-After plumbing wrenches on a construction site full of hearing men, tightening pipes, sealing joints, the Lady Golfer cum Caddy deaf divorcee, found her voice in golf, putting greens through the fairways, proving that disability is not inability.
-She is now even ready represent Kenya in the Deaflympics in January 2027 at Innsbruck and Seefeld, Tirol, Austria and at the World Deaf Golf Championship set for July 2028 at Birmingham in Great Britain.
– And at Nyali, when Miriam sinks one of those long putts she loves so much, she doesn’t hear the cheers, but feels them through the vibration of the green, in the smiles and on the thumbs-up from her playing partners.
MAAFRUFU MOHAMED-GOLFNEWSLINKS.
On the manicured fairways of Nyali Golf and Country Club, where the Indian Ocean breeze whispers through the palms and caddies shout ‘Fore’ into the salty air, there is one who hears none of it and yet, she understands the game better than most.
This is 32-year-old Miriam Musikoyo, deaf, a divorcee, a mother of three, a former plumber, a caddie and now a golfer with a current handicap of 27, a dream so big it could fill the 18th green.
She is even ready represent Kenya in the Deaflympics in January 2027 at Innsbruck and Seefeld, Tirol, Austria and at the World Deaf Golf Championship set for July 2028 at Birmingham in Great Britain and this is not just a golf story, but about refusing to stay silent in a world that tried to mute her.
Miriam was born in Mumias, western Kenya, a hearing girl with big dreams and not deaf, but childhood ear infections, the persistent earwax, the bad smell, the untreated pain that so many poor families endure in silence, slowly stole her hearing and year by year, the world grew quieter, until it went completely silent.
Many would have surrendered but Miriam got to work saying her shared statement, “I am proud of who I am. I continue working hard to support my family and achieve my goals.”
With three young mouths to feed and no husband to lean on, Miriam did what society told her a Deaf woman could not do and entered a man’s world where She trained in plumbing.
She was the only Deaf woman on a construction site full of hearing men, tightening pipes, sealing joints, proving with every wrench turn that disability is not inability.
“It was generally normal. I was able to work like everyone else,” said Miriam.
There were communication barriers, there were doubters, there were days the male-dominated trade tried to push her out but She answered the only way she knew how, by being better at the job.
From plumbing, life took her to Nyali Golf and Country Club in Mombasa as an attendant, but fate, as it often does for the brave, had another test.
She could not get her Class III electrical certificate, school fees versus food for three children is no choice at all and so made a bold pivot, to become a golf caddie that was like learning a new language while running a marathon.
“When I first joined Nyali, most club members and fellow caddies did not know sign language. Some people were worried about communication barriers, but they did not understand that Deaf people are capable” she says.
Imagine the scene where a Deaf mother of three, carrying a heavy bag for a wealthy golfer who speaks no sign language, on a 200-acre course where instructions are shouted, Miriam could have quit on day one but instead, learned to listen with her eyes.
Today, Miriam is one of Nyali’s most observant caddies as She communicates through gestures, body language, writing, and sign language when the golfer understands.
She gives razor-accurate yardages, reads greens like a fortune teller, studying the slope, the grain, the wind in the palms and advises on club selection with hand signals so sharp they could cut through ocean mist.
“Being Deaf has taught me to be more observant, patient, and focused,” explains Miriam.
While hearing caddies chat, Miriam watches, while others listen for divots, she feels the turf, her silence has become her superpower and her fellow caddies notice.
The same men who once doubted her now share ugali with her when times are hard, slip her a little unga flour for her children, celebrate with her after a good round and one member, the Club’s former Chairman Jayne Githere even paid for her Handicap registration, a small act that meant the world.
“These may look like small things, but to me they mean a lot because they show kindness,” she says.
But Miriam did not want to just carry bags, she wanted to swing the Club.
Her journey from caddie to player is pure movie script, No clubs? She borrowed from friends, No bag? She hustled to hire one, Golf lessons cost money she did not have, she watched, she copied and she practiced at dawn.
Some members saw the fire and encouraged her, gave her chances to practice and she grabbed them with both hands.
Ask her what she loves most, and her whole face lights up, “Putting, I love putting, I enjoy making long putts, it gives me a lot of joy when I sink the long ones, “said Miriam.
After just one year of playing, she now plays off handicap 27 and her best gross score, a stunning 95 gross. For a woman who started with borrowed clubs and a silent world, that 95 roars louder than any crowd.
“Sometimes people think Deaf people cannot perform certain jobs. I want people to understand that being Deaf does not mean being unable. Judge me by my abilities, not by my disability,” She says.
Her proudest moment is not a trophy but growth itself saying, gaining new knowledge, “improving my skills, growing in the golf industry, meeting new people every day, learning, becoming confident. Golf has changed everything. Through caddying, I have met many different people, made friends, learned about golf, and gained confidence. Economically, caddying helps me support my family,” noted Miriam.
She has now been in full training mode, grinding on the course, working on fitness, sharpening that beloved putter for one mission, to wear the Kenyan flag at the to the International Deaf Championship.
Imagine it, a divorcee from Mumias, a mother of three who once fixed pipes to buy unga, standing on the first tee representing 55 million Kenyans, proving to every Deaf girl hiding at home that she belongs.
Her message to them is simple and seismic, saying, “Do not be afraid to try something new, do not let disability or other people’s opinions make you stay at home. Sometimes people only need one opportunity to discover their talent and change their life. Open doors, do not close them.”
Her life philosophy, seven words that should be printed on every clubhouse wall, ‘Never give up, Keep trying, Keep learning.’
She wants to be remembered, ‘as a Deaf person who worked hard, loved sports, supported other people, and showed that Deaf people can work, play, lead, and contribute to society when given a fair opportunity.’
At Nyali, when Miriam sinks one of those long putts she loves so much, she doesn’t hear the cheers, but feels them through the vibration of the green, in the smiles and on the thumbs-up from her playing partners.
And soon, God willing, she will feel them from an entire nation.
ENDS.
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