Meet Korblah, the Ghanaian who changed the face of pro golf in Nigeria

Amos Korblah, that is the name well over fifty and he hails from Ghana, same place where then Chelsea’s talisman, Michael Essien hails from. Korblah is thick and shadowy. He’s got a talent for keeping things simple. And yes, he keeps his distance with hiding his tongue. He’s a man who is nervous but not fidgety. He’s a man who is determined not to show any emotion even if heavens are falling. He’s a man who is always sending warning signals to Nigeria’s golf professionals. The warning is loud enough. Whether the phone rings or not, everyone must hear it. And the warning? Well, he (Korblah) has made up his mind to handle the pro golf in Nigeria like a kid would dominate a cup of ice cream. So simple. Like you are walking a dog.

Eighty percent of those people who play golf in Nigeria don’t know Amos Korblah. While several of them pile home divots all in the name of golf, Korblah was around Europe, trying to conquer a piece of the planet. It could be he was not that fortunate, but he was out there hanging around the Euro. You will appreciate his courage the more if you get to know that he’s in same peer team with the likes of Peter Akakasiaka, Bello Seibidor, and Tony Uduimoh. These names are already on Senior Tour and they talk of Korblah in awe. But Korblah is out there banging it with the best of the nation’s young ones. Not just that, the Ghanaian is banging the hell out of our young pros, too.

Really, I can’t say I know much of Korblah until I watched him in action against a very promising young pro in Nigeria, late Edet Umoh, in a most challenging event in the ancient city of Benin. Edet just had to return six pars from nine holes to hold the game. It was simple. No contest. But Korblah shocked all. It seemed like the comet in the sky, but the man from Ghana laid four straight birdies to put paid to Edet’s sure win. He simply dispatched Edet at the 17th. A great feat? But the ‘Cobra’ is just warming up.

Two undiluted weeks of total golf in Abuja and Amos Korblah is the name that rang out the loudest. At the Pinnacle’s Match Play event on a particular year, he took everyone up for a song until he met with Nigeria’s own golf jewel, Ochei Odoh, in the final. Several people laid out bet that Ochei would have Korblah for dinner. But the Ghanaian called on experience of the past to down Ochei with a mere two holes to go.

Then came the ULO event, a stroke play. It was agreed Ochei would have his own pound of flesh. Even with a backache on the last day, Korblah denied Ochei. It was a game that was so exciting it had to go through a play-off of five holes in the first instance and a sudden death that picked a clear winner in the hole 2 of that challenging IBB course.

And when the winner emerged, you would not see either Ochei or Korblah. But another rugged golf warrior picked the plaque. The fellow was the late Christian Dominic… a total attacker in the mould of Arsenal’s Sanchez. All hearts terrible power. Utterly fearless. At the end of the day, the duo of Ochei and Christian stamped on one act… That is Amos Korblah was matchless.

Trust me, I checked on Korblah just for the pleasure of you guys who keep faith with Golf Digest. Korblah is not built like John Cena, that brute that throws everyone around the wrestling mat. Korblah greets you before you reach him. You can throw him sharp and rapid questions that are designed to provoke and he would simply laugh them off. He has got this attitude of making people warm and fuzzy. You will like him.

Like they hail Anthony Joshua in Hollywood, so they hail Korblah in Abuja. But there is a difference here. Where Joshua will lap up glory with a bewitching smile, Korblah will accept all adulation with a customary sang-froid. Well, we are talking of a man who has found Nigeria as a relaxing place where there are no stages. The man from Ghana is simply at home in Nigeria. He has even picked Otukpo, the very compound of the golf loving former Senate President, David Mark, as home.

Amos Korblah is such an enigma. I sought him out, I needed a chat badly. When I got him, I became clueless. I was short of words. They say he is a mountain. And at the base, he’s offering you a ladder to climb through him. Do they really come this simple?

Crossing his arms and pit pitching his chin like a pensive professor, Amos Korblah, too, said very little. Hear him: “Golf is a most challenging game. You play it from the deep of your heart. To do well in this game, you have to keep a bold heart. Like everyone, I want to win always. To achieve this in golf, you must come down to earth, totally humbly”