A total of 120 golfers are expected to grace the Malindi Golf and Country Club maiden National Golf Tournament next weekend.
Club captain Walter Ombogo said the tournament, dubbed Vasco Da Gama Cup, is a Kenya Golf Union competition that has two fields: the main consisting of 72 players and another of 48 players.
Ombogo said the tournament seeks to boost sports tourism and help revive the tourism sector that has suffered major setbacks from the Covid-19 pandemic and the electioneering period.
"We have never had a KGU tournament before and so we are really excited about it," said Ombogo. "It will be an annual event to be held here every year."
He said they have partnered with some hotels which will accommodate the participants with Family Bank and Kenya Breweries Limited among the sponsors.
"Preparations are at an advanced stage. Participants have started booking for the event and we are hoping this is going to market Malindi as a tourist destination," he said.
Ombogo said participants will have a unique experience playing at Malindi Golf where some holes have a direct view of the Ocean.
"I believe the golfers will have an experience of its own kind," he said.
Club vice-captain Walter Juma, said: "I would like to call upon the young professionals in this town to join the club since playing golf will help them understand themselves better as individuals."
Juma said even though the Malindi course is a nine-hole, it will give participants an 18-hole course experience.
He also called on leaders elected to the various offices during the August 9 elections to support the sport since it is one way of promoting tourism in the resort town.
Malindi Golf Club was established in 1962 and sits on a 135-acre parcel of land. It has six par threes, eight par fours, and four par fives with finely contoured greens.
