Runsewe lauds golf history at Jos’ Rayfield Club

The fact that a golf tourney trophy dating back to 1913 is currently dotting shelves at the Clubhouse of the Rayfield Golf Club in Jos has jolted the Director General of the National Council of Arts and Culture [NCAC], Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, into a rare action that culture could really relate with the golf game.

It went down memory lane that white settlers, who were into tin mining, engaged in the game of golf well before 1913. In those early years, Nigerians were never allowed into the Rayfield golf course. Men like John Dankaro, Innua Gombe and Alhaji Jalingo who made efforts to play only did so in the early 1970s.

May golf historians have wondered why it took the locals so many years to venture into the game if indeed golf was first played in Jos before 1913. But seeing a trophy dated back to 1913 has laid all the doubts to rest. This is what Runsewe is celebrating.

And tomorrow, a one-day Amateur tournament will hold at the Rayfield Golf Club where a golf trophy etched in 1913 will be relished. Over 350 golfers from across the nation will feature in that tournament with the State Governor, Simon Lalong, performing the Teeing Off ceremony.

“We have a deep culture in all facets of human life in Nigeria,” Runsewe said. “We have been able to substantiate that of Rayfield and we are picking it up from there.

“We will not only celebrate Rayfield, but we will also display cultural golf wears that would appeal to over three million Nigerian golfers. Besides, we shall display how the game of golf has perfected the art of greeting by maintaining social distance in this COVID time.”