Saleem Haji, our Director of Golf and PGA Professional, charts his career to his current role, which has seen him develop the resort and bring it to the world stage with the hosting of events on the Ladies European Tour

Here, Saleem speaks to the PGA:

What has been your career to date?

After leaving Bedford Modern School in the early 1980s with 8 O levels and 2 A levels, I moved out to Kenya in 1985 and began working as an assistant professional at Karen Country Club in Nairobi under Gary Cullen. During this time, I registered as an assistant with The PGA in England and attended the compulsory residential training courses at Lilleshall.

In 1988 I moved to Nyali Golf & Country Club in Mombasa, where I ran the golf operations for eight years. After getting my full PGA qualification in 1994, I was appointed Director of Golf at The National Golf Club in Antalya in 1996. I was responsible for all golf operations, as well as supervising the sales and marketing of the club to tour operators. Working closely with the European Seniors Tour, I successfully ran the 1997 Turkish Seniors Open, and during this time I was also involved in the re-design of the National course, working alongside designer David Jones.

Two years later I was back in Kenya, this time working at Green Park Golf & Country Complex in Naivasha, a brand- new resort where I was responsible for all the golf-related aspects of the development, including the planning and construction of the final nine holes; the setting up of the membership structure, and the implementation of the course maintenance programme. I left there in 2000 and set up my own company, Rainbow Projects Ltd, of which I am the major shareholder and managing director. I formed this company to combine my heavy earth-moving machinery expertise with my golfing experience. We specialise in golf course construction as well as the design, supply and installation of TORO irrigation systems and TORO course machinery.

To date, we have built four courses in Kenya; the most notable being Vipingo Ridge, where I formed a partnership with the current shareholders and was tasked with finding the land and getting the course and infrastructure designed and implemented. I have since stopped doing the construction and irrigation side of the business and now focus solely on the Director of Golf role at Vipingo Ridge, setting up the PGA Academy, doing custom fittings and building clubs. The custom-fitting side of the business is expanding; we stock most of the major brands for heads and shafts and also run a True Temper Performance fitting centre.

Where did the idea come from to host a Ladies European Tour event at Vipingo and what was your involvement?

The Ladies European Tour was brought to our attention probably around seven years ago as the managing director of U.COM – the Magical Kenya Ladies Open’s joint promoters – lived in Kenya for a long time while growing up and was well aware of the project at Vipingo Ridge and visited regularly. He mentioned the possibility of hosting a tournament, and we were glad to assist. It took five years to get the first Magical Kenya Ladies Open across the line in 2019, and the second in February of this year, but it has been well worth it.

Having built the course, and living and working here, I have been involved with the event from conception and planning, through to incorporating the visiting LET agronomist’s requirements into our greenkeeping maintenance schedule. Getting additional machinery in for the tournament in order that everything can be cut daily and a host of other greenkeeping requirements. Our head greenkeeper has done an amazing job, and the whole team really pulled together to get the course in the condition that they required. I was also heavily involved in the planning, locating and scheduling of the volunteers along with our golf captain, which worked very well. Arranging for the running of the driving range, assisting the LET wherever required and many more.

Tournament weeks are long and tiring, but very worthwhile, and the players were very accommodating, which made all our lives that much easier.

How has the hosting of the Magical Kenya Ladies Open increased the resort’s profile nationally and internationally?

Obviously, the more our course and destination is seen on TV, the more likely we are to generate interest in terms of potential visitor rounds, be that locally or internationally, and boosting visitor numbers to come and play here is, of course, a really important factor for the long-term success of the resort.

What’s next for Vipingo Ridge in terms of developing the facilities and hosting future tournaments?

Vipingo’s plan will stay very much the same, which is to be a destination of choice for golfers locally and internationally, as well as a place people would wish to purchase a property and live. The hosting of major competitions is something we would like to do more of, and we hope the Ladies European Tour will keep using us as their destination of choice in Kenya for some time to come. The golf course gets better and better and the quality of service also benefits from these international events. They are a great way to keep everyone motivated and to keep us in the minds of those who are thinking of a slightly different golfing holiday, where they combine good golf with good beaches and see the amazing wildlife we have to offer as well.

Our association with the PGA is very much a part of our strategy to encourage the growth of the game and we have set up the PGA Academy as a centre of excellence to grow the game, as well as help develop some Kenyan players to progress through the ranks to elite level.

We are also promoting ladies’ golf through the LET, the Kenyan government and the tournament’s sponsors.

We managed to secure an invitation for one of our PGA Academy students, Naomi Wafula, to play in the Amundi German Masters. We are now looking to get her through Q School and hope she can earn her tour card for 2023.

What are the specific challenges of working in Kenya?

It is a relatively small golfing community, so numbers and footfall are quite a challenge for us as a new development, especially when all international travel took such a backward step with Covid, although things are improving now.

Access to golf items and stock that would be very simple in the UK but here in Kenya involves a lot of planning and logistics.

To manage this, you have to think ahead and make orders for parts or stock with sensible guesswork on what might break in terms of machinery and what might sell in terms of stock.

How has your PGA training, support and resources helped you prepare for and execute your current role?

The PGA training has helped tremendously, although I would have appreciated even more of a concentration on club fitting and club building, because that is what I spend a lot of my time doing now.

Who has had the biggest influence on your career and who inspires you now?

I suspect David [Jones] has probably been the biggest influence. Now I find people like Marcus Bell of Zen Golf and his ground force work very interest-ing, also Pete Cowan and his massive knowledge on the true mechanics of what makes a golf swing work repeatedly.

What bits of technology do you use the most and how have they improved your working life?

I use Foresight Sport’s GC Quad for fittings and lessons and find it very useful to show students what is really happening at impact. I also use force plates and their software to really enhance performance and speed. I think there are so many new apps for human movement, and these are amazing to really get numbers and data on how my students currently move and what they can do to move better.

To learn more about the PGA Academy, please click here.

You can download the original PGA article here.