CLUB OPERATIONS MANAGER

JULIAN DANBY

DUBAI CREEK CLUB OPERATIONS MANAGER

Wow - where have the first few months of 2022 gone?

It’s been an extremely busy start to the new year, with our flagship tournaments (Club Championship, Men’s Open and Ladies Open) taking place, the welcoming of our new Club Captains (Max, Beatrice and Rohit) at the wet and blustery Captains Drive In, the formation of our new MCC (Members Consultative Committee) as well as the first meeting, we also hosted a ‘new member integration event’ in February that welcomed 20 of our newest members to play golf and get to meet other new members, and then there was the planning of our upcoming Annual Members Party, which by the time you will be reading this, we would have already celebrated the 29th Anniversary of the Club – in true Dubai Creek style I might add!

Aside from these landmark events, we’ve had our brand new EZGO golf cart fleet arrive, all fitted with state of the art GPS system, a number of new colleagues commenced their careers with us and we also said an emotional goodbye to Vivian Veljovic who in her short 5-month internship with us, had become an integral cog in our wheel, and did an incredible job of looking after our members and guests. Another notable re-appointment who many of you will know, is Romana Fernandes as our Events Manager. Romana has been working at Dubai Creek for almost 20 years, and after a 2 year spell supporting the Park Hyatt Dubai events operation, she is now back with the golf club team, managing a whole range of events such as social parties, team building and trainings, to corporate dinners, award nights and much more. If you are thinking of hosting an event no matter how small or large, and you’re looking for a venue with incredible views of the city, then please do reach out to Romana who is the ultimate events professional.

Continuing along the events theme, in February we had cause to celebrate another great occasion - the marriage of David Taggart, our Golf Course Superintendent, to his beautiful bride – Ash. I’d like you to join with me in wishing them both all the very best as they begin their wedded life together.

Over the next few months myself and the team will be looking ahead to the continued planning and delivery of some operational improvements, such as the introduction of some new food and wine items at Lakeview, as well as a freshen up of Lakeview’s inside décor. We will be focused on improving the on-course food and beverage offering, including how we service golfers across the course. Then there is the expansion of Jones The Grocer from an ‘Express’ to a full service offering, as well as the delivery of a new restaurant concept into the first floor of the clubhouse, called ‘Onze’ – a very unique Peruvian/Japanese concept, that will have indoor and outdoor lounge seating, indoor and outdoor bar element, with a strong emphasis on great food, cocktails and entertainment.

From a golf perspective, as we near the end of the winter season, our first year of not over-seeding the golf course has gone exceptionally well and the course has held up beyond expectations. The benefit will soon be clear, as we will no longer suffer a 2-3 month ‘transition’ period where the winter grass dies off and we struggle to revive a dormant Bermuda grass, that leaves large and unsightly bare patches of earth in its place. Without transition our Bermuda grass will have a full summer to further mature and we will enter our next winter season in incredible shape and the course in top condition.