A few days in the desert?

When I announced to the guys at the golf club that I was flying to Abu Dhabi for a few days golf most of them looked incredulous, after all, as one pointed out, you can drive there in less than two hours. Once we had painstakingly established that I was not going to Aberdovey, but to the Persian Gulf, (it was fairly late at night by this time), the amount of advice I received, mainly from people who had never actually been there, but knew someone who lived near Dubai, was quite staggering.

“It’s a long way, it’s hot , it’s full of flies and nasty things, it is dangerous, there is one hotel called(sorry I can’t remember its name), there is nothing to do, “beware the camels” (I have no idea), there is nowhere to play golf, you can’t get an alcoholic drink”. All these followed by improbable anecdotes and tales of woe.

So I have been, played golf, had a drink, and found things to do, and now I can try and put the record straight.

From Manchester Airport by a daily Etihad flight, it takes approximately six and a half hours. At least half the people on the flight were in transit to Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, and of course to other Middle Eastern destinations.

Abu Dhabi airport is the hub for the operations of Etihad, an airline equipped with a modern fleet of Boeing and Airbus airliners, all seemingly offering good legroom and great service in all classes. Processing at Abu Dhabi was swift, and in no time at all I was ready for my transport into the city. Our luggage arrived safely, which for the press troop, arriving from sundry airports, and mainly with golf clubs, was something of a first.

Ethiad
Ethiad is the flagship airline of the UAE (Abu Dhabi being the capital of the UAE), fly from London and Manchester, and are rumoured to be beginning operations from Birmingham shortly.

It’s so hot
No getting away from this one, it is after all on the Persian Gulf. The daytime temperature when I was there was thirtyfive degrees centigrade, with one day some five degrees higher, but all the public buildings are air-conditioned, there is plenty of shade to be had on the beaches, and even on the golf courses, and provided one is sensible the heat will not present a major problem. Having said that we did see holiday makers sitting “out in the mid-day sun”, and this did not seem to be very wise. Hats, sun cream with a high factor value and plenty of fluid intake is the order of the day, and try to avoid that mid-day sun.

It’s full of flies and nasty things
No it isn’t.

I will admit there are scorpions out in the desert, and I am told there are camel spiders and snakes, but I didn’t see any, nor did I go looking. We saw a number of lizards, all of which were harmless to humans, but probably not to the flies.

Beware of the camels
I never did find out why this warning came my way, all the camels I met seemed perfectly charming.

It’s dangerous.
I saw more gun toting policemen at Manchester airport than I did in Abu Dhabi, and the armed police that I did see had holstered side arms, mot wandering about with their fingers on the trigger of a Hechler and Koch MP5 sub machine gun. We had no problems walking around after dark, saw no evidence of any street crime, or felt threatened in any way. However do be careful crossing the roads.

There is one very expensive Hotel called “sorry, I can’t remember its name”.
It is called the Emirates Palace and is absolutely fantastic. And yes, it is expensive by Travel Lodge standards. However if you should be offered the opportunity to stay there, or even visit (they offer guided tours) then take it. It is physically imposing, with beautiful gardens, a most impressive interior, stunning restaurants and very comfortable rooms. You are greeted by no less a person than your personal butler, and the staff are attentive and very helpful. I happened to visit on the day of my birthday, and this was noticed by the reception staff when I registered. Later that evening an enormous chocolate and orange birthday cake, together with a bottle of champagne was left in my room with the compliments of the management. It’s that good.

If that is not to your taste, or pocket, then Abu Dhabi offers a wide range of accommodation including hotels operated by Hilton, Sheraton, Meridian, Grand Continental, Golden Tulip, and most of the other major chains, as well as having family run hotels. All seem to be furnished to a high standard, and offer a wide range of facilities.

There is nothing to do
Again this is a fair comment. Once you have been on a desert excursion in a 4×4vehicle, seen the belly dancing, had a henna tattoo,sailed offshore on a dhow, perhaps been to the horse or camel racing, seen a falconry display, gone sport fishing or done some sub aqua diving, shopped at either a traditional souk or an ultramodern mall, or sat about on the beach getting a tan there is absolutely nothing to do.

Unless you want to play golf, go horse or camel riding, visit a spa, eat, visit another of the Emirates (Dubai is only a little over two hours drive away), go on an excursion to the interior and visit an oasis such as Al Ain, then there is definitely nothing to do.

There is nowhere to play golf.
Abu Dhabi city itself has some three golf clubs, the Abu Dhabi Golf Club, the Al Ghazal Golf and Equestrian Club, with another course at Al Ain. Two more courses are planned over the next few years.

The Abu Dhabi Golf Club is situated a twenty five minute drive from the centre of the city, and approximately ten minutes from the International Airport. It features two courses, the eighteen hole National Course, and the nine hole Garden Course, both designed by Peter Harradine. The National Course is par 72: 7334 yard course with extensive water features, adequate shade facilities, some evil bunkers which held an almost magnetic attraction for me, and a most impressive club house.

One of the signature holes is the twelfth, described thus:-

“Hole 12, 183 yards par 3. Amid length par three over water to a long but narrow green with a landscaped rock wall back drop with date trees and shrubbery. Club selection is critical, as well as feel and control on this rollercoaster green”

In reality this means that if you under club you end up, as three of us did, in the water in front of the green, whilst if you over club as the other member of the four ball did, you hit the wall at the back of the green and rebound into the water. A challenging hole.

To complement the main championship course there is a nine hole, par 36 course that is described as being slightly more forgiving. As if any such golf course could forgive. In addition to these two courses there are extensive facilities such as swimming pools, a gymnasium, tennis and squash courts, spa and sauna, practice greens for both chipping and putting, practice bunkers,(I learnt of this a little too late) and bars restraints, and a conference room. There is also a Golf Academy.

Note, taking to take a short cut across a sand strip to retrieve a wayward ball may result in having to get a tractor to tow out your buggy, and cost you a round of drinks to shut the others up.

The Al Ghazal Golf Club is a sand course, with browns instead of greens, bunkers made of sand, water hazards and often rock-hard fair- ways. You do not play in spikes as these have an adverse effect on the browns, which are made of sand and oil, you do take with you a piece of astro- turf to place your ball on, you do drink lots of water, and wear a hat and sunglasses to protect your eyes from the glare, and you most definitely have a great deal of fun.

The browns/greens if swept correctly are extremely fast and true, and you are advised to roll up to the greens , as any high pitch will drop, and form a nice little egg cup. Players must also contend with the numerous burrows dug by desert lizards, known as dhubs. These burrows may also house scorpions, so do not go ferreting about in them.

This golf course is regarded as one of the best sand golf courses in the world; and the World Sand Golf Championships recently took place on this course, and will do so again in 2007.

The Club also has a state of the art academy, a sports field which is now home to the Abu Dhabi Football Academy. There is also a health club equipped with gym sauna steam room and Jacuzzi. There are three tennis courts and two multi courts where basket ball, five aside football and volley ball can be played.

The club and its staff are very welcoming, and the club house is a home from home, especially if you have a bar in your home. The course is situated close to the airport, but there was no real discernable noise to interrupt play.

The Abu Dhabi Golf and Equestrian Club is located in the Al Mushrif area, just ten minutes from the city centre, with the complex consisting of an international standard racecourse, with racing conditions that are comparable to anywhere in the world; together with a spectacular show jumping arena, in which an obstacle similar to the famous Hickstead Bank has been constructed, along with a natural water jump that adds to the variety of the show-jumping events that take place throughout the season. The Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club has a riding school attached to it.

For the golfer there is a 9hole grass surfaced golf course in the middle of the race course, which is equipped with floodlighting, enabling play before sunrise, and after sunset. In addition the Golf Academy includes a large driving range available to all, and lessons are available from the Club’s golf professionals. The club also has tennis courts and a swimming pool. The course has a number of interesting hazards, including a large lake, and a race course which is used for exercising some very expensive bloodstock. Race meetings are frequent during the summer months.

There is also a nine hole course attached to the Hilton Hotel at Al Ain, but I am saving that for my next visit.

You cannot get an alcoholic drink.
Oh yes you can, all the hotels, and the golf clubs that are affiliated to the hotels, can serve alcohol; to adults, all reasonably priced, and this includes some quite drinkable beer and larger.

Finally, there was a comment that it is very expensive to visit and play golf in Abu Dhabi. A number if tour operators have begun to offer holidays in Abu Dhabi, including Thompson Worldwide, Etihad Holidays, and letgo2.com, who can provide a tailor made holiday. In addition hotels such as Sheraton and Hilton offer stop-over golf breaks.

So the verdict, would I go again? Yes is the straight answer, with no provisos or qualms. I found the whole experience very pleasant, very refreshing, and I was able to dispel the pre- conceptions of a late night in a golf club bar, where all decisions are routinely taken. There is good golf, it is easy to get to, reasonably priced, and it’s warm. What more could you need?

Lost Greens of North Wales

When browsing through an old guide book of North  Wales, published about 1912, I came across a list of Golf Courses available for the Edwardian golfer, and even in some instances, his lady, to play on. This list included a number of courses long since lost to the golfer; some forgotten by most and some still, after many years, fresh in the memory of elderly golfers. It is possible to visit some of the sites and even to trace various elements of the courses, whilst others have been completely obliterated.

After some diligent research, involving County Archives, old Ordnance survey maps, very Old Golfers and  guide books, I have managed to  compile information on a number of these courses.

Great Orme

The Great Orme Hotel and Golf Course, based on the former Telegraph Station at the top of the Orme, was established in approximately 1908. The course comprised of an 18 hole course, and a hotel of some XX bedrooms. The course, which was advertised as having stunning views towards Anglesey and Snowdonia, was completely enclosed by a 7 foot high dry stone wall. The object of this was to secure the site from sheep, day trippers and  others who might interfere with the pleasure of the golfer

Trefiw

Next to the cemetery on  Fford YYYY was the Trefiw course, a “compact” nine hole course which operated from 19** until 192&, when it was abandoned. The club house was purchased by a local farmer and moved to a site alongside the Afon Conwy in Trefiw, where it can still be seen, in a somewhat dilapidated condition, serving as a cow byre.

Colwyn Heights

Llanberis

Conwy Oakwood Hotel

Play Away Gentlemen

With those words from the starter echoing in your ears, and having somehow acquired the honour, you must now drive away from the first tee. Not just any old first tee, but the first tee at the Old Course, St Andrews. No pressure here, then.

Prior to this you have reported to the starter, met your caddies, been announced to a small, but enthusiastic “gallery” of Italian tourists, and stood around trying to keep warm. St Andrews in early April is not the warmest spot on the map. And then you are away.You mutter a silent prayer “Please, Lord let me get away from here with a decent drive.”And the drive was good, as were those of my playing companions. And so, marching down the fairway with the caddie laconically murmuring “you’ll get your colour back soon”.

Second shots however were slightly different, with my ball showing an uncanny desire to enter the Swill Can Burn, another player going out of bounds to the left, a third player joining me in the burn and the fourth player chipping way over the green. It could only get better, please.

But I am getting ahead of myself. The original purpose of the visit to St Andrews was to “play the Old Course backwards”. The Old Course was originally played the opposite way round to the way it is played today, with players starting on what is now the 18th fairway and playing to the 17th green. They then played from today’s 18th tee to the present-day 16th green and so on. When they reached the turn, they played back the way they had come.

Tom Morris created the present first green in the 1870s and thus the anti-clockwise route became an alternative. In the late 19th and the early 20th century players alternated between the left hand circuit and the right hand circuit on a weekly basis until gradually the right-hand, or anticlockwise, began to prevail. (It must have been quite interesting should you have forgotten what week it was.)

As a result of the change many of the bunkers are not visible from the tee and are clearly positioned to threaten shots from the opposite direction.The clockwise route is now offered for a couple of days at the beginning of April each year.

In order to achieve this the course largely uses temporary tees and one occasionally shares a green. As you have great difficulty viewing the flag from many of these tees then it can make for an interesting round.

My advice is to invest in at least one caddie per party, he, or she, can make the day go considerably better when you are not “flying blind”.The St Andrews Links Trust publish an excellent booklet on the “reverse Course”, study it before you play, and not find out about it when you are beginning the bragging in the bar after the event.

Playing the course in reverse was a great experience, but not one your would put a card in from.

Just some other points about the Monday game. It was like playing in a war zone, with RAF Leuchars playing “touch and go” with their Tornados, helicopters and several other unidentifiable warplanes, whilst over the water at Carnoustie the live firing range used by the Army was having a machine gun day. Just to assist the quiet day out in the country the quarry on the hills in the distance was continually blasting. According to Alan, one of our caddies, ” it is worse when they have the air show”. But not when they have any tournaments that are televised world wide, I notice.

Other observations. Heather, who has the tea wagon at the turn, sells life-saving hot soups and smiles at frozen golfers, she is a national treasure. And the final point, despite what you see on television, St Andrews Old Course is not flat, the gorse is very sharp , and there are bunkers you could hide a Centurion tank in. These bunkers also have some form of magnetic attraction to small white objects, honest.

And so back to Wednesday.

After a splendid meal on the previous night at the Craws Nest, Anstruther, we returned to St Andrews to play the course the correct way round.

I, and others, travelled the tourist route that day, lost a couple of balls, found three (gorse bushes again) and visited the tea wagon, got chivvied along by the marshal and damn near froze to death. As to my card, that is between me and my maker, although I am quite pleased with it. As an experience it was wonderful, as a feat of golf it was not. Would I do it again, just try and stop me.

And next time I see one of the names on TV playing the Old Course I will be able to comment to anyone within earshot about my own recollections of that hole and how best to play it. Oh Bliss.

Thanks to all concerned for making it such a memorable few days, especially Neil.The rest of you know who you are.

Links

www.standrews.org.uk
www.crawsnesthotel.co.uk
www.scottishgolfistory.net