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Junior golf coach: Talent alone won’t help Kenya, we need more rigorous training
Kenya junior golf team members Tsevi Soni, Junaid Manji and Mwathi Gicheru, with their coach John van Liefland. The team participated in the World Toyota World Junior golf Championship in Japan.
John van Liefland, the junior golf team coach, has said that talent alone is not enough for Kenyan players to compete favourably against experienced international opponents.
The coach, who recently led the Kenyan team at the Toyota Junior World Cup Golf Championship in Japan—which they qualified for by finishing second at the All Africa Junior Golf Team Championship in Kenya—insisted that more rigorous preparation is vital.
“We need to review the training programme for junior golf teams if they are to match the high standards of players from other countries,” he said on Sunday after the team’s return. “Certainly, the golfers we have possess natural talent, but that is not enough.”
Looking ahead, the coach highlighted specific technical and physical adjustments. "We need to work hard on gaining more distance off the tee and improving our proximity to the flag. We must also prepare for tough conditions, such as those we witnessed in Japan, where two rounds were played in heavy rain.”
Van Liefland said upgrading practice standards and facilities would be crucial to building on this years’ experience. Despite the steep learning curve, he praised the team's resilience.
"The boys represented the country well and did their best," he said. “They faced tough competition against some of the world's best players. In the opening round, they shot a total score of 153, but the team staged a strong comeback in round two with an impressive two-over-par 144.”
The third round, Van Liefland said, was played in tough, rainy conditions, but the team of Junaid Manji, Tsevi Soni, and Mwathi Gicheru still posted a solid score of seven-over-par 149. This saw Kenya collect a three-round total of 20-over-par 446 to sit in 12th position. After round three, hosts Japan led the field ahead of Canada at 21-under-par. The US also performed well.
“The boys thought there was still time to push for a strong finish during the fourth round, but this did not happen,” Van Liefland said. “The World Championship gave us an idea on how we should prepare for future major championships.”
Some 12 countries participated in the event, which marked its 32nd year as Japan retained the title.
At the conclusion of four rounds (72 holes), Japan, Canada, and the US tied at 22-under-par 546. Japan retained the title, while Canada and the US tied for second. Thailand finished a strong fourth at 21-under-par 547, ahead of South Africa, who have participated in the World Junior Golf Championship for the past 19 years.
South Africa finished at 19-under-par 549, while Kenya placed 12th at 26-over-par 594, behind Australia, France, Colombia, Czech Republic, Puerto Rico, and Argentina.
The girls' event, which attracted nine countries, saw South Korea post an impressive score of 31-under-par 545 to win ahead of Thailand and Japan, who tied at 25-under-par 551.
Other competing countries included the USA, Australia, Colombia, Canada, Spain, and South Africa, which finished ninth with a three-over-par total of 579 gross.
Typically, Africa is granted two slots—for the winning and second-placed teams—in the boys' division of the All Africa Junior Championship, which serves as the qualifier for the World Championship.
In the girls' division, however, only the winners qualify for the Japan tournament. Besides the team coach, Junior Golf Foundation (JGF) President James Ondigo accompanied the Kenyan team to Japan
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