The Magical Kenya Open on the DP World Tour and the Ladies Open have finally put this golf on the map — and we'll get you onto the very courses the professionals play, between game drives, at your own pace.
Muthaiga Golf Club (Nairobi, par 71) is the home of Kenyan golf and the Open's host: founded 1913, redesigned by Peter Matkovich, set against the green wall of Karura Forest. The par-5 13th is the round's signature. Karen Country Club (par 72, est. 1937) sits beneath the Ngong Hills beside Karen Blixen's Out of Africa house — lush, serene, impeccably kept, with PGA-standard greens and a sense of history on every tee.
On the coast, Vipingo Ridge is Africa's only PGA-accredited course: David Jones's links-style layout high above the Indian Ocean, host of the Ladies Open. Many call it the finest course in East Africa, and the estate is barefoot luxury. Inland, Great Rift Valley Resort perches on the escarpment above Lake Naivasha with zebra grazing the fairways; the 17th — the 'Princess of the Rift' — is pure theatre. And Windsor, a graceful colonial-style championship parkland in leafy Ridgeways, makes the comfortable classic base before you fly north to the wild.
One thing first-timers never expect: the altitude. Nairobi sits a mile high, and the ball flies a club further — flatter, and farther than you think. Play Muthaiga or Karen on day one to find your legs.
— Graeme Harker, Nairobi