By Margaret Swaine
You know golf in the Gulf has made it mark when over nine million hits were recorded on the official website of the Dubai Desert Classic this year. At this 17th annual event held at the Emirates Golf Club February 2-5, world number one Tiger Woods won against defending champion Ernie Els. Golf, the game, also scored a big win in Dubai.
The European PGA Tour event organized by Golf in DUBAI hit new milestones in TV ratings, website hits and ticket sales with over 47,000 spectators. Dubai has become a top ranked golf destination not just for professionals but for amateurs as well. Golf is still quite new to the Arabs, but not to the ex-Pats and visitors to the Emirates that flood the courses.
The golf here is unique. At the original Dubai Country Club’s sand golf course opened in 1971 the entire course is sand. Golfers are given a piece of artificial turf to carry with them and hit shots. The greens are really oiled sand “browns”. But there are now plenty of green links kept that way by a small fortune in water. There are also plenty of times to play on them. At the 18-hole Nad al Sheba Club, the course stays open until midnight, fully illuminated by floodlights so players can avoid the daytime heat. Its links straddle the Nad Al Sheba horse racing circuit, venue for the richest horse race in the world.
Known as ‘The Desert Miracle’, Emirates Golf Club on the fringe of the city is the first championship all-grass golf course in the Emirates. Built in 1988, designed by Florida architect Karl Litten, the Majlis (Arabic for meeting place) course was sculpted around the original tall desert dunes. Now encompassing 36 holes, Emirates is the Middle East’s biggest ‘desert course’. The second 18 hole Wadi Course will reopen October 2006 after a major redesign by Nick Faldo. The Clubhouse is modeled to look like Bedouin tents. There’s also a five star French restaurant and a three hole Academy course.
The Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club was opened in January 1993. It’s Dubai’s second world class golf course and the centerpiece of an 80-hectare sports and leisure complex that also incorporates a 115-berth marina and a Park Hyatt. Three ornamental lakes and a further three seawater hazards are a feature of the course. The front nine was recently redesigned by Thomas Björn to provide greater challenge. The clubhouse is designed in the shape of the billowing sails of a traditional Arabian dhow.
The course at Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa is alongside a marina and saltwater comes into play on five holes. Set amidst exotic trees and shrubs, golfers play in the company of peacocks, partridges and other birds. At the Montgomerie Dubai designed by Desmond Muirhead and Colin Montgomerie, there’s the world’s largest green, a 58,000 square-foot 13th built in the shape of the UAE.
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Dubai’s golf courses are modeled after those of American country clubs with all the luxury extras that add comfort and ease of play to the game. There are motorized golf carts, automated GPS yardage devices, beverage carts and half-way houses, well stocked golf shops and plush locker rooms. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before there’s an air conditioned indoor golf course. After all an indoor snow-skiing hill was built last year at Dubai’s Sports Complex.
One of the seven United Arab Emirates, Dubai is more of a world city than an Arabic one. It’s gone from an outpost of 5,000 people in the 1950’s to over 1.5 million today. The majority of its residents are foreigners coming from over 150 different nations. American companies and franchises abound, namely Hard Rock Café, Burger King, Planet Hollywood and the like. All the big hotels chains are here such as the Ritz, Hyatt, Sheraton and Hilton. All this creates an infrastructure well suited to western tourists and golfers. Some even liken it to Vegas without the gambling. It can seem surreal and in a way it is a fantasy land.
If You Go
No fear of being rained out ever, but you may want to avoid July and August when temperatures can top 52 Celsius. The best time for golfers to visit is between October and April when the temperatures are in the more moderate 20’s.
The official representative of all Dubai’s golf clubs website: dubaigolf
Booking at nine of the courses can be done on-line at dubaigolf