Golf in Ghana has seen a remarkable transformation in recent years, and leading the charge is Abdul-Aziz Amankwa; the visionary behind International Pairs Ghana. The official launch of the tournament at Montgomery Golf Resort marked a pivotal moment in the evolution of amateur golf in the country.
Amankwa’s passion for the game and his desire to see it thrive locally sparked the initiative.
“Well first of all, I’m a golfer, so I’m already passionate about the game but more importantly, I’ve travelled around for golf and seen how the sport is developed in other countries. I’ve realized that we don’t have that kind of widespread following in Ghana. That’s part of what drives me; to grow the game and ensure wider participation, to get more people involved in golf” he said.
We have about 3,000 active golfers in the country right now. In the next five years, I want to see that number grow to 10,000 or even 20,000. That’s the goal” Amkwah added.
“That will also help us build more courses. When you have more people, you can justify more courses. You go to other countries and they’ve got a hundred golf courses; here, we have about eighteen to twenty.”
From its humble beginnings as a three-legged tournament with zonal qualifiers and playoffs, International Pairs Ghana has grown steadily.
We started with a three-legged tournament consisting of zonal qualifiers and a playoff to determine Ghana’s representative at the world finals and By the second year, we expanded to club-based qualifiers, increasing participation and competitiveness.
And the results are undeniable.
The tournament has significantly boosted interest and participation in amateur golf, more clubs are now incorporating pairs tournaments into their annual calendars, and the social aspect of our events has attracted non-golfers to the sport, broadening its appeal.
