 We did the touchline here on why for a big day today that you are following up on many events that are happening around the country, the FKF cup, we have got also the Kenya cup semifinals, but right now let's talk about the Magico Kenya Open that will be coming our way next weekend. Joining us here to talk about the Magico Kenya Open is the tournament director Patrick Obad. Patrick, how are you doing? I'm very fine, thank you. Yes. It's been a minute. I know it's been. It's been quite some time, but always we appear once a year. Our sport is just once a year in terms of the international sport, but golf is played through the whole year. That's the one thing, it's not a one-off event, but we have this one big event that the country looks forward to and that's the Magico Kenya Open. This is still too elitik. You know people outside they are passionate about golf, they get scared off. You know trying even for the layman on the street because they consider it too elitik. Too elitik. Golf is not an elite sport. I think in the past it may have been, but when you look at the professionals from Kenya who are going to play this year, all of them started off at the bottom. Yes. They were people who were carrying bags for players and so forth, so they had a job in the golf course. But they have been able to be trained at those golf clubs until now they are able to play at a level where they are playing in international events. And they are also playing, they were able to play in the golf clubs. So at least there is evidence that you do not need to be somebody who is driving a Mercedes Benz to succeed in golf. In fact most of the guys who are members of those clubs, they don't go up into the kind of levels that you are seeing playing in this international event we have. Most of the people who are coming there are from the bottom. Those are people who are actually playing in the Magico Kenya Open, quote-quote representing Kenya. So I think this whole stereotype about golf being an expensive sport is not really there. And we could go into the mathematics of it that even somebody, I started golf when I started working and I had to put some money together and start. And it took me about two years to get everything I needed and then I started. And even right now when you look at the golf clubs, every single golf club has got an outreach program into the primary schools around it. We are starting from scratch, from down there. Because people like me used to be playing golf when you are much older. You know your joints are already getting a bit stiff and what have you. The swing cannot be done correctly. So you've got to start at the point whereby you've got children who are still very flexible. So every club in the country, let me not say every club, but I think something like out of the 46 golf clubs we have about 32 have got programs that they have a catchment around them. So the primary schools, children who are keen to start sports, they take them in and they are training them free of charge. Because that's where we see the future coming. Yes, but let's talk about the event that is coming now next week because that is the big event. When it was here last year, everybody could not believe that Kenya could bring such an event, such a magnitude event to Kenya. Now it is coming back again. How are the preparations going? Preparations are going on well, very well. Right now the course is closed and we are doing the final touches because people think grass is grass. But this grass that these guys play on has got to be looked after and it's looked after the whole year. It's not just something that happens the week before. So over the last six months, eight months we've had a specialist coming in and they come in regularly. They look at the grass, they look at the turf that there is, they advise the club on what to do and then they continue doing it. So that by the time it reaches March or whichever March or April whenever the event is, the course is in very good condition. Right now despite the fact that we were a bit of drought in the country, there is a reservoir that the golf club has got and we were able to ration that water to make sure that the course is in good condition. So the course is in good condition. The players start to arrive tomorrow. They were playing in India last week. So this week they are not playing anywhere that normally otherwise they would have been arriving on Tuesday. But from tomorrow players are beginning to arrive into the country or the accommodation. We've got special rates for them at one of the local hotels. So you've got a discount of about 25-30% for them to come and play in that place, to stay in that place. The officials who were the special officials from the European Tour group, they arrived yesterday and they are out now setting out the course making sure that the markings are good and so forth. So we're in a good place in terms of the players. Out of all our sporting activities locally, golf and rugby, phenomenal interest especially from the government. There is sort of goodwill. I don't know how is the government relating with you this time around now that we got a new CES at the helm of the ministry. Golf in terms of the funding from the government, they normally commit in the budget the year before. So we talked to the previous government around about March and put the budget in. So it was in the budget for this year. So the budget was already in. We've spoken to the ministry, we spoke to them. We also had a situation where we exposed the current government secretary to a large golf tournament so you could appreciate what it's all about because even to the last government we did the same thing in 2017. We took them to a big tournament so they could see what it's like. So I think the government we're relating with them very well. We have formed what is called a local organizing committee for the first time which is the way that the current government would like to work with us. So we've formed a local organizing committee that is actually helping to deliver the event with a lot of government presence in that committee. Yes. One thing you have been optimistic about is the Kenyan players, our local players to come up and play in this event and we usually get internationals winning but you have done I think a successful safari tour, very successful safari tour and some of these players will be coming from the safari tour. Which players can we expect to carry our flag very well? You know all of them, the eight that are playing who are the professionals and the six amateurs. You remember last year, it was Mataikibu who actually made the cut and he was an amateur, right? Yes. He doesn't win money, he wins a salva, right? And all our players who are professionals who would have won money, hardly made it through, I think when one other made it through. So why is they are well prepared? We prepare them in safari tour, they've been playing and everything else. On the day it depends on how consistent your form is in golf and it could be that on this particular week coming, it could go to Ymeribu. And when that happens, although you've been playing very well, you just fade to the bottom. We had last year, I think you remember Nani Robson-Cinoy. He was a winner of the safari tour, the guy from Zimbabwe. And he didn't make the cut. So it's difficult to predict but what we hope is that the eight Kenyans, the professionals and the six amateurs who are playing have had sufficient preparation and have continued to prepare after the safari tour. Because right now it's not about anything it is in the mind. The mental game, that's what they've got to prepare with. And then in terms of the other preparation, a lot of golfers prepare at times getting their body fit. So you're talking about dieting, you're talking about just general gymming and whatever it is and doing the right exercise and just doing a little bit of practice. Because if they start practicing fully the game, then they'll probably find that they've overstretched themselves. So from my point of view, we've given them the opportunity to practice using the safari tour. Now it is over to them. Namunguwao. Previously, those golfers from overseas have dominated the headlines. This time round, how is the foreign attraction looking like? You know what has happened is that over the last three years, post COVID, we have this event called the live golf, which has come in. And live golf has threatened the traditional golf that we've had. Yeah, the PGAs and whatever it is and so forth. So what live golf did, they ramped up price money seriously. So in response, the PGA is both the European tour and the PGA tour in the U.S. have actually also ramped up their money. So the magical Kenya Open used to be about $1.3 million in terms of total price money. This year it is $2 million. Because the European tour has said that the minimum price money is $2 million. So it's been bumped up to $2 million. So the kind of players who are coming now are probably a better caliber than the ones who are coming before when we were at $1.3 million. But now it means that the competition amongst international players to play in these competitions is much higher. So they've got to improve their ranking in the ranking that they have for the international players and to be able to come into Kenya. So we've got good players coming. So our guys are going to have a bit of a tough time this time. So generally it will be outly contested? It's got to be outly contested. We've got some players whom we haven't seen in Kenya for the last eight, ten years. And they're right at the top. The traditional golf did not like what the live came up with. For you, what was your take on that? I mean, it was going to happen. No matter what it was. No matter what it was, it was just a question of time that live was going to happen and it's happened. And you've seen what is done in the tour in the U.S. They've now got what they call eight elite events where there's guaranteed money and the field is small. So there's no cut. So that is the response to the live golf. Because the live golf, you have a simple event, no cut, everybody earns money. So they've actually responded. And it's going to be good for golf generally across the world. What will be our value? Because for us we have talked about the prize money and everything that is now coming on, let's say to Africa and everything that is going to happen. But what will it be significantly for the larger Africa now for live? Live I don't think is going to come to Africa yet. Because they have got their sponsorship and they come with everything. So they've picked where they're going to go. And I think Africa is not yet a significant market for them and for their sponsors. So I don't think we're going to see live golf in Africa unless we can put a lot of money aside. So I don't think Africa is going to see live golf for at least another two to three years. But it's a big one and it can actually bring it. It has brought a lot of conversations when we talk about that one. But Magico Kenya open happening next week here in Nairobi at the Muzaiga Golf Club. We're hanging out with the tournament director Mr. Patrick Obath. And he's giving us some insights about what is happening, what is going to happen at the tournament next week at the Muzaiga Golf Club. How many players majorly are we going to see at the event? Normally golf events have 156. So the 156 consists of I said six amateurs who are all from Kenya. We have eight professionals who are all from Kenya. We have two other professionals who qualify from the safari tour and they are from Uganda and from Zimbabwe. So those are the ones that we have put in as Magico Kenya open. And the balance of 156 come from U.S., U.K., a lot of countries in Europe, almost all of them are represented. We have some players from India, Thailand, China, Korea and Japan. Those are the countries that are all presented in this event. For the local entrance, Kibuki did exceptional well last year and I think we saw some motivation that came from the previous government. Do you think that would be key to the performance of our representatives locally who are seeking to take part? I think that was a spontaneous reaction because we haven't had a Kenyan performing that kind of level. And it was made in appearance, right? It was made in appearance. And we had that kind of outcome. So it was a very spontaneous reaction that happened just because all of a sudden we had a young man not even a professional making it to that level. Defying all odds? Yes, defying all odds. And when he went into that kind of situation, I think his excellency at that time really got excited and said we are going to do everything we can to make sure that this guy gets a scholarship. If he turns professional, we will make sure he's got that and we give him a kit. So all that has happened. And hopefully, with the CS Ababuna Muamba, his excellency, hopefully if another Kenyan and Amateur Papua... Replicate the same? They will follow suit. They will follow suit. There's a conversation we should have people saying that you know Kenya is a footballing nation. Kenya is an athletic nation. But for me, I don't believe so. I believe Kenya is a golfing nation because I attended with my father at the KZ Golf Club. He's going with my dad there. I've gone to Tanahil, I've gone to Nyanuki and everything. And the history of golf in Kenya tells you it's even better than football. Even better than rugby that people talk about. That's back, I think, to the early 1900s. And a few conquer. I remember when I said that, that you were a golfing nation. Actually, in terms of the facilities, I mean, football you can play in, you don't need a course. That is the one thing. And rugby you can play on a football field. So I think the reason why they are seen more popular is that they are easy to play. But when you take the events they are a special space. Look at things like squash. Look at tennis. Look at badminton. All those things, they need special equipment. Rugby and football, you just create a space. You can improvise. But these ones you actually need to have special equipment and you need to play on. Golf, I think, has more, it's got a large number of courses in the country, 40 of them now. And approximately I think currently about 11,000 people who play golf in the country and increasing. Especially with the junior program that are taking place now. So when you look at the history of golf, I think about 1905 or thereabouts. Every town where the colonials went to, they had a sports club and they had a golf club. Those were the two things they put as part of their creation. And when we got independence those golf clubs then were taken over by by the elite Africans at the time who took over. Unfortunately, we lost about eight golf clubs because a lot of the people outside of Nairobi and also the major towns did not think it was worth having 150, 200 acres that a few guys work on. So they were grabbed and subdivided and they disappeared. So now there's a few more beginning to come up. And the ones that are surviving now you found that a lot of now the cost of joining them used to be prohibitive to some people. But now it's become a lot more affordable. There are some of them that are affordable. Others are probably a little bit higher and others are difficult to afford. So that mix of golf clubs is there. So golf is getting a good following now. There's a lot of young people joining golf clubs. There was a time in about 2000 and 2015 the increase in membership in golf clubs was very, very low. It was seen as for old men for whatever it is. But I think people have now seen that younger people are playing are better at playing that. So there's a lot of young people joining golf clubs now to play golf. So what's the strategy like to make the sport readily available to everyone who's seeking to take part? Even at the machine where there is problem of well-being interest but due to facilities facilities has been undoing it cuts across several sporting disciplines locally. But is there an arrangement probably to work with the government to ensure that we put up facilities across the country? I think the big thing for the government to lead on is to actually put the golf club that was supposed to be at Kasarani. There is space. If you look at the master plan of Kasarani there is space that was allocated for golf and we have been Because Kasarani itself is too vast it cannot accommodate It was actually in the master plan and there's even drawings that show the layout of the Kasarani golf course I have them at home. And what needs to happen is we need to create that as a public course and show how you can manage a public course within normal circumstances. And if you look at internationally what people do they do a county government would put up a course and then people pay as they play and you have a clubhouse but the clubhouse is open to anybody it's just like going into a hotel or whatever it is and you go to the clubhouse but you pay for everything that you use if you want to use a changing room you pay for it whatever it is but if you stay nearby you don't have to go to the clubhouse you can go home. So what needs to happen in order to sort of allow the talent that we see we're getting these kids into the golf clubs is to start putting up public golf courses that's the only way we're going to tap on that talent and a public golf course doesn't have to be big it only needs to be nine holes nine holes is enough and that's about nine holes is something like about 110 acres that you require and then putting it up is not that expensive and then you have people coming to pay and play and let the county government look after that if we do that then you will have a much bigger base of golfers and if you increase the base then you're more likely to find somebody coming up who will become a world beta at the moment I think the base is too small I have a friend of mine who keeps telling me that the role of government is not to support or fund sporting initiatives but put in place a conducive environment that will probably attract private investment can there be such an arrangement for people to put up golf clubs the main thing is where they can get a return on people playing now if there are sufficient golf clubs in the country and you begin to attract people to play the game then there is enough return that you can make on a golf course but it means that you will be charging per round but you need to then begin to have programs that attract people so within this thing, to go around Kenya you could actually create a circuit that somebody pays and you have a bus that takes you around and you can play golf but you need to start somewhere to play golf and that's where the public courses are important so it's not too late for that no it isn't if you get the public courses and people can start and then after that they can graduate and move on when we did the first Magiko Kenya Open you talked about some of the gaps that are there in the country but that's when you came with the initiative of the safari tour to come around and address some of those gaps I think the safari tour started with 8 legs and now we get to 16 no no we are still at 10 now how is it significantly how has it impacted now the Magiko Kenya Open and did it address some of those gaps the safari tour addressed one no about two things which you set out to address one our professional golfers and the guys who had aspired to be professional golfers did not have a place they could play for money so they were not actually playing competitively they were playing with amateurs and hopefully getting money from having wages with them and so forth and then some of them were employed to teach so that was the only place they could earn money so the safari tour at least allowed them to play and earn money if they performed so that was the first thing was to allow them to earn money if they could perform the second one was to give them an opportunity against each other to improve the level at which they are playing I think we have achieved both objectives when we started off we had only local players and one Ugandan who used to come Kasozi, Phillip Kasozi but as it grew now you are finding we are getting 4 players from Zimbabwe 2 from Zambia I think there is 3 from Malawi the Tanzanians are now about 3 or 4 they come regularly the Ugandan are probably 6 coming in the Rwandis have also started coming last year we had Nigerians but this year we didn't have Nigerians because they have also started something there so what you have seen is that the safari tour has grown and the prize money has also grown we started with about half a million when we started off those many years back now the top prize money is 3 million in terms of the prize pass so that is incentive for the players to come and play and that was the whole objective of the Kenya of the safari tour however we need to do a couple more things the first one is we need to consistently grow so we get about 15 to 18 events a year and we need sponsorship for that Covid hit the country and it took us down the other way because sponsors are not forthcoming but right now there is a lot of willingness from sponsors to actually move forward and we are talking in them for next year so that is the first thing that needs to happen in the safari tour we need to increase it out we need to have a sponsor we need to spread it out so that we play in Kenya Uganda they play one which is the Uganda Open we need to get 3 events there and then Tanzania because of the number of courses they have probably 2 events or maybe most of them probably played in Arusha because the best course in Tanzania 18 whole courses in Arusha Rwanda have upgraded their national course fortunately they have got 18 holes now it has been 9 so with all that in place 18 events prize money minimum 3 million shillings prize pass the pass they are competing for probably a little bit more if we do that I can tell you that the competition that will happen in the safari tour will have South Africans coming and you have those guys coming regularly because of that money and you will see the quality of play we have already seen improving improve even more and now going forward what is the expectation like at the upcoming event this event Kenya Open this year magical Kenya Open first of all it is I think we have got a people now appreciate what the magical Kenya Open is they know what is happening the second thing is that we are continuing our journey not only of developing the players but also developing the spectators that is another aspect we have to look at we have to develop the spectators so that they understand the rules they understand the rules and what we have done we borrowed a leaf from rugby we are putting in what you call a village that was because rugby when people started going to rugby they never came to watch rugby they used to go for the party most of them even if you ask them about the results of the fixtures they would know but they wanted to have a big party so we believe that if you are going to grow golf in the country we need to do the same thing we need to attract people to come to the golf course and the way we attract them is to put up a village and we have a village I think the first village we did was in Karren and we had two there and then we came over to to Mudayga we had one last year, we have one this year and that is now becoming a permanent feature in the golf tournaments at least in the magical Kenya open that we have the village and what we are trying to do now is to have some activation during the day that will bring people during the day to come into the golf course win some tickets and do whatever I think that is already ongoing so they can come to the golf course and watch during the day as guests of where it is that has activated them and if they can do that one at least they will begin to understand what golf is and slowly over time if we get a thousand spectators maybe we will get 10-15 people starting golf and if every day we do that every year we get about 100-200 people starting golf that will be good in this country because those people the 100 that start this year will influence people during the course of the year and doing the main so the multiplier effect is that if you have 100 people who start golf because of watching the Kenya open they will actually start another 100-200 people coming in because they want buddies to play with them and that as we build that spectator base so that now those people are going to come to watch golf rather than go to the village so hopefully within a few years we are going to get a big golfing fraternity in the country so combined with what we talked about earlier about building the municipal courses and getting people to start there and then the Kenya open also attracting people that way I think we will this bottom of the pyramid approach getting people to start at that level and building that to be quite large is the future for golf in this country I think that is a brilliant initiative you are running on enlightenment and attracting spectators and even trying to train them on what the game entails but this one I go to ask for majority of people outside there at the village will be things manageable especially you know the frothy liquids on a light note that frothy liquid will be there people can consume to their capacity but we will have it only open from the villages open the whole evening but we close at about we stop selling drinks at midnight and people can continue listen to music until about one to o'clock in the morning and after that we tell the rules to go home and we would like to advise people it is much easier to get an Uber or whatever it is to come to that place first of all you park at Madari hospital and then you have a shuttle that will take players from there into the course so that shuttle is going to be going round and round and round but if you come and you have taken the frothy liquid we value you we want you to come back the following day and if you take the frothy liquid you are then unable to drive home or you drive home and lose you that would be sad for us so we are actually encouraging people to take the ride hailing whatever it is, use the ride hailing ups together the taxis to come to come in and then when they finish ride they can stagger to the gate if they go to that stage and get the ride again and go home and we hope to see them the following day your final word for Magico Kenya Open and what we can expect on Saturday next week the game starts on Thursday that's what I'm expecting people to come on so my final word is everybody should make it to the event we have a lot of fun you come in the evenings there will be enough for you to do we also have a kid zone where kids can come and jump about and do whatever it is if you're there if you're bored and just come and enjoy golf there's plenty to see we have also got exhibitions we've got vendors who are vending stuff there's plenty of food and drink we've made sure that that is available so just come walk, it's good for your health enjoy the drink, enjoy the food and watch golf and you've been a mainstay in the world of rugby locally at some point chairman of Kenya Golf Union what has been the secret behind your longevity and you're still looking like us man no I decided that my big thing was to organize golf rather than play golf I mean I play golf just as a hobby and I think it's innovation we have to continually innovate in the game so we started off with a challenge tour and we built up, we began to got more prize money we made it look different and we grew it and when I started off as a tournament director the prize money was about 300,000 euros we built it up to half a million euros and at that point we realized if you're going to grow we have to change the way we operate so that's why we made the business case approached government and the private sector and we were able to increase the prize money from 500,000 euros to 1.1 million from one year to the next so now at that level we've now got to innovate and that's what I'm talking about trying to get people to come to the village and do other things, promotions and so forth so I mean this whole innovation is what keeps me going I love it it keeps me going keeps me feeling good, keeps me active I forgot to ask you one thing and there has got to be also the lack of local coaches and that's another idea of development remember we talked about earlier how are we doing now and planning on because now for you you can be a coach I think the experience you have but I think it's for the young it's now the professional coaches who can come in how are we doing in that part it's not my area to speak about because I just focused on the Kenya Open but there is a big golf strategy that has been developed I think they call it the one golf strategy for Kenya and that will look at everything it will look at how do you grow golf from the grass roots to the pinako and part of that will not just be you need coaches so we need to develop what are called you have playing professionals and you have coaching professionals we have to make the difference between those two and then make sure that the coaching professionals the teachers are appropriately certified to teach because teaching golf is in itself a profession and playing is a profession and the two of them should really be separated so within that one golf strategy they are working on how to make that happen and also get certification for them they are also talking about when you are talking about golf you need golf nutritionist you need golf trainers to train you physically on your fitness you also need you need physios psychologists to actually make your mind and to prepare your mind so all those things in the golf strategy need to be in place for us to have this pipeline talent pipeline that is being properly managed and then finally the other person that you need is actually a professional manager for the players so once you become once you become a good golf you are actually an asset so if you look at people like Tiger Woods they have managers behind them so the guys if you want to sponsor Tiger Woods you will speak to the manager and then they will do all the negotiations and then you sign on that thing Tiger Woods is available so we need our players very early to get managers and there are managers globally but we need to train them in Kenya as well so they can begin to manage talent in Kenya sports talent management so they can manage rugby players golfers you name it the words so there is a lot that needs to be done in terms of that overall in terms of sport there is a lot of opportunities for the future Is Dismas in this a part of the local participants? Yes he is playing He is my neighbor Okay He is playing this year Gregson Gregson is playing so the usual suspects are all there Good stuff So we look forward to a fantastic event Thank you very much Thank you for coming as well Thank you for coming as well Where do you tell your comrades? I tell my old engineers Are you from your own? I've seen the gathering there I'm an engineer by profession that's what I do but I don't practice engineering anymore I'm a retired person But I think for the engineers I think one thing you have to do you do a lot of work in the day make sure you have good recreation and one of the creations that I think is really good for you is golf Please play golf That's why we come to the end of this segment We have been hosting the tournament director Patrick Obath of Magico Kenya Open I'm Robert Osoro, Mark Sorosike It is that time when we take a short break where what happened last weekend Manchester United winning 2 nail against Newcastle to left their first trophy in 6 years Do you support any team in Iran? Unfortunately football is one of those things I watch other people watching I like that Rugby I used to play but I love watching rugby I played for Mombasa Besides golf what other sports do you got some slight admiration for? I was involved in motor sport I used to organize I was actually one of the assistant clubs of the course for the original safari rally so I used to look after the coast assistant club of the course so I'm very keen on watching motor sport so I watch not only the world rally world rally championships but also Formula 1 I'm a kum Formula 1 and I go to Formula 1 Bustupen is my man Lewis Let's watch Manchester Newcastle when we come back it will all be about the fans