Thika Greens, Thika Sports and Sigona golf and accommodation call as we head back to Nairobi one final time

Leaving the stunning Fairmont Mount Kenya, we head back towards Nairobi.  For one last time: Nairobi is calling us.  First stop is at Thika Greens where we stay for a couple of nights.

Playing the golf at Thika Greens was tough as it had been raining - in biblical proportions, the rain hammered down all morning on the day we were meant to play, the clubhouse was getting busy with golfers waiting for the rain to - not go away, just be less heavy!

By mid afternoon, we were on our way with the sodden ground underfoot being our next challenge.  Our 94th golf course in Africa and we’re playing in the rain - which was such a rarity, we couldn’t quite believe it.  We came to the conclusion that as the end looms large, we are being prepared for our return back to Blighty and its unpredictable weather, so we sucked it up - not literally as thats just silly, but we got on with our golf early in the afternoon as the sun tried hard to shine.

The golf course is a decent test for all, the cart paths blend and fade as much as the rainbows did between the showers, occasionally making a strong appearance, before turning into a crumbly mess to drive on just as the rainbows dissipate into the atmosphere.

The roll was, whilst slow due to the wet, pretty decent and true.  A plugged ball was another thing we hadn’t experienced for a while!

so less about the weather and more about the course!

With plenty of bunkers the course dipped up and down with some long walks green to tee.  Hole 11 had water on the right and hole 13 gave us an opportunity to shoot over the water. Needless to say the course played long but there was surprisingly little standing water on the fairways, testimony to the greenskeepers vigilance.  Our caddies Emma and Jeremy were fun to play with, with a good sense of humour - they needed it with us!

In short, this course would be much better on a dry day, we were unlucky when we played, so it did show a little scruffy in places - bring back the sunshine as we’d love to revisit and play again.  We loved the golf shirts they let us wear though, perfect for the day

Staying at Thika Greens was interesting.  Food was in the clubhouse, a short walk from the accommodation block.  We were presented with regular golf club food, tasty enough, but not overly special.  Our room was quite large and had a lovely outside shower attached to the bathroom - we are massive fans of outside showers, even as the temperature dropped, to shower outside is refreshing in every way.  The rooms were fairly basic in decor and probably need a bit of an upgrade of furnishings, but were clean enough.

Visiting Thika Sports Club, a stones throw away from Thika Greens.  A couple of emails yield no response, so we visited in advance of our proposed game and pre-arranged a game at this busy and popular members club.  But when we arrived, we had to wait a long time before they would let us out.  Bearing in mind we knew there was a club competition on that morning we were told to be there early, so after setting an alarm - another strange phenomenon in Africa for us,  we arrived bright and early as promised.  Then we waited … and waited until they finally let us out to play, with the parting words, of - not ‘have a nice game’ or ‘enjoy your round’ but instead we were told in no uncertain terms  ‘don’t be slow’.  Those words were ringing in our ears as we eventually set off - it didn’t set the best tone for the day, especially as we had made an effort to get there early to be kept waiting.

Still wet underfoot, we set off to play the back nine, thats all they would let us play by the time they let us out!  We were blown away with how pretty it was.  With the lack of welcome we were expecting it to be a bit rubbish on course, but it wasn’t!

Testimony to our profession, we can easily separate the feeling of ‘being in the way ‘by the club from the good golf course they manage.  Dog legs, water holes with bamboo screens and pretty decent greens were the order of the day, and whilst a bit muddy in places, the course held up well from the recent

downpour.  Although having paths might have been easier to walk along on those wet days.  There was some road noise but also there was some birdsong, so they cancelled each other out.  We finished our nine holes at 11am, but there was no-one around to talk to, no please stay for a drink, in fact they simply avoided us as we sought a person, a body, anybody to say thank you.  We just faded away into the distance thinking it was a missed opportunity for them, especially given the nice golf course they manage.

Members streamed in as we left, fighting over our car parking space, even before we’d left!  The caddies were nice enough, they encouraged us with positive vibes but they weren’t golfers, really they were bag carriers, nice and friendly bag carriers though, and that was great.

It was a shame we were treated like we shouldn’t be there but as the course is so nice, I would definitely go back again, just maybe pick a better time next time!

Back on the road and we make our way to the outskirts of Nairobi; Sigona Golf Club.  We had also met with the Club Captain previously so were a little surprised when we weren’t expected, although we had pre-booked with him.  This was quickly resolved and we were shown to our room.  A fairly basic room, with the term ‘deluxe’ not quite fitting the bill, the room was ok for a couple of nights and it did over look the practice putting green.  We didn’t spend too long in there as we were scheduled for dinner in the clubhouse before bed.

The food was really tasty and it was apparent there is a strong Indian influence mixed with tasty Kenyan food; an infusion made in heaven.

Golf the next day and a nice welcome at the clubhouse by some really friendly members made us feel much better about the, lets be honest, not so clean and quite small room we were given.  Weirdly, the room we were shown when we visited previously was not the room, so there clearly are much better rooms available.

From the lovely members to the golf course, accommodation aside, this is a cracking place.  

Meeting a few other visitors from Nigeria on the tee, we took off behind them to play the full 18 holes in the morning sunshine; with the opening hole telling the story of what’s ahead.

Tree lined and fairly tight the fairway opened up into a good condition green.  This was a raised green that rolled well and with the birdsong in the background cheering us on, the golfing tone was set.

Being raised greens, a chip or lob shot is a good one to have in your bag, often bunkers were in play too.  Dog legs and great bunkering were adding to our delight playing Sigona.  Stroke Index 1, number 7 was a dog leg left playing about 200 yards to the dog leg, once around the corner the fairway continues around to the left to revel a strategic bunker to the right of the green. 

The back nine bought us beautifully staggered tee boxes, and although a bit of a bottle neck, the group in front let us through.  Crescent shaped water features greet us on the next par 3, again with the prolific bunkering called for careful or precise golf in order to reach the green which looked just like an island of green in amongst the sand.

I think our caddy was on super speed, not that we were slow, but his desire to get us through the course quickly was a little wearing, so we respectfully asked him to stop rushing us.  After all we weren’t holding anyone up or leaving massive gaps in front of us, we were golfing at a nice steady pace, despite the filming and photos we also covered.

It was wonderful to see caddies of all ages and genders, all doing their bit for their golf club, a sense of pride and belonging was evident too.

Such a nice course, so close to Nairobi, popular with members and with visitors, and rightly so.

Lunch on the terrace was samosa and fresh fruit - but you must try the mandazi - a fried (that sounds horrible, but isn’t) kind of lightly sugared bread, similar to a doughnut, but less doughy.  Delicious when made fresh at the club.

Next up, we head towards the Indian Ocean, via Tsavo National Park.

This trip, and what we share is a real account of what we got up to, what we felt, how we did it and what we thought. We offer a true account of what happened on the road and on the golf course, as we self drove through Kenya, and the 10 other African countries we visited.

Please feel free to use this information as you wish; whether to help with your planning for your next trip or whether it is used by the venues as constructive feedback from two established international golf travellers.

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