Safaricom recently teed off the inaugural national golf series dubbed the Safaricom Golf Tour. The 14-leg golf series aims to tap, nurture and grow talent among young golfers across the country, culminating with the grand finale to be held at the Vipingo Ridge Golf Resort in August, 2022. The first event will be held at the Nanyuki Sports Club on 29th and 30th January, 2022.
While the game of golf is not widely practised in the country, the Safaricom Golf Tour is expected to demystify the ins and outs of this game, inviting players from all walks of life to participate. To begin with, the competition will be played in accordance with the Rules of Golf as approved by the R&A Rules and the Local Rules of the golf club, observing the laid out COVID-19 safety protocols.
As part of Safaricom’s initiative of supporting the youth in sports, the series will include corporate, junior competitions, youth clinics and golf outreach programs. These will be run in partnership with the Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) and Kenya Golf Union. The tour will also feature a caddies’ tournament in partnership with the Kenya National Caddies Association.
The Corporate Day tournament is open to all registered members of the participating clubs in the tour. Winners from each respective event will go on to compete in the grand finale in Vipingo for the grand prize.
The Junior Golf Day is open to all members of the Junior Golf Foundation. Winners (Top Boy and Top Girl) from each respective event will go on to compete in the grand finale in Vipingo for the grand prize.
The Caddies Golf Day is open to all members of the National Caddies Association. Winners (Overall Winner, Top Man and Top Lady) from each respective event will go on to compete in the grand finale in Vipingo for the grand prize.
The Safaricom Golf Tour Golf Clinics will conduct golf clinics targeting students between the ages of 6 to 18 years old, from schools around the golf clubs marked for the tour. This is a fun golf day that will introduce juniors to golf and ultimately scout and identify an average of about 30 juniors who will train at the club for 8months.
To participate in the junior competition, participants must be aged 21 years and younger. The tournaments shall be a series of 15 events held in clubs across the country as per the events calendar. Three of the events shall be run as part of the US Kids Golf Local Tour with an upper limit of 18 Years Old as per the attached calendar.
For further enquiries contact Safaricom Golf Tour on safaricomgolftour@safaricom.co.ke.
In the Junior Golf competition, participating boys and girls shall be grouped in classes according to their ages and play off the respective course lengths. The age of the participant must fall within the stipulated age bracket as of the 30th, April 2022.
Age Categories and Yardages | ||||
Level | Boys | Girls | ||
Age (Years) | Length (Yards) | Age | Length (Yards) | |
1. | 7 years and under | 1350-1650 | 8 years and under | 1200-1350 |
2. | 8-9 years | 1800-1950 | 9-10 years | 1800-1950 |
3. | 10 years | 2100-2250 | 11-12 years | 44200-4500 |
4. | 11 years | 4800-5100 | 13-14 years | 4800-5100 |
5. | 12 years | 5400-5700 | 15 years and older | 5400-5700 |
6. | 13-14 years | 6000-6300 | ||
7. | 15 years and over | 6600-6900 |