Kabale yet to harness tourism potential in golfing

Like with most far-flung towns, the drive into Kabale tells of an establishment that is brimming with opportunities, business and activity of all forms.

Jaguar, Bismarkan and Volcano Express buses fly into and out of the town throughout the day and night, and when you get to the heart of it all, it is apparent that this is a sizeable economy. The Katuna border with Rwanda post is a mere 24km from Kabale, which is further evidence of how strategic the town is located.

With the border operations fully normal and a distant memory of the period when relations between Uganda and Rwanda were toxic, the buzz in and around the town is non-stop. Kabale resonates with energy and life. It is also a beautiful place. Outside the town are picturesque, undulating plains that weave through hills and valleys in Ndorwa and the municipality.

Also located there is a huge green belt strategically atop the town, from where one gets a glorious view of the rest of Kabale and greater Kigezi. We are talking about Kabale Golf Club. It is a course that was started in 1945, and has soldiered on to present day. There are courses that, to be accessed, one must drive a few kilometres out of town to find them.

Think Mary Louis Simkins at Namulonge, or Kilembe Mines Golf Club. Kabale is very different. The course is a stone’s throw away from any amenity or service within the town. It is very reachable. In fact, it is sitting in a very prime location. Yet sadly, that in itself is a strength that, one could argue, is a weakness.

Sitting on 54 acres, the nine-hole course has suffered encroachment from various individuals and investors over a protracted period of time despite the best efforts of the club’s patrons to maintain and preserve it. As one of the ways to conserve the club’s land, tea has been grown in many areas in and around the course to ward off characters with dubious interests and agendas.

And here is the mother of ironies. On the face of it, Kabale Golf Club is of no use. When it is overgrown, it can pass for an abandoned relic. But its location is a goldmine for any business. There are various inns, lodges and hotels built right next to the course. They include Tuuza, White Horse Inn, Kigezi Gardens Inn, Cephas, Villagio and Bird Nest. Their proprietors are aware of the value they get in their proximity to the golf course. But it is apparent they couldn’t care less about the state of the course and the club.

Likewise, the course has been neglected by many who used to be regular members in the period before the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We used to have a decent number of golfers before the coronavirus happened,” captain Ali Karama explains. “But after Covid, many took off and never returned.”

Typically, all golf courses are unique in their own right. Playing in them poses challenges that are different, pleasantly thought-provoking and new. I played in Kabale Golf Club for the first time last month and found some of the holes tough. Any golfer will concur that part of the thrill of the game is in the degree of difficulty posed by the course before you. The Kabale course is one brimming with potential.

There have been some efforts by the club’s management in trying to make some changes to the structure where the Club House is. With some small funding from a few well-wishers and members of the club’s leadership, there have been some slight work done to improve the state of the building. But a lot more work is demanded for both the Club House and the course.

The club suffers the perennial issue that affects 95 percent of the courses in the country; a lack of equipment to maintain the course. The few clubs with equipment struggle to service and maintain the green mowers, gang mowers and tractors. In the case of Kabale Golf Club, even fuel is a problem.

“We only have 18 members and another 20 who are not golfers but social members,” Karama says. “It is very difficult for this club to survive on the membership fees we receive from this small number.”

Golf membership is Shs 300,000 annually while non-golfers pay Shs 430,000. Before Covid, the club is said to have had in excess of 160 members. The establishment is nominally a Sports Club, but with almost non-existent funding coming, it is little surprise that golf is the one activity still standing. It, too, is struggling.

“We have some indoor games and an area for squash, badminton and a tennis court, but they are all mostly inactive,” Karama explains.

Kabale Golf Club has five calendar events. They hold the Mutebile memorial in January, the Rukundo Open in August, Seniors in November, Gorillas in the Mist also in November and the White Horse Inn Open in December. The Rukundo Open, for instance, attracted 100 golfers in August.

With tourist attractions in and around the area, Kabale Golf Club should ideally be cashing in on where it sits. There is Lake Mutanda, Lake Bunyonyi, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and its world-famous gorillas, as well as Ishasha Game Reserve. Domestic and international golf tourists more often than not crave a swing on their adventures, and Kabale has the potential to meet their needs.

But not in its current state. Karama says that the club’s trustee, Dr Sam Zaramba, has been one of the key pillars in advancing the best interests of the club.

“Presently, we have a 49-year lease and are in the process of getting a freehold; our trustee Dr Zaramba is working tirelessly towards the opening of the boundaries and we shall put demarcation stones and evict those on our land.”

The club’s management has meanwhile sold some of its trees to use the revenue generated to build showers, and also embark on fencing the course.

“The problem with this club is that if it is not fenced, our land will not be secured,” Karama notes. “Once the club land is fenced off and has one gate, people will come in here and know that they are safe inside.”

Kabale is a town with a number of political and entrepreneurial heavyweights, but Karama is at a loss of words to explain why many have neglected a course that would create revenue, enhance the job market and beautify the district.

“Most of these people are more committed in the city of Kampala in their own things,” Karama argues. “They are not bothered.”
“In fact, some of them look at the course and think of grabbing land to develop the hotels. Yet if they helped and supported us, it would be a win-win for all parties. When people travel from Rwanda to play golf, they stay in these hotels.”

“Why must we not support the club?” Karama wonders.
“It is a mindset problem,” adds executive member Alex Baguma. “There is a lot of work to do to change that.”

Karama says today the club works with two tractors, a 28-year-old gang mower that is all but dead, a new green mower donated by the late Engineer John Mugyenzi, and another old green mower. MTN chairman Charles Mbiire has made some Club House donations including a television, computers, printers and furniture, and remains supportive in many ways.

“Him, Dr Zaramba and JB Tumusiime are interested in seeing this place turned around and Mbiire indeed has wondered why other people from this area who have the means haven’t rallied around the cause of transforming the club,” Karama further said.

He is urging all the Bakiga community to reunite for the cause of developing the sports club.

“Long ago before Covid, we had all the Bakiga in Kampala who were members here. We would get our subscription every year, and the place was booming. But the club today is not making any money. It is not earning. As a club, sometimes we have to actually beg to take our boys to play in the major tournaments like the Uganda Open. And this is where Dr Zaramba and JB Tumusiime have helped a lot. This year, for instance, we only had one representative for the Open.”

The Uganda Tourism Board is in advanced talks with the Uganda Golf Union to intensify the promotion of tourism and golf concurrently in the country. It is important that courses like the one in Kabale are regularly preserved in pristine conditions for golf tourists to play and enjoy.

But for that to happen, courses located near tourist destinations require vibrant, proactive and dedicated leadership teams that can attract and grow members to help offset the running costs associated with year-long operations of golf clubs.

The impression that abounds when one is in the town is that the residents and the municipality are not aware of the value they have in Kabale Golf Club. Kabale’s Golf Club’s scenic location should also be leveraged to lure corporate companies that have operations in the town. And they are several of them on Kabale Main street.

KABALE SPORTS CLUB LEADERSHIP

PATRON
Professor Charles Kwesiga

TRUSTEES
JB Tumusiime
Dr Sam Zaramba
Canon Richard Shaka
Saidi Kirarira

CAPTAIN
Ali Karama

CHAIRPERSON
Edgar Ayebare

VICE CHAIRPERSON
Dr Bernard Kabagambe

SECRETARY
Richard Akampurira

TREASURER
Peter Nuwagaba

COURSE MEMBER
Alex Kwizera

EXECUTIVE MEMBER
Alex Baguma

INDOOR GAMES
Angella Ahumuza

HOUSE MEMBER
Herbert Rukundo

LADY CAPTAIN
Ruth Ndyabahika

COMMITTEE MEMBER
Bridgette Asinga

CLUB TRAINERS

Emmanuel Kamugisha
Edison Kabarebe
David Mutungi
Andrew Akashaba

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