Why Muthaiga Golf Club will always host Kenya’s Patron’s Cup

The Patron’s Cup will continue to be played at Muthaiga Golf Club, with no plan to move Kenya’s annual competition elsewhere. First held in 2022, the event features 15 clubs competing across five categories: Trophy, Shield, Bowl, Plaque and Mug.

Muthaiga’s permanent hosting role is linked to the club’s importance to the late former president Mwai Kibaki, whose honour the competition carries. Kibaki served as patron of the Kenya Golf Union for many years, and Muthaiga Golf Club vice chair David Ombisi said that connection would keep the tournament at the venue.

The hosts strengthened their record at the latest edition by securing their fifth title. Muthaiga collected 125.5 points in the Trophy category, underlining its leading position in the competition since it began.

The tournament is also set to become more regional. Organisers plan to invite clubs from Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda for future editions, with qualifiers scheduled for May to determine which teams reach the main event. Kampala Golf Club’s captain attended the opening session on Thursday, while representatives from Rwanda also showed interest in joining.

Ombisi linked Muthaiga’s success to a junior programme designed to bring younger golfers into the club’s competitive ranks. He said investment in junior golf was necessary because many established elite players were approaching the end of their careers, making youth development important to the sport’s long-term growth.

He also called for Kenya’s golf governing bodies to strengthen grassroots development. In his view, the foundations and emerging talent already exist, but more work is needed to turn that potential into sustained progress beyond Muthaiga and the Patron’s Cup.