World's best feel welcome in Dubai

Dubai: Golf in Dubai has had much to do with changing Dubai's reputation from "City of Gold" to the "City of Golf".

However the man behind that success, Mohammad Juma Bu Amim, the vice-chairman and CEO of golf in Dubai, still feels there is much left to be done.

His vision is single-minded, in that there is no scope for failure. And as giD prepares to host the third edition of the Dubai Ladies Masters at Emirates Golf Club between December 11-14, he spoke to Gulf News about a world which revolves around golf.

Gulf News: The Ladies Masters has witnessed spectacular growth since its inception two years ago. What has contributed to its success?

Mohammad Juma Bu Amim: It's the third year and it's important because it's the 30th anniversary of the Ladies European Tour so there are going to be huge celebrations here. When we decided to conduct this tournament we had agreed with the Tour to make it an attraction; that it would become the final tournament on the calendar where they would do the final presentations and all. The Order of Merit ends here, so you have all the world's best players and all the leading media from wanting to come down to cover the event and that has been very good for Dubai and the event.

Annika Sorenstam will be retiring after the tournament. Anything special planned to give the two-time champion a fitting farewell?

Annika will retire from professional golf, but she won't retire from golf altogether, so you never know she might play at the tournament in the future. She won't be on the Tour, but she might play. Annika will make the event more interesting if she ends the tournament at the top. Never mind winning, it will be great for us even if she's among the top group.

What has made this event a favourite with most Tour golfers?

The players travel week in week out from one place to another and they like to feel comfortable and welcome. And somehow they feel comfortable in Dubai. Now whether it's what we provide or whether that's the way Dubai is, I don't know. But it seems like a good formula and it works both for the ladies and the men. We try to find them the best hotels with reasonable prices and when it comes to the course, I am very, very proud to say on the Tour we have to be the best course in the world.

The UAE Golf Association has been renamed the Emirates Golf Federation. Do you see any other major changes in the way golf is run here?

It's not new by the way. It's always been there. It was something else before. When we first started the association, golf was not recognised. So it was an association. Then it became a union. So when we were responsible for it we didn't want it to change because in English it didn't matter. You don't get extra money for being called a federation. It was a good name and everybody was happy about it. Obviously the board has changed and they feel different about it and that's the only change.I don't really know what the new plans are, but I believe they're talking about a junior programme, but I don't see it. For instance, we had the junior programme since 1997 and now it's not there. I don't know what they are doing, but I'm sure they have plans. They've just taken over, so there is time.

What kind of development would you like to see?

Well, the important thing is you have to have a junior programme and the one we had worked very well. We didn't have as many local youngsters, but you'll get them slowly. When it comes to golf you just can't develop it for locals. You have to develop it for everybody who is in this country because local kids need competition. We were lucky with our sponsors and we produced good youngsters through our junior programme like Khalid Yousuf. The UAE team did well in the Eisenhower tournament in Australia recently. As GID we started an initiative called the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation. We have a kid Ahmad Al Musharrekh in the United States in the Leadbetter Academy there who is under our sponsorship. He is learning academic studies and golf at the same time.

Any plans to take the giD brand further?

We're already around the world. For a start, giD already has eight of the most thought-about golfers in the world. These guys carry our name wherever they play, so we are a very well known identity. We have gone and done tournaments in India and Morocco and we will expand as soon as the financial crisis sorts itself out. It's just now there are a lot of problems financially for all the people we depend on. But if we carry on with our own tournaments in Dubai during these times it's enough because we are still seen around the world.