I am changing lives through golf

Rose Naliaka is the only female professional golfer in the country and also the current director of programmes at the Rose Naliaka Golf Academy, an institution that teaches golf to children from economically challenged backgrounds. She spoke to Njoki Chege.

I began playing golf in 1980 in my hometown Kitale after a close friend won a wonderful vanity beauty case in a golf tournament.

I immediately thought that I could start doing the same and acquire some wonderful gifts for myself too. So at the age of 28, I decided I would become a golfer.

I received four golf clubs from the same friend and I began to play. I was in such a hurry to win the vanity case that I did not think for a minute that one needed golf lessons to play golf.

Rose Naliaka is the only female professional golfer in the country.

It is this relaxed attitude to the sport that has allowed me to not only become the only female professional golf player in Kenya but also to dominate the sport since taking it up, becoming the first Kenyan woman to play off a handicap of +2 (plus two) at the time I turned to professional ranks. A handicap is a numerical measure of an amateur golfer’s playing ability based on the tees played for a given course.

Traveling opportunities

I already had a full time job but no handicap when I moved to live in Nairobi in September 1980. I began playing at Vet Lab from 1981 where I received a handicap and never looked back. The game allowed me to travel locally and internationally, often giving me the opportunity to go to places I would otherwise never have been able to visit.

I have always played golf for the sheer fun and love of it — money was never in the picture. In the increasingly commercial world that we live in, young and aspiring sports people should realise that it is important to love what you do. It is also important to achieve great things in life by being present and ‘in the zone’ — that state of mind that does not allow distracting alternative thoughts.

I believe in compartmentalising my life. I was a teacher for many years but my last job was at BBC Monitoring before I retired two years ago. Then, Mondays to Fridays were dedicated to my job and during the weekends, I focused on golf.

But I found out I was comfortable playing the season between February and October. I would play intensively during this period knowing that the season would come to an end in October and I could rest for three months after that. This timetable was a tough and demanding one but the total break in play allowed me to focus on other things. It also allowed me to recuperate mentally and spiritually for the next season.

To play golf, one needs to have high standards of discipline. If you are drawn to play at 8am, make sure you are there some 15 minutes before that so that you are ready and prepared.

Golf is also a mental challenge. Learning to relax and remain calm is important in having the right mental attitude. These are the attributes of a great golfer.

The good thing with the game is that you don’t have to have begun playing when young to excel. It is a sport that can be picked up later in life and you can still compete, enjoy the game and occasionally be at the top of the leader board.

Developing golf

I am keen on developing golf in Kenya, particularly for young girls with poor backgrounds. Statistics show that the majority of women who play golf are over 35 years and it is perhaps still seen as an elitist sport. It is true that the equipment is expensive and in Kenya, there are no public facilities for golf; there are only members clubs that are out of reach for the majority of the population.

My love for the game has thus led me to start the first female golf academy in Kenya.

In 2005, having won virtually all club and national titles Kenya had to offer (some many times over), I turned professional with a deep desire to give something back to society. By turning professional, I could offer young students the opportunity to learn the game and also give them a chance to have access to the game and its positive values.

And so, in April 2006, the Rose Naliaka Golf Academy was born and the first 30 girls enrolled into the programme.

My aim is to teach young people how to earn a living from sport as most of them are not exposed to sports and also don’t know the health benefits.

Some of the girls have received their handicaps and are playing in local golf tournaments. Not all of them will make it to the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour, but one thing I am certain of is that in the near future, they will use the life skills in their every day life.

The academy provides girls with a curriculum that includes etiquette, rules and skills that enable them to learn golf in a fun and enjoyable environment. It is the first of its kind in Kenya where, owing to the prevailing economic climate and a largely poor population, few if any youngsters with such backgrounds have even heard of the game and its positive values, let alone have access to it.

Life skills

The academy is dedicated not only to teaching young women how to play golf but also life skills that they would transfer from the golf course to everyday life. We have on hand qualified volunteers in different fields who give the girls guidance and counseling on and off the course. I am currently the director of programmes.

Last year was an exciting and rewarding one for the academy because we had nine girls in high school pursuing their education.

We also arrange for academic/sports scholarships awarded to girls with special talents and with good academic grades.

I also work with children from under-privileged homes and help them secure scholarships so they can find a long-term training programme.

Looking to the future, I hope to help these children have a chance to join a wonderful golfing facility and have the opportunity to become world-class golf players if possible. This is the societal contribution that I am eagerly working towards.

My long-term goal is to set up a world-class golf training facility.

I derive my personal success from working with children’s programmes and teaching young girls at the Golf Park in Jockey Club, Nairobi, every Saturday and during school holidays.

I still play golf although given the current global economic downturn, I have not played in international tournaments for a couple of years now.

I hope to develop the sport in Africa and get children to play tournaments as well as helping introduce the game in public schools.

It is my desire to share my golfing experience, break the cycle of poverty and hopelessness and make a change in the future lives of these young women through passion and expertise in golf.