SALI'S STORY: GROWING GOLF IN THE PEARL OF AFRICA

As background, Sali’s Story Growing Golf in the Pearl of Africa is four-part series on YouTube that follows Roger Sali, a 27-year-old Ugandan, and the incredible work he’s doing in his home country to grow the game of golf. The sport has changed Roger’s life and he believes that it can also change the lives of many others in Uganda with the proper exposure and access to the equipment needed to play.

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Roger started caddying a few years ago when his father passed away and he needed to support his family. He fell in love with golf and quickly became a low-handicap player. On his one day off every week, using his own resources, he goes into local schools and communities and teaches kids the game. Roger’s personal goal is to continue to grow and learn as a teacher and become better equipped to teach kids.

Sali, 27 with an athletic build, shares a wooden table with a co-worker. It’s their joint desk, measuring maybe 5 feet long by a foot deep, and abutting a window. Sali keeps a log of the day’s groups and starting times to ensure all fees are accounted for, working at a pace both rhythmic and meticulous.

After completing the log, he reaches for his cell phone and pulls up Good Good,” a popular golf content channel. He scrolls to a match between professional golfers Andrew Kozan and Luke Kwon, consuming the content handsfree, his phone resting on the windowsill. That phone is his window to the world, and Sali is a keen observer.

Common threads

If you’re a golfer, you’re no stranger to the term growing the game” and the various initiatives aimed at providing sensible, sustainable access points to a sport that has often been perceived as elitist. The phrase is sometimes met with skepticism, as years and decades pass with similar gripes. Equipment is too expensive. People don’t have the time to play, let alone improve. The game’s traditions make it less-than-welcoming. And so it goes.

“If you replaced every basketball court with a golf course, everyone would go out there and play,” said Nick Schiavi, a Chicago-based golf instructor who curates the @slomoswinglibrary Instagram handle. It’s a blast to go out there and play. It’s just way less accessible.”