Emiratis should take up golf as career option

Dubai: Khalid Al Halyan, the UAE national golf player, feels that the infrastructure for golf in the UAE can be compared to the world's best .

"We are second to none in facilities. However we are trailing years behind in the standards even at the amateur level. This is an urgent matter that the officials should immediately look into to work out strategies," said Al Halyan.

"There were many barriers we had to overcome in golf. Initially golf was confined to expatriates. I am happy I could break that barrier. To make a mark from among the nationals required a lot of dedication and determination," he said.

"Now we need to break another barrier and that is regarding the pricing. Golf is getting costlier and it has to be made affordable. We should also have a focus on what we are expecting to gain from golf. Whether we need to produce only local club professionals or top professionals and then work towards it or whether it should be only mere management of the golf industry."

Al Halyan enjoys reading about golf in Gulf News. "I am a subscriber of Gulf News and I am very impressed with its articles. What I like about the coverage is their approach to local issues. They have also contributed immensely to the promotion of golf in the region by providing excellent coverage of the sport."

Esmail Sharif, who won the UAE national championship seven times in the 90s, sees the need to produce good players.

"We have made Dubai one of the world's top golf destinations by bringing all the greats of the game. It is time we produced good players from among the Emiratis. We have great courses, good academies, but why don't we have good players?"

He said it was a great moment for the UAE when Khalid Yousuf played in the Desert Classic. "But we need to make a mark in the international arena, especially with such great facilities. It has reached a stage where we can count the number of junior players on our fingers."

Sharif wants golf to be projected as a career sport for UAE nationals.

"With these facilities there is tremendous scope to improve and become a professional. They can also be trained in courses for golf management. Today all the golf courses here are managed by expatriates. I feel they should now be managed by nationals," he said.

Speaking of his achievements Sharif said: "I started playing golf very late, only at the age of 33, but I was determined to prove that we nationals too can achieve something in golf, and I did it. I did not get any support from the federation and had to spend money from my own pocket. I participated in international events many times without even a coach. I sacrificed my time and everything and I am proud to have shown that nationals can play good golf.

"Gulf News has supported golf a lot. It has provided wide coverage for all tournaments and has supported the national team with indepth coverage. Unfortunately, of late the federation has not been supplying enough news about golf, but still whenever golf is held here I enjoy reading Gulf News," he said.