Lady Captain’s Message

from Dubai Golf & Viya Golf Club Life | Jan - Feb 2023

Spotlight on Viya

EVELYN SWORD LADY CAPTAIN, JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES

A few days into my captaincy and I must say that I am honoured and grateful that Jumeirah Golf Estates have given me this opportunity.

I have had a year learning from the best... our very first Lady Captain, Sheila McIlroy. I could not start my year without thanking Sheila for all her hard work and support to the ladies’ golf section. I know that all the Jumeirah Golf Estates ladies will agree that she has been a fantastic inaugural Lady Captain and we have all appreciated everything she has done to grow our section into what it is today. Thank you Sheila! In December, both our Captains, Steve and Sheila, hosted a fabulous Captain’s Day to mark the end of their tenure. Playing a pairs scramble, we were delighted - but not surprised - that 2 of our lady members reigned champs at the end of the round! Along with the superb golf, our Captains and sponsors put on a great array of “watering” holes around the course. A fun day followed by dinner on the Earth terrace; we are so very lucky to have some great views from our Clubhouse.

Our new Lady Vice Captain, Anna-Retha Rafferty, was announced in the evening. Thank you so much Anna-Retha for joining me on this 2023 captaincy journey. We are going to have a blast!

Now maybe a little bit about me... I was born in Irvine, a small town on the west coast of Scotland but spent most of my early childhood in Africa. My Dad’s career took us to Ghana and then Lesotho, Southern Africa where we lived for 15 years, however, most of my schooling was in Scotland as I went back to boarding school when I was 8. You may now understand why I don’t sound like most of the Scots at Jumeirah Golf Estates, but honestly, I do understand all of them!

On graduating university in London, I moved to Paris where I learned to speak French (complete with Scottish accent of course), then finally moved to the Middle East in 1998. My time in the region has been between Bahrain and Dubai.

Before moving to Dubai, golf was not my sport at all. In fact, throughout school, uni and my time in Paris, hockey was my game. As most retired hockey players will tell you, golf is the next step. I became more involved when my two children were older.

Having been a member of Al Badia Golf Club and Dubai Creek, I am now happy to be in my 9th year as a member at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

In December, the ladies also held their Christmas Scramble which saw 36 players in festive gear - from the pics you can see some more than others! A few dubious Santas also came to visit! Dinner followed under the stars at the Tap & Grill – my first turkey dinner of the festive season. We exchanged Secret Santa gifts, and many laughs were had!

Having just spent Christmas in the Western Cape, South Africa, playing golf and visiting their well-known grape farms and I am honestly thinking of organising a Lady Captain’s golf trip later this year. So watch this space... I am very much looking forward to the year ahead after our first ladies’ Wednesday game that took place on the 4th January. I am delighted to say that in true Captain style, myself and my talented partner, new member Aalaa Somji, came out as winners with le Frenchy team of Valerie Darnault and Roisine Natali as runners up. Congrats all and well done to all those that made our first 2023 game. Our season continues with our second ICC match taking place at our home club on the 1st February against our sisters Emirates Golf Club and Yas Links. Good luck to all of us!

Thanks to Stephen Wilson, Adam Stastny and Finlay Galloway who help oversee the organisation of the ladies section.

A special mention and thanks also go to our lovely lady golf professionals, Charlotte and Ginger, who generously give their time to help us keep our golfing sanity!

And lastly, a personal thanks to Stephen Dean who has tried his hardest since the summer to better my game... no mean feat, but I am sure I will get there in the end. CONGRATULATIONS