the 442yd sharp dogleg 1st to a plateau green with water a danger throughout; the daunting 2nd, an uphill 220yd beast to a tricky tiered green; the exhausting 616yd 7th and the signature 13th, a beauty of a par three over water with the clubhouse behind. Overall, an excellent venue for the national championship and a true test for golfers of all standards. The terrace provides a great spot to watch plenty of action, from tee shots on the 10th to water shots on the 13th and daring approaches on the 18th. A delightful surprise, especially so close to the city centre.
KAREN COUNTRY CLUB (*****)
www.karencountryclub.org To the south-west of the city lies the suburb of Karen, named after Karen Blixen, of “Out Of Africa” fame. Not as central as Muthaiga and somewhat in the shadow of its older sibling, nevertheless the Karen Country Club is every bit the equal in terms of conditions and challenge. The clubhouse, in particular, is more welcoming, and certainly more extensive. It is largely due to a devastating fire in 1977 which required a complete rebuild. It’s hard to believe the club is only 10 years younger than Muthaiga, opening in 1937 and celebrating its eightieth anniversary in 2017. It has hosted the Kenya Open ten times, most recently in 2016, and, to be frank, looks and plays more like a national Open course than Muthaiga. Often hailed as “Kenya’s prettiest golf course”, the delightful surroundings disguise what underneath is a truly challenging track. The lawn terrace is a delightful spot for a glass or two of the local Tusker brew, The 13th hole of Muthaiga Golf Club
MUTHAIGA GOLF CLUB (**** ½)
www.muthaigagolfclub.com We visited Muthaiga on Monday before the 50th Kenya Open was being played there and final qualifying was taking place the same day. Needless to say, the course was in great shape. The club as we know it today was opened in 1927 and celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2017, but the first holes on the site were a 9-hole course dating back to 1912. With some justification, the club calls itself “The Home of Golf” – in Kenya, at least! Situated on the edge of the Karura forest, the abundant trees and shrubs make this a beautiful track as well as a challenging one. The HKGOLFER.COM
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just don’t stop there halfway through your round as we did! It can take time for your food to arrive, so best to order as you move to the 10th and have it brought to you out on the course. What a course! Beautiful and brutal in turns, this is a truly enjoyable challenge and, like many great courses, the crescendo builds as you approach the finishing four holes. The 15th through 17th are known locally as “Killer Corner”, and it’s easy to see why so many matches and tournaments are won and lost on this stretch. The par five 15th is a long swinging dogleg, requiring pinpoint placement to avoid being blocked by the trees or finding the stream running up the right before crossing the fairway 100 yards from a daunting green. No respite on the next hole, a 195yd par three where being on the wrong spot on the green is a near-certain three-putt. Finally, the 17th supplies the coup de grâce. Anything other than two very long laserstraight blows on this narrow 450yd beast will be blocked by the overhanging trees running all along both sides of the fairway and mars many a fine scorecard. A superb stretch. The 18th is a wonderful finishing hole. No picnic at over 550yds but treat it with respect as a true three-shotter and don’t take on the carry over the water, running across the fairway 80yds short of the green. Stop for a photograph on the “Swilken Bridge” equivalent with the clubhouse behind, then go and bag a deserved final birdie of the day and get back on that lawn terrace!
Over the years, it was inevitable that some members decided to build themselves a golf course and result is the quirky and tricky 9-hole par three track in the hotel grounds. A small clubhouse was added, and although now largely unused, still has much of the old decorations inside. It is situated to the right of the first tee, and a perhaps somewhat bruised previous member had a fence erected, complete with engraved plaque, to stop slices shattering the peace of the “Members Bar”! With internal OB’s, large trees that surely weren’t part of the original design and tricky greens, this is a lot of fun to play. Watch out for the sneaky OB
The 18th hole of Karen Country Club
MOUNT KENYA SAFARI CLUB
Image Courtesy of Karen Country Club
Wilson Airport is situated in the heart of the city and is the kick off point for all of the small internal flights around Kenya. From there it’s a short one-hour hop to Nanyuki and onto Fairmont’s Mount Kenya Safari Club for a part-golf, part-game experience. Situated in the foothills of the eponymous mountain, this historic gem was founded in 1959 as a private club and has included royalty, business magnates and movie legends among its membership. Winston Churchill, Conrad Hilton, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were all members. Under the ownership of Hollywood heartthrob William Holden – famed for “Sunset Boulevard”, “Bridge Over the River Kwai” and of course our own “The World of Suzie Wong” – the palatial hunting lodge transitioned into a conservation reserve and animal orphanage. An interesting quirk is that the Equator – or zero degrees latitude – runs right through the centre of the property. Guests in the aptly named “Equator Suite” wake up in the Northern Hemisphere and cross to the Southern Hemisphere to visit the bathroom!
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The clubhouse of Karen Country Club
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on the 2nd and check out the bunker shaped like Africa on the downhill 4th. Playing the 7th also involves crossing the Equator, teeing off in the North to a green in the South. All good fun. The closing hole is a highlight, uphill over a pretty pond back towards the clubhouse. There is a large bunker right across the front of the green, so take an extra club and swing easy. Fairmont has stocked the club with brand-new TaylorMade clubs, and there is no shortage of caddies with character to make each round a blast. With each hole having two tees, a quick 18 is a breeze. Out with the central property, much of the accommodation is in delightful cottages where, in a nod to the lovely cool evenings here, a log fire will be roaring when you return at night. The hotel is spread over 100 acres of gardens and forests and borders a game reserve. Peacocks, Maribou storks and other large birds roam freely throughout the premises. In particular, the Wildlife Conservancy and Animal Orphanage is a must-see. When strolling amidst the animals, many uncaged, don’t miss the opportunity to meet and feed “Speedy Gonzales”, a giant tortoise which is more than 160 years old. With its own stables, the hotel also offers leisurely trips on horseback up towards Mount Kenya, or memorable (if nervously), through the local game reserve! The nearby town of Nanyuki has been home to a British Army training camp for decades and has several lively nightlife venues. As one might expect, the Nanyuki Country Club features a perfectly respectable 9-hole course for its members and guests. The Fairmont can arrange tee times and supply clubs and transfers. With a distinctly old colonial air, this is exactly what one might expect. No airs or pretentious, just a spot to get a quick nine in after work with a lawn terrace being the perfect spot for a couple of “cleansing ales” after your round. The local name for Mount Kenya is “Mawingo”, and when you find out it means “the clouds”, you realise why it’s rare to see the top of it! Patience was rewarded on the morning of our final day when the sharktooth-like peak was revealed, and it was worth the wait. The Mount Kenya Safari Club now has its own airstrip and with 5-minute “airport transfers” this is a fantastic facility, and we were soon off on the short flight to the Maasai Mara.
and there is it’s distinctly upmarket relative: glamping! At the Fairmont Mara Safari Club, the “tents” are bigger inside than most hotel rooms, with a fourposter bed, shower, wardrobes, work desk and even a room safe! However, the canvas nature of the surrounds allows the external noises to be heard and the best alarm clock in the world is the sound of hippos grunting in the Mara River, yards from your front “door”! The routine is delightfully simple: leave around 5:30am to be on the plains as the sun rises and be on a game drive until returning to have breakfast The 9th hole and clubhouse of Mount Kenya Safari Club
Mount Kenya Safari Club, Founded in 1959
MARA SAFARI CLUB
As old safari hands know, one must be prepared for life in the raw while on a game visit, often staying in tents. However, as more recent safari hands know, there is camping,
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The 9th hole and clubhouse of Nanyuki Country Club
around 9:30 or so. A must-do is to have a “bush breakfast” out on the plains, complete with an armed guard keeping the lookout to make sure you aren’t the breakfast! Spend the day snoozing, at the spa or by the pool, then head out again around 3:30pm to see the game, watch the sunset from the Aitong Hills (with sundowners, of course), then have fun on a “night safari” return to base for dinner. Repeat! The game drives themselves are mesmerising. Be prepared for some genuine 4-wheeldrive action manoeuvring over streams, dry river beds and mud banks and getting into remarkable proximity to the local big game. It’s exhilarating and nerve-racking in equal measure, but truly unforgettable. In the nearby hills is a local conservation project hosted by the Club, featuring two of the few remaining white rhinos. Walking a few yards freely from well over 2 tonnes of wild rhinoceros makes for an unforgettable experience. There is also ample opportunity to interact with the local Maasai people, from the cultural dances on arrival at the Ngrende airstrip to visiting a local village and market. A two-night stay means at least four game drives, and dare I say it, you won’t miss the golf! The return to Nairobi is another easy hop on local planes. There is something magical about leaving one’s hotel at 9:45am for a 10am flight!
WINDSOR GOLF HOTEL & COUNTRY CLUB (****)
Fairmont Mara Safari Club Tent
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www.windsorgolfresort.com Safely back to base in The Norfolk, there was time to take in perhaps the #3 ranked course in Nairobi, the Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club. It looks like the oldest club in the area but is, in fact, one of the newest, opening in 1992. Designed to look like an old English manor house, the hotel/clubhouse and surrounding cottages wouldn’t look amiss in an episode of Downton Abbey. The facilities themselves are decidedly more modern, with a well-stocked pro-shop and a well-maintained course. The club even has its own free app where you can book tee times, use the GPS, and has a scorecard and course guide. I wish more courses did this! As to be expected, this is more of a resort course than a championship track, but nothing wrong with that. With a central location, knowledgeable caddies and great facilities, this was the perfect relaxing end to a great tour. Relaxing, but thanks to strategic challenges and severe elevation change, by no means easy. Take your time on your first shot of the day, as the water in front of the green isn’t always visible from the tee but is eminently reachable. The second is a beauty, requiring an accurate tee HKGOLFER.COM
shot over the lake to the corner of a very sharp dogleg right. Find the sweet spot on the fairway, and you’ll be treated to spectacular views and a huge 120-foot drop to the green 200 yards away. It’s a fantastic par four. The signature par three 13th is challenging from the tips, at over 190yds into the prevailing wind. There is OB right, and the drop off to the left of the green is truly precipitous. This softens you up for the 432yd 14th, one of most memorable holes of the trip. Continuing the steep drop towards a river on the right, the tee shot needs to be long and accurate to set up a stomach-churning approach through a gap in the trees to a green down by the river. If short, or too far left, this hole becomes a three-shotter, but even then, the approach is a knee-knocking flip with a lob wedge straight downhill to a small green with water beyond. It may lose some of its fear factor with familiarity, but a show-stopper nevertheless. The 18th looks fearsome with an approach to an island green in front of the clubhouse, but the green complex is enormous, so aim for the middle of the green and stroll on admiring the view of the clubhouse reflected in the pond. Retire to a table on the terrace overlooking the 1st and 18th and over a Tusker reflect that there is no disgrace in being third behind Nairobi’s two pre-eminent gems.
ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE & GIRAFFE CENTRE
Before leaving, be sure to visit these two facilities in Nairobi. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is a world-famous conservation organisation and whilst particularly noted for their Orphans Project with elephants and rhinos, also run anti-poaching, surveillance and sky vet programs. The Elephant Orphanage visit is scheduled around the daily milk feeding time and is delightful if deliberately aimed to tug at the heartstrings and generate “adoptions” and donations to the Trust. No problem with that and more power to them! Having just returned from interacting with the giraffes on the Maasai Mara, it is a bit of a muted experience seeing them in this centre. However, it’s certainly fun to be this close to such beautiful animals. Again, you are helping an animal charity, in this case, the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife. Time to go. Allow plenty of time to get to and from Jomo Kenyatta Airport. The traffic can be extremely heavy at times. Best to check with The Norfolk. In addition, security and processes around the airport aren’t the smoothest. Allow plenty of time and avoid stress! HKGOLFER.COM
The 14th hole of Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club
WHERE TO STAY FAIRMONT THE NORFOLK Harry Thuku Rd, Nairobi 00200 + 254 20 2265000 fairmont.com/norfolk-hotel-nairobi FAIRMONT MOUNT KENYA SAFARI CLUB Nanyuki Town, Nanyuki Municipality 10400 +254 62 203 6000 fairmont.com/mount-kenya-safari FAIRMONT MARA SAFARI CLUB C14, Keekorok, Maasai Mara National Reserve + 254 20 2265000 fairmont.com/masai-mara-safari
HOW TO HELP MOUNT KENYA WILDLIFE CONSERVANCY animalorphanagekenya.org THE DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST sheldrickwildlifetrust.org AFRICAN FUND FOR ENDANGERED WILDLIFE giraffecenter.org
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