Nandwa uses break to get fitness back after injury - PHOTOS

Kenya Railway Golf Club professional golfer Alfred Nandwa has taken advantage of the coronavirus-forced stoppage of play to fight off a nagging back injury and tune himself up for a return to action.

Nandwa, 33, ranked 2,089th on the official world golf rankings, has been keeping fit by jogging over five kilometres twice weekly, on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

His regime also includes outdoor stretches and work-outs to knock his physique into shape due to the fact that the club’s gym is still a no-go area.

His programme includes one 18-hole round each week.

This has been his routine since he resumed training on May 1 after shaking off a lower back injury he sustained in November last year while on the Safari Tour. “Since I was directed to this programme by my doctor, the routine has worked out well for me and the pain in my lower back has gone away completely,” Nandwa told Nation Sport on Thursday at the Railway Club.

“I remember at the Muthaiga leg, I had to walk away from the course at Hole 10 due to the nagging back pains,” he recalls.  “And then in Sigona, I started the Pro-Am very well but on the second day, the back pain persisted and I dropped out.

“I was advised later by the doctor to stop playing completely since lower back pains have practically no cure but rest.  I had to stop playing golf for two months — in March and April. I’d tried to make a comeback during the final leg of the Tour in Karen, but I couldn’t make it.”

He sees the pandemic break as an opportune period for him to work on his recovery.

But the break has other effects as Nandwa depends entirely on the game.

“I make my money through golf to feed my wife and two children. But we have to follow the government’s directives to tame the virus.”