Dubai becomes city of golf

Once considered alien to Dubai's culture, golf has become an important part of the sunny city's varied landscape due to effective packaging and promotion.

ubai is fast emerging as the 'international winter capital of golf' with the world's leading professionals heading to the city to fine-tune their skills in the cosy ambience of the greens when it's freezing cold back home.

The heady mix of year-round sun, excellent golfing facilities and luxury accommodations has contrived to make Dubai an ideal base for globetrotting golfers in the run-up to the start of a new season.

Golf rush

Thomas Bjorn, Henrik Stenson, Johan Edfors and Andrew Marshall, to name a few, have already 'settled' here because Dubai is the "fastest growing city" in the world.

And the latest to join the 'golf rush' to Dubai is Gwladys Nocera, the French sensation who finished second on the 2006 money list with 415,020 euros in earnings after playing in the Dubai Ladies Masters here in October.

Dubai is changing. The City of Gold is now often referred to as the City of Golf and is an interesting place. Interesting in the sense that it is expanding faster, taller, bigger than any other country on the planet and has become a juggernaut of tourism, finance and Information Age business.

Golf, once considered alien to Dubai's culture, has become part of the city's varied landscape. Big names in the field, such as Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie, Ian-Banker Finch and Vijay Singh, have either developed their signature courses or are busy developing them, thus adding a touch of their class to the growing portfolio of golfing facilities.

Pleasant weather

Henrik Stenson, who is also one of the golf in Dubai (promoters and organisers of the Dubai Desert Classic) ambassadors, has made Dubai his base because he liked the practice facilities and he liked the year-round sunny weather.

"And then Dubai is also good to travel from because we play lots of tournaments in Asia and Australia in the early part of the season. So, it's also less time to travel - and less time difference as well," says the Swede who even chose Dubai as the venue for his recent marriage.

Booming city

Thomas Bjorn, one of the first golfers to make Dubai his home, echoed similar feelings. "I remember Dubai when it was a quiet place; it was like a hidden jewel. Today, Dubai is a much-publicised place, popular among the tourists for all the new developments that have enveloped the city.

"Indeed it's quite interesting the way Dubai has spread itself - wide and varied and over the years grown into a favourite tourist destination of most tourists of the world," says the winner of 2001 Dubai Desert Classic and a golf in Dubai (giD) ambassador.

"For Dubai, it was all about creating something that was different; something that the world has not seen. And it has been successful in this
venture.

"Look at the growing number of golf courses in this region - it's simply amazing. Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Greg Norman, all big names in golf, are making their golf courses here," says Bjorn.

Growing in number

Nocera, however, is bowled over by the warmth of friendly people. "You can almost sense homely warmth once you are in Dubai and, above all, it's a very safe place for a woman. What more you can ask for," feels Nocera who lauded the efforts of giD in successfully promoting and organising the first Dubai Ladies Masters in October last year.

Peter Cowen, one of the most respected coaches in the world, who has his golf academy at Emirates Golf Club, has been a regular to the city since he played in the first Dubai Desert Classic way back in 1989.

Global platform

"Dubai is such a vibrant city - it's on the upswing. The weather is great, and so are the facilities. It's a global platform. It's an exciting city. It's fantastic. The whole team of giD... they are amazing. Imagine getting someone as big as Tiger Woods coming to play here in three tournaments out of the next four years, everybody realises the strength of that," says the master coach under whose tutelage players Lee Westwood, Darren Clark, Henrik Stenson, Thomas Bjorn, David Howell and Ian Wooseman flourished.

"When I was in China, people were talking about Tiger Woods hitting the ball from the top of the Burj Al Arab in Dubai. Even the Jumeirah brand has become recognised around the world because of it. All the players find the facilities here great. They love to play here," he says.

Mohammad Juma Buamaim, vice-chairman of golf in DUBAI, was delighted with the new trend of international golfers coming over here making Dubai their second home and attributed the remarkable rise in golfing traffic to what he called "effective packaging of golfing facilities".

"Events like the Dubai Desert Classic and the Dubai Ladies Masters have put Dubai on the map, and now we need to attract more and more people from around the world to come and enjoy the excellent facilities that we have for golfers of all levels," he says.

High-profile tournaments

"We, at golf in Dubai, are working on ways to handle marketing, central reservations, the promoting and staging of high-profile tournaments, as well as the planning and development of the sport throughout Dubai.

"Once that is in order, which soon will be the case, Dubai can expect a perceptible rise not only in golf real estate opportunities, but also in the number of people heading to the emirate for golfing holidays," says Buamaim.

"Dubai miracle is no mirage. The whole region needs to be served," says Mohammad Ali Al Abbar, chairman of golf in Dubai. "And there is nobody there except Dubai."