After a stormy time in Madeira, Chris Hanson’s season finally got underway in Kenya – but not without a few culture shocks.
Last month he battled through atrocious weather in the eagerly-anticipated Madeira Islands Open, but to no avail.
A combination of thick fog, gale force winds and torrential rain led to the event being cancelled after one round and rescheduled for July 30.
So it was with high hopes and an eagerness to play that the Woodsome Hall man headed out to Kenya last week for the Barclays Kenya Open at Karen Golf and Country Club.
Security guards and large signs proclaiming “NO GUNS” were par for the course in this African Challenge Tour event.
Hanson was on his third visit to Kenya, where he has previously finished 50th and 25th.
He said: “This year the course was playing a lot softer, it’s the back end of the long rainy season in Kenya and the fairways are really green.
“But somehow the greens are still pretty brown, very firm, and every green seems to play at a different speed – which makes it tricky as they go from extremely slow to crazy fast when you catch a bit with no grass on it!
“I sometimes think we don’t appreciate the quality of the machines we have in the UK, and the money and resources we have to get courses up to tournament standard.”
He got off to a decent start, shooting 71, 69 for four under par and making the cut by two strokes.
He added: “I do quite like the course layout, it plays quite short, and you have to shape the ball both ways to get it into play.
“But to give you an idea of how the altitude of 1800m affects the ball, back home I hit a standard six iron 185 yards - in the cold that’s nearer 160 yards - but out in Kenya this week I’ve been carrying a six iron somewhere in the region of 210 yards
“It really is tough to adjust and even tougher to commit when there is trouble surrounding the greens. But with it being my third year here I felt I was definitely getting to grips with it.”
However, Hanson wasn’t able to keep up the momentum, scraping a third round score of one under par. In the final round he admits to putting up “a shocking display”, resulting in a 75 to end up two under for the tournament and another 50th place finish.
“I was pretty gutted to finish the week the way I did. But on a positive note, it’s the first event of the year on the Challenge Tour and it’s four rounds completed, so there is definitely something to build on in Madrid next week.”
The Challenge de Madrid is April 22 to 25.
