Mombasa

Kenya’s first golf course opened in Nairobi rather than in the port of Mombasa, where the railway originated in 1896.

The railhead reached the capital city in 1899 and the Nairobi course opened in 1906, four years before the next two clubs – Meru (now defunct) and Nyeri – were formed, with Mombasa following soon after in 1911.

Mombasa’s 9-hole course is located in downtown Kizingo, surrounded by a beautiful coral reef and white sandy beach, with great views across to the Mombasa harbour entrance and beyond into the Indian Ocean.

The oldest continuously sponsored Kenyan golf tournament is played at Mombasa Golf Club and the Cannon Trophy has been played for annually here since 1968.

Strangely enough, it was another sport that put the course in the global spotlight in 2007 when the club hosted the 35th IAAF World Cross Country Championships with organizers setting out a two-kilometre circuit over the fairways and through a number of sand bunkers!