Only for the second time since it was established in 1988 the Emirates Golf Club's Majlis course is undergoing extensive restoration work by a highly qualified team of green keepers, landscapers and engineers, in a bid to restore it to it's original look.

The task, however, primarily focuses on the greens, which are being totally rebuilt during a four-month operation that is scheduled to end on September 28.

Mohammed Buamim, the club's manager told Gulf News yesterday: "A golf course takes a lot of punishment and from time to time requires major maintenance.

"It was discovered that the greens, in particular, were not in the condition we would like them to be and therefore decided to have them rebuilt.

"We have also taken this opportunity to return them to their original size and shape, which
means that they will get bigger and by that open up more choices for interesting pin positions," he added. "I'm confident that it will improve the course significantly and make the game more enjoyable for our members and guests."

The Emirates Golf Club is acknowledged to be the UAE's premier golf course and the priority of its management has always been to maintain its leadership and edge. They have achieved that pre-eminence over the years by continuous review of all aspects of the facilities leading to maintenance and development of its facilities.

Heading the renovation work is Chief Course Superintendent Jeff Julich who said that the relaying of the greens was necessitated after some areas were found to be damaged.

Explaining the job Julich said: "We began work on the greens three weeks ago after discovering that they had been contaminated, which is something that happens to grass and is out of anybody's control.

"We started by taking off the existing grass and then fumigated the surface with a material that kills everything in the soil. We then added silica sand back to the greens, mixed it in and put the new grass on."

Having maintained the course for the last couple of years and also prepared it for the 2001 Dubai Desert Classic Julich is under no illusions about the enormity of his task. "It's a huge operation that involves 69 crew," he says. "Among them are green keepers, landscapers, irrigation technicians, mechanics, foremen for all those divisions, assistant foremen and guys to do the job.

"We've been working from daybreak to sundown the past three weeks and I've got to be out there every step of the way to ensure that the job is done correctly and that the finished product is what we want.

"I did tons of research on the internet to see which types of grass will be better suited for the area," he revealed. "Mainly you've got to look at the overall maintenance of a grass while making the choice and I believe that the Tifteagle variety that we have selected is the best available on the market.

"It's basically an ultra-tough grass developed by the USGA and it's a grass that is very good for the climate of Dubai. It provides a very nice playable putting surface and should give us nice good green speed."

Julich stressed that the rebuilding process would not alter the character of the greens created by course designer Karl Litten during the late eighties.

"Obviously there will be some changes when you are talking of moving earth, but we're trying our best to minimise the changes that could take place and try to retain Karl Litten's original specifications, as much as possible."

Responding to a query whether it would alter the way the course plays he said: "It's not to going to make the golf course any more difficult or any easier. What we'll have in the end is a nice good putting surface, that will be a pleasure to play on."

Julich revealed that work on seven of the 18 greens had been completed and that he was confident of meeting the September 28 deadline. "I don't have one extra day to spare. It will have to be the 28th and as far as I'm concerned we will complete the job on scheduled.

"These are good conditions to do this type of work and Bermuda grass grows best in the heat. So it's good growing conditions but bad working conditions for crew."

The 7,101-yard Emirates Golf Club was built in 1988 and has played host to the Dubai Desert Classic ten times since 1989. Last year alone 60,000 rounds of golf were registered at the course.