Jaime Ortiz-Patino, one of the most respected and influential figures in world golf, recently visited Al Gazzal Golf Club here.
Patino, owner of Valderrama Golf Club which is the host for the season ending Volvo Masters and was the venue for the 1997 Ryder Cup, was on a private visit to the UAE.
Patino, a board member of the Environmental Institute for Golf and a past President of the Professional Golfers Association of Europe, had expressed an interest in seeing the home of the World Sand Golf Championships in Abu Dhabi.
As a member of the Institute of Golf Course Architects, he was fascinated to see how the course had been created from the natural desert landscape and how the fairways and browns are maintained.
