Bulawayo offers lessons for golfers
Captain Joseph Cwinya-ai reads his lines. PHOTOS/EDDIE CHICCO
What you need to know:
Uganda finished sixth out of 11 teams, which was an improvement from the 2022 showing in Cairo when the team finished last. In 2019, however, Uganda ended the tournament in fourth position when it was hosted in Mauritius.
National Golf Team captain Joseph Cwinya-ai is not one to sugar-coat facts. The Toro-born golfer was one of the four who represented the country at the All-Africa Team Championship in Bulwayo, Zimbabwe and he was honest when assessing the team’s performances.
“I would say that our team scored a rating of 5/10,” a candid Cwinya-ai said. “It was neither a good nor bad performance; it was at best fair.”
Uganda finished sixth out of 11 teams, which was an improvement from the 2022 showing in Cairo when the team finished last. In 2019, however, Uganda ended the tournament in fourth position when it was hosted in Mauritius.
Cwinya-ai reiterated that exposure and experience are going to be needed, especially for the young members of the team if the country is to bridge the gap with the best teams on the continent.
“The fact is that the team that went to Bulawayo had two relatively experienced golfers and two very talented but inexperienced golfers and the results spoke volumes.
“We shall have to always compete in all tournaments regionally and on the continent for the simple reason that experience is built, not taught.”
Cwinya-ai, who thanked the Uganda Golf Union and National Council of Sports, urged the governing body of the game in the country to support more amateurs in rubbing shoulders with the best golfers in Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa.
The captain expressed admiration for Elton Thembo who was one of the new golfers in the national team. The others were Joseph Reagan Akena and Ibrahim Ssemakula.
“Elton did well,” Cwinya-ai remarked. “The course was hard, dry and at times windy but he kept his cool and did the best he could under the circumstances.
“In fact, some of his scores counted for the day and this was very important in building his confidence and mental strength.”
Reagan Akena plays out of a bunker.
Key to improving Uganda’s performances in future tournaments of this magnitude will be team bonding and chemistry, according to Cwinya-ai.
“Because we all come from different clubs most of the time, there can be some distance within the camp.
“Remember you can have a golfer from Entebbe, another from Lugazi, UGC and Toro and while you are playing for the same team and country, there can be an apparent lack of cohesion.”
He advises that many more tournaments in the country will allow national team golfers to understand and appreciate one another’s style of play and see how to build on it to better the chances of the country.
Cwinya-ai is very confident that Uganda can indeed secure a top-two finish when the next tournament is held in Tunisia in 2026.
“We have the talent and the skill to do better and I genuinely believe that we shall improve in Tunisia for as long as we retain the collective hunger to go one step better be it the golfers or officials and the Union.”
It would likewise do the national team a world of good if coach Flavia Namakula combed the various gross amateur tournaments, including the ones held upcountry to track the progress of golfers with the potential of making it to the senior team.
ALL AFRICA TEAM GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
TEAM RESULTS
843 South Africa 209-209-214-211
874 Zambia 214-223-222-215
878 Zimbabwe 220-213-227-218
891 Mauritius 224-218-223-226
892 Egypt 221-221-226-224
896 Uganda 217-220-231-228
905 Kenya 228-221-231-225
912 Malawi 226-224-235-227
951 Eswatini 230-240-239-242
954 Gabon 225-242-245-242
964 Botswana 224-243-251-246
