Uganda men’s senior golf team finished second during the previous (2022) Africa Region IV Championship that they hosted at Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort and Spa, Kigo. Then, neighbors Kenya emerged atop after dominating both the singles and doubles of the event played on match play format.
Moments after last year’s event, most members of team Uganda attributed their second place finish, behind Kenya to inadequate preparations and insisted that had they prepared early and well enough, they would have (then) retained the title.
Well, the team was flagged off on Monday for this year’s staging (fourth edition) of the regional showpiece that will be hosted by Ethiopia Golf Union this week (6-11 June) at the par-71 Addis Ababa Golf Club, in conjunction with Africa Golf Confederation (AGC) and the R&A.
The side from the Pearl of Africa are confident that they have prepared well enough and are in good shape and form to relieve Kenya of the title.
“The training has been going on well with the team…it all started with the high performance program and the two coaches we had from South Africa, Michael and Mark trained the players very well. We looked at the swing analysis, putting skills, short game and that helped a lot,” team Coach Flavia Namakula said at the flag-off.
Moments after the high performance program that happened last month, the team went into camp at Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort and Spa where they were further sharpened.
“We had a few things that we were working on…there was a great improvement and we hope that in Ethiopia the team will perform well. The team is ready and confident so we hope for the best and we know that we will bring the trophy home,” Namakula added.
Ugandan players are a cocktail of seniors and juniors. Team Captain Ibrahim Bagalana and Godfrey Nsubuga are the seniors on the team while Joseph Reagan Akena and Juma Abiti are the junior players and will be featuring at the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in a few days time. Sam Kacungira is the team manager.
Uganda will join Ethiopia (hosts), Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania at the regional meet. Some media reports indicate that Burundi will not be in the mix as the side didn’t travel due to financial constraints.
Uganda Golf Union (UGU) is optimistic that the team will reclaim their glory which they enjoyed two years in a row, in 2018 and 2019. The bank is supported by National Council of Sports (NCS) and strategic sponsors and partners.
