I played my first Dubai Desert Classic way back in 1996, but my first visit to this amazing city as a professional golfer was for an event called the Gadgil Western Masters, which was part of the erstwhile Asian PGA Tour and held at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club in 1995.
I knew it was going to be the start of something special. Those were the early days in my career and, even though I have always been an avid traveller and seldom feel out of place in any part of the world, Dubai was one city where I felt right at home from the moment I landed.
It’s almost 20 years since that day, but I still get a feeling of exhilaration whenever I come here. Obviously, the presence of so many of my countrymen is one of the reasons. I have made friends for life here and I have never felt a lack of support whenever I have teed up here.
And, as we play the 26th edition of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic this week, I am hoping all these positive feelings that I have, coupled with my renewed confidence and the fact that I am feeling physically fine after struggling with injuries these past couple of years, is going to result in something special at the Majlis course.
The tournament deserves a lot of respect for what it has done for the European Tour — it really opened up a whole new world for them. Our calendar is now called the European Tour International Schedule, and Dubai was the first step towards imparting a global footprint.
The tournament sports a new tagline — the Major of the Middle East — and we have a field this week that would be the envy of most golf tournaments around the world. To get three of the world’s top-five ranked players — Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia — is really halfway there in creating an unforgettable experience for the fans.
The organisers can leave the other half to the Majlis course. This is one stunning golf course that has managed to retain its charm and wiliness despite the advances in equipment and ball. It thoroughly tests your skills and creates drama in the tournament through its design. I mean, it really is difficult to come across a golf course that has a more exciting climax than the stretch from hole 15 to 18.
If you are playing well, the Majlis will surely reward you with a great score, but it’s almost as easy to walk away with big numbers on any of the 18 holes. The wind can subtly, or rather emphatically, change the nuances of the course. Take the par-5 13th for example. With a favourable wind, I have hit low irons to the green for my second shot after cutting across the corner, and there have been times when I have hit a wood there and still stayed short.
Without saying the obvious that the key to doing well on this golf course is putting well, I’d rather stress that you have to hit great lines off the tee at Majlis to give yourself a better chance of shooting low numbers. That’s because most of the holes are doglegs, and because wind always plays a crucial role.
Being a golf in DUBAI ambassador, I may have a rather biased view, but this is surely one of my most favourite weeks on the calendar. I am looking forward to the challenge.
— Jeev Milkha Singh is a four-time champion on the European Tour
