Golf in Malawi

Brenda and I spent one year in Malawi, more precisely in Lilongwe, the capital city. Brenda was teaching at Bishop Mackenzie International School, and many of her colleagues were members of the Lilongwe Golf Club so we soon joined the club and enjoyed friendly matches three or more times a week.Malawians are avid golfers and the club hosts tournaments every month and sometimes, every couple of weeks. The two most important are the Lilongwe Open and the Malawi Open which are held only a week or two apart.

#8, 212 metres par 3

The Lilongwe Golf Club is the only 18 hole golf course in all of Malawi. It is a championship course, par 72, playing at 6,225 metres (6,785 yards), with only two sets of tee-boxes, men's and women's (5,471 metres in length for the ladies). It is a fairly difficult golf course for many reasons including the fact that the fairways are narrow and are usually bordered by deep woods on both sides. And it plays quite differently in different seasons. From April through October Malawi is in the dry season and consequently, the course is very dry, and although the tee-boxes and greens are irrigated, the fairways are dry. The first picture shows hole number two in the dry season, a 359 metre dogleg right where you have to aim your drive over the corner tree.You will get fantastic distance on your drives if they roll straight but should you get a bounce, you can end up anywhere. The good news is that the caddies have eagle eyes and hardly ever lose a ball. They work as a team and take pride in their work. The recovery shots are often daunting, but then again, you learn to play shots that have never been in your arsenal. The greens are small and in the dry season they are not very receptive so one has to play short because behind the green you will face a more difficult shot back. In the rainy season, from November to March, you are faced with a totally different game: the fairways have grass but they are soft and your ball will pretty much stop dead upon landing. But the greens are more receptive and will reward a good spin. The rough is also much higher and balls can disappear more easily. I have mentioned a dry and a rainy season but in either season you can play everyday for it rarely rains for more than an hour at a time and the temperature hovers around 26 to 28 Celsius (75 to 80 Fahrenheit) year round.

We had a wonderful time  playing golf in Malawi and learned a lot about the game. Thanks to the fact that we had caddies there (the same ones all year) we could concentrate on having fun and didn't have to worry about where the ball had gone or whether we would run into snakes or a molitor lizard. They would be gone by the time we had to address our ball. I still miss my caddie's advice when lining up a put or hearing him laugh and say, "too much Malawi" after I have taken more divot than ball. And as we played, there was almost always a carrot at the end of the proverbial stick, be it the prizes in tournament play, or a share of the pot when we had our weekly game with colleagues from the school or friends from the US embassy or the many aid agencies. It got to the point when even Brenda and I challenged each other to a friendly bet, the proceeds of which went to the winning side's caddie. For the first (and last) time in my life, I got to a play a national open. Yes, I played in the Malawi Open, a three day affair and not only did I make the cut, but I finished somewhere in the middle of the pack. Granted, it is a handicapped event and there are, at present, no professional golfers in Malawi. The best are playing scratch golf. We also entered the Lilongwe Open, an event in which Brenda won the ladies division. She is pictured here with her caddie, Charles, her trophy and a brand new bag and rescue wood that came with the first place honour. She insists I add "this is the first, and probably the only, trophy" she will bring home.