Putting in December 2014

Issue # 7

Editor: Paula Savage

December 2014

Editorial, by Paula Savage…..

Winter - don’t you just love this time of year in Dubai? Fabulous weather, wonderful golf course conditions and competitions galore – both club-wise and Professionally. The Earth course at JGE looked in fabulous form at the recent Race to Dubai but we have to congratulate our very own Matthew Perry and his team for expertly handling the transition and overseeding here at the Creek. Even to my untrained eye, the course looks great and the work carried out with minimal disruption to members!

And, can you believe we are at the end of another year? 2014 seems to have come and gone in a flash. My term as Lady Captain is coming to an end. Personally speaking it’s been an honour and a pleasure and I’m sure I speak for both Tejan and myself when I say what great support we have received from all the Club Members and Staff during our year as Captains. Many heartfelt thanks and I hope you will now get behind our 2015 Captains, Joe and Harini, who take over the mantle in January.

However, you don’t get rid of me that easily - I will be continuing with the newsletter! And on that note, season’s greetings and here’s wishing you all a very happy and healthy new year ahead.

Happy Nappy News from our Pros Please say hello and welcome to baby Daniel Christopher Kinloch, born at 5am on 13th October weighing in at 2.54kg. So keen was Daniel to make an appearance into the world, he caught Mum (Katherine) and Dad (Mike) by surprise by arriving one month early and had to be delivered by Mike! Mike the Midwife, who would have thought it, hopefully keeping his grip firm but not too tight – fabulous pair of hands!! After a very brief spell in intensive care, Daniel was finally allowed home and introduced to his big brother Alexander. Congratulations to the Kinloch family, our blessings go to you all.

Getting to know you

Congratulations!!!

Where would we be without the guys in the Cart Shed? These guys work so hard all week, but really come into their own at the weekends making sure we are all ready to play on time in the shotguns. Maintenance of golf clubs, buggies, trolleys, they take it all in their stride and always with a smile and an encouraging word or two! Excellent golfers themselves, means they make perfect caddies in their spare time!

to Stephen Hubner who was recently promoted to Director of Golf.

A popular decision and well deserved, I’m sure you will all want to join me in wishing him well in his new position and look forward to taking his money off him on the course as he will no longer have time to practice or play!!!!

Golf Round Up October and November Mashreq Medal Championship Saturday 4th October : Saw The October edition of the Mashreq Medal Championship.

Another full field again this month with all competitors battling it out for valuable order of merit points as well as the fantastic prizes provided by the event sponsors Mashreq and BMW. Daniela Sacchini put in a superb performance and claimed her first victory of the series with a fantastic 6 under par 65. Meanwhile, Bilal Belaid and Miki Mirza also both went under par and finished tied on 69. In the end it was Belaid who edged out Mirza to take the Men’s Division A title with a better inward half. Order of Merit leader Ashok Sindhu, claimed runner-up spot in the division, also on a count back over Mark Dennehy after the pair finished tied on net 70. Rebydas Nair was another player under par on the day, and his fantastic 69 saw him claim top honours in Men’s Division B by three shots over Praveen Kalia who finished runner up with a very respectable 72.

Although narrowly missing out in the A Division, Miki Mirza won the Best Gross prize after his fantastic round of 4 under par, 67. Dave Gowans was back in the winner’s circle as he claimed the Seniors Division title with a 1 under par net 70.

Ladies Pink Lady Charity Golf Day Wednesday 8th October : The Creek went pink for the Ladies Pink Lady Charity Golf Day. A mixture of Dubai Creek lady members along with ladies from the popular Academy Ladies Coffee mornings came together for this special event, which aimed to raise money for the Breast Cancer Arabia Foundation. All of the proceeds from the day would go towards this very worthy cause. The format for the event was a team scramble which provided the ladies teams with some fun, light hearted competition. All of the ladies played very well and the scoring was exceptionally good, but the day’s winners with an outstanding team score of 55.5, despite only having a team of 3, was the team of Harini White, Yasmine Salaam and Vijaya Brahmachary. After helping to conduct the prize giving, Lady Captain, Paula Savage, thanked all the ladies for participating with a special thank you going to all members of the Dubai Creek who bought raffle tickets for some great prizes offered by the very generous sponsors, which saw the Ladies Section raise Dhs6,500.

The 2014 Jaermann & Stübi Dubai Creek Seniors Open Thurs 9th and Friday 10th October : This ever popular event was a great success again this year boasting a field of over 50 senior players from across the region, and as far afield as the United Kingdom.

Round 1: The players set out on Thursday afternoon all in hope of a solid round to put themselves in contention ahead of day 2. Dubai Creek member and reigning champion of two years, John Fellingham, who was looking for a 3rd consecutive victory, took the overnight clubhouse lead after an opening round of 74. Sergio De Souza was just two shots off the pace after his first day 76. Rene Larsen and David Gowans were also in the hunt after respective rounds of 77 and 78.

Final Round: There was all to play for in the final round with just 4 shots separating the top 4 players. Things were still very close at the turn, but Fellingham was still out in front by 2 over Larsen and 3 shots ahead of Gowans and De Souza. De Souza started what would be a glorious run on the inward 9 with a birdie on the par 5 10thhole. Fellingham answered straight back on the 11th with a birdie 3. De Souza put himself right back in contention with back to back birdies on holes 12 and 13. Fellingham then made a birdie on the par 3 14th to go ahead by 3 over De Souza with 4 holes to play. De Souza then made a 30 foot putt on 16 for birdie and narrow the gap to 2 shots. After both players made par on 17, Fellingham held his 2 shot lead coming onto the infamous 18th hole. Both on in 2, Fellingham showed great nerve to hit a solid first putt which finished just a few inches short of the hole.

De Souza went on to hole his putt for his 5th birdie on the back 9 to finish with a level par round of 71. Fellingham, however, stepped up and tapped in for par to wrap up a 1 over par round of 72, and a 2 day tournament winning total of 146. De Souza finished runner up after rounds of 76 and 71 for a 2 day total of 147, 5 shots ahead of 3rd place Larsen, who finished on 152 after rounds of 77 and 75. In the net division it was Mohammed Al Musharrekh who stormed to victory with a two day net total of 133 ahead of Thakur Tolani who finished runner up with a total of 141.

Sudhir Vohra claimed 3rd place with a 142 total.

Creek Pairs October Friday 31st October: The 1st event of the new Creek Pairs series. This new series will consist of one monthly event throughout the season, with each month’s event being played in a different pair’s format. Besides the fact of regular competition and introducing competitors to new formats of the game, the real aim of the series is to bring together the clubs groups of members and friends, and provide them the chance to compete and build relationships in a fun and friendly environment.

The format was a pair’s scramble, and with course and weather conditions being very close to perfect, it promised to be a great afternoon’s play. Taking top honours in this inaugural event were Vanessa North and Warren Panting. Their superb performance, carding a gross 2 under par 69 to give them a net winning total of 64, earned them the 1st Creeks Pair’s title. Another fantastic performance on the day came from the team of Christoph Kunz and Stuart Shilcock, who also finished under par with a score of 67.8 to finish runners up.

Mashreq Medal Championship Saturday 1st November: saw the November edition of the Mashreq Medal Championship. As always there was a full and competitive field battling it out for valuable order of merit points as the series draws to a close. BMW also added credit to this month’s event with a BMW 1 series car up of grabs as a hole in one prize on the par 3 14th hole. Having won already in the Creek Pairs the day before, Warren Panting made it two wins from two as he fired a superb net 67 to claim top honours and be crowned the November Mashreq Medal winner. Tobias Parkin cruised to victory in Men’s Division A with a solid 1 under par net 70, winning by two over runner up Surjit Namli who finished on 72. In the Men’s B Division, Paul Abouchacra and Aziz Al Hakim finished tied after rounds of 73; however it was Abouchacra who just edged out Aziz with a slightly stronger finish to win on a count back. Thakur Tolani continued his fine form to pick up another win in the seniors division with a solid net 72. Dubai Creek Ladies Captain Paula Savage was back to winning ways, taking the Ladies Division title with a net 73. Order Of Merit leader, Miki Mirza, ensured he stayed number 1 with a superb level par gross 71 to pick up the Best Gross prize and some all important order of merit points.

The Volvo World Golf Challenge Qualifier Saturday 8th November: The Volvo World Golf Challenge Qualifier. This event was the last in the series of regional qualifiers, provided players the chance to qualify for the Grand Final, which will be held at Al Badia on Saturday 13th December. The format was individual stableford and the top 6 players would all earn their spot in the final and from there, 2 winners will secure their place in the World Golf Challenge Final in Shanghai. Dubai Creek Captain, Tejan Fadlu-Deen and fellow member, Patrick Morrow, both finished tied with a solid 33 stableford points, however, Morrow had the stronger finish of the pair and took top honours with a better inward half. Edoardo Galeppini and 2012 champion, Miki Mirza, also finished tied just one point behind the winners on 32 points, with Galeppini claiming 3rd place on a count back. Scoring was very tight on the day and the final 2 spots were decided on count back also. Mike McGinley managed 31 points and edged into 5th place over Tobias Parkin who claimed the final slot and 6th place.

Indian Independence Cup Thursday 13th November : Saw the 18th edition of the Indian Independence Cup. This prestigious annual event, which marked the start of the Indian Golfers Society’s 2014 season was again a huge success and attracted a full field with over 80 players vying for honours. Taking full advantage of the course condition and returning with a fantastic 33 points were Kush Sama and Guarav Verma. With both players finishing tied the overall champion was decided on a count back with Sama having the slightly stronger finish and taking top honours with a better inward half. In Division A it was Nikhil Dhamani who was crowned champion after a fine round and a total of 32 stableford points. Another count back was needed to determine the Division A 2nd and 3rd places winners as Alok Pant and Anish Bhatia finished tied with 31 points. It was Pant who edged out fellow Dubai Creek member Bhatia into 2nd place on a better inward half. Although narrowly missing out on the overall top spot, Gaurav Verma was victorious in Division B and won the division by 3 points over Dwaipan Nath who finished with a solid 30 stableford points. 28 points from KJ Singh saw him clinch 3rd spot in the division. Balvinder Sindhu was another top performer on the day as he made his way to victory in the Senior Division with a solid 27 points.

Creek Pairs November Friday 21st November: The format of the November Creek Pairs was pair’s greensomes, and with course and weather conditions being almost perfect it promised to be a great afternoon’s play. Taking top honours in this second event and proving to be a formidable pair were the team of Ashok Sindhu and Suresh Shewakramani who produced a superb score of 62.2.

Another fantastic performance on the day came from the team of Praveen Kalia and George Varghese, who also finished under par with a score of 65.6 to finish runners up. Glory Xavier and Kristi Sealey were also winners on the day as they were awarded the nearest the pin prizes for their accurate tee shots into the par 3 5th and 14th holes.

Dubai Duty Free Junior Medal Championship Thursday 20th November: Aarkesh Bhatia, who has shown some good form throughout the series, continued to do so in the November edition of the Dubai Duty Free Junior Medal Championship and claimed victory with a fine score of 35.5. Punya Khanna took top honours in the boy’s Division as he finished just one shot back from Aarkesh on 36.5, which was just 0.5 ahead of the division’s runner up, Adam Savage who finished on 37.

The performances from Aarkesh and Punya earned them enough points to see themselves now both tied at the top of the order or merit heading into next month’s final event. Aryan Chordia produced a fine 3 over par 38 to take the Best Gross prize. Adam Savage and Aarkesh Bhatia were awarded for their accurate tee shots on the par 3, 5th and 8th holes.

George Horan, President of Dubai Duty Free was in attendance and presented the trophies to the winners.

The Future Generation - Creek Juniors

September saw the Junior Medal Championship get back underway, our thanks as always to our very generous sponsors Dubai Duty Free.

September - Aarkesh Bhatia and Alex Nielsen finished tied with two fantastic scores of 30 but it was Bhatia who picked up his first win of the series as he edged out Nielsen on a better inward half. Alex Nielsen and Brother Markus commanded the Boy’s Division finishing 1st and 2nd respectively with scores of 30 and 33.5. Jai Bhalla produced a fine score of level par 35 to pick up the Best Gross prize.

October - Jacobo Fisas, who showed no nerve playing his first event in the series, was crowned champion after a superb performance and a net score of 28. Abhivridh Sunil was also back to winning ways as he took the boy’s division title with a score of 32, one better than runner-up Rishi Nair. Last month’s champion Aarkesh Bhatia continued his run of form and collected the Best Gross prize for his fine 2 under par round of 33.

November - Aarkesh Bhatia, who has shown some good form throughout the series, continued to do so this month and claimed victory with a fine score of 35.5. Punya Khanna took top honours in the Boy’s Division as he finished just one shot back from Aarkesh on 36.5, which was just 0.5 ahead of the division’s runner up, Adam Savage who finished on 37. The performances from Aarkesh and Punya earned them enough points to see themselves now both tied at the top of the order or merit heading into next month’s final event. Aryan Chordia produced a fine 3 over par 38 to take the Best Gross prize.

Ladies Locker Room News

Three monthly medals to catch up on in this issue! Lots of great prizes to be won, thanks to our very generous sponsors, JW Marriott Marquis and valuable Order of Merit points at stake.

September - Starting the new season in fine form was Veronique Rosset who scored an impressive net 70 to claim the September strokeplay monthly title. 2nd Place went to Lady Captain, Paula Savage, with a net 72, edging out Haide Wright on a countback. Naema Maya won best gross.

October - victorious in the October monthly medal was Naema Maya with a net 73, one shot ahead of Annette Carstanjen with a net 74, whilst Haide Wright won 3rd spot on a countback with a net 75. Best gross of 83 went to Veronique Rosset.

November – a fabulous round of net 67 saw Chikako Inoue take the November monthly medal, with Daniela Sacchini in 2nd place with a net 70 and Vijaya Brahmachary in 3rd place with a net 72. Veronique Rosset shot 79 to take best gross.

Welcome 2015 In Style at Legends Bid farewell to 2014 and welcome 2015 in style at Legends. Join us from 7.30pm to 3am to enjoy a decadent international buffet against the spectacular backdrop of the Dubai Creek and City Skyline.

Prices* AED 480 (when you book between 1st and 25th December) AED 580 (when you book between 26th and 29th December) AED 680 (when you book between 30th and 31st December) Dress code: Smart casual Inside and terrace seating is available *All prices are inclusive of buffet, soft beverages, selected house and sparkling beverages For reservations contact Legends at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club on +971 4 295 6000, email creekdining@dubaigolf.com or visit www.dubaigolf.com

Your Alternative To Owning a Boat, Be a Member at Worry Free Boat Club

If you have ever thought about owning a boat, and were turned off the by the costs or hassles of ownership, then Dubai Golf’s Marina partner has just what you need to get out and enjoy the amazing UAE waters. With a membership in Worry Free Boat Club, get unlimited access to a fleet of boats and jet skis. Take a trip around “The World”, go deep sea fishing, wakeboarding, or just a nice cruise down the creek, without a worry.

How it works?

The idea is similar to joining a golf club or a gym where you pay a one-time signup fee and then yearly fee. Worry Free Boat Club members have access to sports boats, day boats, cabin boats, fishing boats and jet skis, range from 20 – 40 ft. for members to choose from. The boats can cater for up to 12 people.

Cost Membership in Worry Free Boat Club starts at AED 25,000 for the first year, which includes a one-time sign up fee and yearly membership dues (flexible payment options are available). All members enjoy access to all of the boats and jet skis in the fleet throughout the UAE. Also included in the membership is training to receive an international boating license, required to captain a boat in Dubai waters.

Special Dubai Golf Members Offer Receive AED 3,000 rate off on the first year of your membership when you become a member of Worry Free Boat Club.

For more information please contact Dubai Creek Marina on +971 4 205 4646 or Worry Free Boat Club on 971 50 555 1635, email info@worryfreeboats.com or visit www.worryfreeboats.com.

Spotlight on The Pros This issue we turn to George Kasparis – or Gorgeous George as we ladies refer to him in the locker room! George has been instrumental in progressing both the Academy Coffee Morning Ladies and the Junior Development Programme and was deservedly nominated in this year’s Middle East Golf Awards for instructor of the year. Born in England (Brighton), speaks with a Scottish accent and has a Greek name? Time to hear some more about George.

PS: George, when did you join the Creek?

GK: I joined the Creek in September 2007. Myself and Mike literally met each other at the airport for the same start date and have been besties since!

PS: At what age did you first start playing golf?

GK: I first held a golf club at the age of 10 having just moved to Glasgow. I had never even seen the game before, but I knew enough that firing balls from a park into nearby housing estates wasn’t quite right... so I quickly looked into it a bit further and went to a local driving range.

PS: Where is your home Club?

GK: Caldwell Golf Club in Uplamoor, Renfrewshire. A modest, short course but has a great reputation for developing good junior golfers. My generation of juniors at the club saw four of them move into the Professional ranks.

PS: When did you turn professional and at what age?

GK: I turned Professional in 2002 at 19 years old. I had worked in a golf shop prior to that and played some amateur golf, but decided to do the PGA qualification as quickly as possible.

PS: Which tours did you play on?

GK: As an assistant Professional I played mainly local Tartan Tour events and Pro-ams. Like many young Assistants, you have to dedicate so much time to your education, teaching and shop hours that playing actually takes a step back.

PS: When did you decide to become a teaching pro?

GK: I moved to Kilmarnock Barassie in my second year as an Assistant under Head Professional Gregor Howie. Gregor had a passion for teaching and a reputation at international level. It was during my time there that I decided the early part of my career was to focus on teaching.

PS: How old where you the first time you broke par and on which course?

GK: I broke par when I was 14 years old at Caldwell Golf Club. I was playing off a handicap of about 6 at the time and it was very much a turning point for me. When you break a milestone like that you find a new level in your game, I went on and cut my handicap to 2 within a year from there.

PS: Which is your favourite golf course and/or the best course you have played?

GK: If I could play any course AGAIN tomorrow, it would be Old Prestwick on the West Coast of Scotland. It hosted the first ever ‘British’ Open as a 12 hole event, and now with 18 holes, the original 12 haven’t really changed all that much - just a bit longer I’m sure!

PS: Who would be in your dream fourball?

GK: This is tough but I’d go with - Seve Ballesteros, Lee Travino, Barkley Howard. Seve, as I think my own game takes some sort of inspiration from him (certainly missing the fairways anyway!), Travino because he is one of the greatest competitors in history and a great character, and Barkley was one of the greatest Scottish Amateur Golfers of all time and has an amazing story to tell. He has a book called ‘out of the rough’ an amazing read.

PS: Which is your favourite club in your bag?

GK: My 3 wood. I need to have a reliable 3 wood...

PS: What would be your best tip for amateur golfers?

GK: You have to enjoy the game. Whatever it is that makes you happy on the golf course, do more of it, because you’ll play better.

PS: Which other sports do you play/have an interest in?

GK: I used to play a lot of Basketball, but other than that... golf, golf and golf.

PS: Do you have any gym advice to stay golf fit?

GK: Definitely see a trainer who understands golf. There are more and more trainers moving into the field of golf. I personally work with Ashleigh in the DCGYC Fitlab and also send any of my students that require something specific.

And finally... sadly in mid January we will be losing Kenny Monaghan, as he and his family head back to Bonnie Scotland. Kenny will be taking up the position of Head Professional at Linlithgow Golf Club on the outskirts of Edinburgh. As well as being his own boss (!), Kenny will have fantastic indoor and outdoor practice facilities for teaching to oversee, as well as having retail responsibilities too – sounds like he’s going to be kept very busy. I’m sure you will join me in wishing him well and thanking him for his 4 ½ fabulous years here at the Creek. New job, new home, new baby (due in March) Kenny, you will be missed but hearty congratulations on this new and exciting chapter in your career.