The long hitting Scola Onsongo, who started her golfing journey during the pandemic period is making major forays on the greens.
The ‘fairway girl’ as she is commonly referred to has played in all the 36 golf courses in Kenya and in four other countries – United States, Mauritius, South Africa, and Ghana, fortifying her finesse on the big stages.
When the Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill in 2020, sporting events across the globe were halted and countries were put on lockdowns.
Here in Kenya, golf courses would open intermittently allowing Scola and her friends to brave the fairways in a bid to beat cabin fever.
One of her friends introduced her to a golf pro who took her through the basics of the game – the rest as they say is history.
Three years after she got involved with the game, Mrs. Onsongo has decorated her home with numerous trophies she has won having played at the Stallion Mountain Golf Club in LAS Vegas, United States of America, Fish River Sun Golf Course in Eastern Cape, South Africa, Mont Choisy Le Golf in Grand Baie, Mauritius, Achimota Golf Club in Accra, Ghana on the international front and on all the golf courses in Kenya.
In the pipeline, she says, is playing in Australia and Tanzania this year. The KCB Senior Relationship Manager in Corporate Banking says that golf requires a lot of time to play, casting a challenge whenever she does not have the time to play. According to her, on average, a round of golf takes about four and a half hours.
That aside, let’s face it. Golf in its entirety takes more than that. If you add 30 minutes to check in and warm up, another 30 minutes for a post-round beverage (courtesy dictates that you wrap up nicely with your four-ball/ pairs after a round on the 19th hole), and then the 15-minute commute to the golf course each way, you are at 6 hours to play proper golf.
On the flipside, this is good for her because her job demands that she networks and there is no better platform to do that than on a golf course.
To further cement this, the Bank is currently running its second edition of the KCB East Africa Golf Tour where she is actively participating to not only commercialize the engagements held while playing with target clients but also, as her work out regime.
One of the best ways to stay mentally and physically healthy is to exercise and golf offers that through the walking along the courses navigating different terrains.
Interestingly, Scola has introduced her two children to golf under the Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) umbrella.
Her son Fifty has embraced the sport while her daughter Twenty, an upcoming marine biologist, currently undertaking competitive swimming has little time left in her hands to chase a small ball.
She believes this will go a long way in fostering the golfing culture in the country. For Scola, family, self-discipline, and the great golfers she has met on the course continue to inspire her to keep playing the sport.
IMAGE:Courtesy
The mother of two is upbeat about golf’s future. She says golf attire has changed dramatically from the days of Bobby Jones competing in a dress shirt and tie to the cotton pleated khaki pants that Ben Hogan sported to the fitted collarless golf shirt that Tiger Woods made popular.
Rest assured, what will be worn in the future is something that golf superstars are wearing later this year. A new innovative golf shirt that allows a golfer to look great and hit the ball farther than ever is the future of golf’s fashion. Also, there’s innovation. An avid golfer very likely owns a range finder that will provide accurate distances to the flagstick.
Access to technology will provide distances to hit the golf ball while playing the golf course, phone apps that track golf statistics, green reading apps that help read the greens better, and more innovative training aids popping up every day.
Technology and innovation appear to have no end in sight as golfers utilize these products to improve their golfing experiences. At this rate, artificial intelligence will soon play the game for us – fortunately or unfortunately.
