This archive report was first published on 18 October 2019.
On March 14, 2019, during the Magical Kenya Open, professional and amateur golfers gathered at the Royal Nairobi Golf Club for the third leg of the Safari Tour pro-am.
As is the tradition, the Pro-Am is a precursor to the main event where top amateur and professional golfers compete to prepare for the Magical Kenya Open.
Watching Eliud Kipchoge's historic marathon in Vienna, I realized that golf has its own version of pacesetters – the caddies. A good caddie not only carries the golf clubs but also sets up the golfer for success.
Take Wangarî, for example, who caddied for me at the last event I played in. Whenever I missed my target, she would encourage me with words like 'Good shot! Noo raini...' which means 'if it wasn’t for the inadequacy in target seeking, it was a perfect shot.'
Speaking of lines, two incidents at the Royal Nairobi Golf Club leg of the Safari Tour highlighted the importance of keen caddies in resolving questions regarding the Rules of Golf.
At the 11th hole, a player hit his tee shot to the right, and the ball ended up in a ditch marked as a penalty area. The player had to take the penalty area relief, but the question was whether the point where the ball lay had any bearing on where the relief would be taken.
The answer was 'no.' The point where the ball crossed the margin of the penalty area was what mattered when taking a lateral relief.
Another incident involved a ball that got lost in a mound of black cotton soil on the 15th hole, marked as ground under repair. The player and his fellow competitors agreed that the ball was in bounds, and with the help of his caddie, he identified where the ball was likely to be lost and dropped another within one-club-length of the nearest point of relief.
These two incidents would have been harder to resolve without the help of caddies, who are more than just cheerleaders – they are also important in resolving questions regarding the Rules of Golf.
