For most they thought it would never arrive - the end of one of the longest years certainly in the last 30 or so years - a year, which on the whole will be best left to rest. I don't think anyone would have escaped the waves of stress caused by the 2008 financial whirlpool and as I sit here surmising, I only hope that for all my fellow UAE residents it has made us all stronger and much more wise to the ways of the financial world!
Personally, one of my greatest disappointments was the lack of playing time on the course but I do take solace in the fact that I wasn't alone! It is a story, which I have heard repeated many times over the course of the year. Golf is indeed a time-consuming pastime and one that in this part of the world is considered to be more of a lifestyle luxury than a necessity.
Marked growth
It has been particularly interesting however to see that through our business at Emirates Golf Club and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, we have seen a huge growth in the numbers of people playing Par 3 golf and we have also seen great growth in the numbers of people learning the game or taking lessons to improve their skills. It's good to see that although some golfers have undoubtedly taken a sabbatical on paying $150+ green fees, they have still kept their eye in on rather less time-consuming golfing activities.
On the Tour front we don't need to look too far to find golfers who have witnessed great achievements as well as significant disappointments - some for very different reasons!
Take Tiger for example. He finished pretty much top of every tree for 2009 - PGA Tour (US) money list, world rankings, Fed-Ex Cup standings, scoring average, number of top 10 finishes as well as recently scooping the ‘Athlete of The Decade' award. However, we also know that he finished on top of the ‘most disgraced' tree - I don't think anyone would have seen that coming! Rory McIlroy had a fantastic season, he opened up his European Tour winners account in Dubai back in February, compiled another seven top 10 finishes through the season, crept into the top 10 of the official world rankings (the youngest player to ever do so), but then narrowly missed out on capturing the ‘Race To Dubai' title to a sensational Lee Westwood.
New Year's resolutions are a great tradition across the world. Undoubtedly the usual ones will be pulled out of the bag such as, to live a more healthy lifestyle, go to the gym twice a week, stop smoking etc, but for us golfers it's a time when we promise ourselves that we'll practice more, sort out our slice or have at least one golf lesson a month.
More often than not, many of our resolutions don't last to Valentines night but for some reason I think 2010 will be different. This year sees the start of a new decade, the turning of a dishevelled leaf - I believe it will bring with it a renewed and stronger spirit for the masses to embrace. I for one intend to give 2010 a good run and I'd like to finish my last column of the year in wishing you all the very best for a fun-packed, healthy and prosperous year ahead. Happy swinging!
