GOLF is one of the oldest sports in Nigeria. But there are different historical accounts of when and where the game was first played on Nigerian soil.
One narration is that it’s pioneers were a coterie of European sailors and captains of ships who were said to have traversed the Atlantic Ocean from the United Kingdom down to River Ethiope in present day Delta State, and established the Sapele Golf course in 1898. However, other historians insist that Sapele Golf Club was founded only in 1908, the same year as the Kano Golf Club.
Aside from Sapele and Kano, some of the other first generation golf courses in Nigeria include Jos (1913), Kaduna (1921) and Ikoyi (1938). Today, there are about 56 golf clubs with golf courses of different sizes spread across the country.
The early enthusiasts of the sport were exclusively Europeans and British Colonial masters. Decades after the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria British Protectorates in 1914, Chief Anthony Enahoro, who was a minister in the then Western Region government, is believed to be one of the first Nigerians to play golf in the country as recorded by Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour Nigeria. Over time, more Nigerians took interest in the sport and it is played now at both amateur and professional levels.
The governing body for the sport is the Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF) under the supervision of the National Sports Commission. However, most Golf Clubs are private clubs with subscription-paying members and clientele, thus not relying on government funding for their activities. The President of the NGF is Otunba Olusegun Runsewe while the secretary general is Oluwasegun Ademisoro. The NGF was established only in 1985.
As in most countries of the world, Golf is not a mass-participation sport in Nigeria. The sport is played mostly by the upper and upper-middle class of the social strata who can afford the expensive golf equipment and club membership subscription. Being owned by private clubs, most golf facilities in Nigeria are maintained primarily for recreational purposes and the entertainment of their members.
However, several golf competitions are organized yearly, drawing professional and amateur participants from around the country and even beyond. One of the oldest-running events, established in 1962, is the Lagos Amateur Open Golf Championships sponsored by First Bank of Nigeria PLC. By contrast, one of the newest events is the Meristem Securities Open Golf Tournament which made it’s debut in 2023 to herald the launching of a new Professional Golfers Development (PGD) Tour in Nigeria, as the sport continues to break new grounds and appeal to a wider audience.
Notably, Nigerian golfers have made impressive strides in the sport over the decades. Some of the legends of the sport are J. Ajiboye who won the prestigious Lagos Amateur Open title five times between 1969 and 1979; Peter Akakasiaka who dominated the Nigerian professional scene in the 1980s and became the first African to qualify for the finals of the British Open in 1987; and Samuel Amadi who also won five Lagos Amateur Open titles between 1997 and 2010.
Currently, Francis Epe is Nigeria’s number-one ranked professional golfer. But clearly the most internationally acclaimed Nigerian golfer in recent time is British-born female player Georgia Oboh who won the U.S. Kids Golf Teen World Championship in 2015 as a 14-year-old, and is currently competing in the Ladies European Tour (LET).