Sigona

Sigona Golf Club sits to the northwest of Nairobi in Kikuyu, just off the main road to Lake Naivasha, on a hilly site that was once a wattle tree plantation. Designed by the accomplished English course designer Tom Simpson and opened in 1938, the course lies near the Rift Valley, some six and a half thousand feet above sea level.

The original 9-hole layout was routed around an elephant watering hole, which is the reason for that large mammal’s head appearing on the logo for the club. The current 18-hole course was substantially modified in the 1970s with the introduction of bunkers and the shortening of several holes to reduce the par from 74 to 72.

Sigona may be famed in Kenya for its lush fairways but the convoluted contours also make this a tough track to play – no more so than at the 465-yard, par four 7th, rated stroke index 1 on the scorecard. Played from one of the few non-elevated tees on the course, the hole doglegs sharply to the left, and as the fairway slopes from right to left, a difficult awkward lie will almost certainly be faced for the long approach to a green tucked into the hillside on the right.