Golfer David marks 70th birthday
The President of the 6th and7th Senate, David Mark, has got a long standing history with the game of golf. Anywhere the man goes, he simply crosses paths with the game. Not only in Nigeria, but elsewhere across the globe, especially in Ghana where he frequently plays with the revered Ashanti Golf Club.
They call David Mark the Okpokpowulu K’ldoma, which simply means leader of war, even at peace time, or the Bulldozer.
On the golf course, Mark is not anything close to a Bull not to mention dozer. The man’s mien on the course is like that of a dove. He’s so quiet you could hardly hear him when he talks. And yes, he has got the same quiet smile for everyone on course, be you a Billionaire or a Caddie.
The first time I saw David Mark play golf was at the Abeokuta Golf Club when he was Communications Minister. The course was newly built at the time and it was hell playing on it, but the man loved it. He was coming back again and again, sponsoring huge tourneys on behalf of the Communications Ministry.
I indeed got close to Mark and his golf when he was newly voted to represent Benue South in the Senate. It was at the pavilion of the IBB Golf Club in Abuja. I told him I wanted an interview and he simply offered that easy smile that wouldn’t tell you a thing. He said some other time. He gave a date. On the day, the rains poured and I told myself the man would dare not enter the course under such terrible weather. I was wrong. When I arrived the club, the Senator was already playing. He was not alone, his wife, Helen was playing with him. When they arrived the 18th Green, they were drenched completely. I felt for them. I wanted to put off the interview. He merely smiled and said “Tony I will just change and join you”. Moments later, he did. We talked about golf and then a little politics and mentioned how soldiers burnt down his ranch, which is now home to a full-blown 18-hole course known as St. Marks Golf and Country Club Akpegede, Otukpo.
The minute the St. Mark course came into place, Mark honed in a new mission… that of taking the game of golf to the youths. An academy was quickly put in a place with a Ghanaian golf teacher. Kids from age eight were quickly opened to the game on the condition that they didn’t miss school. And it could be too good to be true, those in school were still placed on scholarship. The whole thing is in place today. And there is a bountiful harvest to reap here. Till date, Benue produces the best golfers in the country. From age 14, you could see the young lads swinging it smooth like world’s no 1, Dustin Johnson would do.
The former Senate President used to be a 8-handicapper. That was before soft spikes. No titanium, no matched graphite, no range of flexes. Today, fully equipped with the latest technology, you can’t really pick his handicap. Some say the Senator loves to keep his handicap in hiding just in case a ‘jamming-jamming’ game could be on the way.
The truth is David Mark could hit the ball fat, he could get out of sand traps and he hardly three-putt. Practice could his problem. He must hate it. He must be allergic. Through the years I have been following his golf, I have never seen him on the Range, yet he plays beautifully so well.
Then I saw the Bulldozer in a fit of anger once. His Otukpo team, close to 100 members headed to Accra for an International Matchplay with Achimota Golf Club and arrived Accra after midnight. With little sleep, the team was prepared to carry out all programmes. First on the list was a sight-seeing across Accra. The golfers were already loaded in three buses early next morning when a call came through. It was from Abuja residence of the Senator. He simply ordered that the sight-seeing be cancelled and all players should head for the course for rigorous practice session. He gave his reasons. He said he just got some security reports that the Achimota team was fully prepared to ridicule the Otukpo team. The Senator would not want any of this.
Alas the worst happened. Achimota won, but Mark won his game against the Great Ashanti. As were several youngsters from Otukpo. So where was the soft middle that led to the ridiculous defeat?
A fortnight ago, Senator Mark turned 70, and a N10 million professional tourney played out at the St. Marks course last week. Port Harcourt based Mike Ubi won that tourney.
Happy birthday to the golf icon.