Putting In July

Issue # 4

Editor: Paula Savage

July 2014

Editorial, by Paula Savage…..

W

e really have come to the end of the season now and what a way to finish with the ever popular Red Hot Open. It’s been a long but fun season, so many competitions and so many great winners. A huge thank you has to go out to all the sponsors, without whom these competitions wouldn’t be half so appealing, and also to our Pros who work behind the scenes to put on such great events.

A full round up of all the final competitions held in May/June can be found inside this issue.

Following on from the successful Creek Ladies Inter Club and Creek Titans teams, I am delighted to inform you that our Dubai Creek Men’s Scratch League Team were also victorious.

Captained by John Fellingham, the gents beat The Els Club quite convincingly both home and away to be crowned champions – well done, chaps! See below for the full report.

Summer is the perfect time to focus on honing your golf skills and getting yourself fit for the new season in September. If you are staying in Dubai, the Golf Academy have put together

some great deals and packages on lessons, whilst down in the gym, Yoga has been introduced and is proving very popular with our very own golf Pros.

The schools broke up at the end of June, which usually sees a mass exodus of women and children – myself and Savage Jnr included – and so this will be the last Newsletter until my return in September.

Here’s wishing you all a wonderful summer, look forward to seeing you again in the new season – just in time for Ryder Cup Fever!

Mens Scratch League

Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club vs The Els Club – The Final!

Friday 9th May 2014 saw the first leg of the final take place at the Creek. Both teams set out on the ever challenging Dubai Creek course, hoping to put some valuable points on the board for their respective teams ahead of the second leg due to be played at the Els Club at the end of May. The Dubai Creek team produced a superb performance and won all four of the first leg matches. Max Burrow & Rayhan Thomas produced a 4&3 victory to put the first point on the board for the Creek. Miki Mirza and Michael McGinley sealed point number two as they finished their match 3&2. Captain John Fellingham sealed victory in his match with a six foot par putt on their last hole whilst Edoardo Galeppini and Bayhan Lakdawala closed out a 2up victory on the 18th and sealed

the 4-0 Creek win. The Creek team couldn’t have wished for a better result and confidence boost ahead of the second leg.

Saturday 31st May 2014 Continuing with their great form from the first leg, the Creek team convincingly won the second leg at The Els Club by 3 ½ - ½ giving them an overall winning points tally of 7 ½ - ½. Congratulations to the triumphant Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club Scratch League Team, captained by John Fellingham. This is the first victory in the Scratch League for Dubai Creek since 2003! A delighted Captain Fellingham commented: “What a superb result. I would like to thank all of my team for their great individual performances and teamwork, it’s a great result against such a strong team and I’m very proud of all of the team.”

Golf Round Up Dubai Duty Free Golf Cup

Saturday 14th June 2014: was the 22nd edition of the prestigious Dubai Duty Free Golf Cup. This well established event is always a great success and this year proved no exception, boasting a field of well over 100 players. After a handful of solid performances it was EGF member Andrew Say who was victorious with a superb 38 stableford points. In the Men’s Division, John Fellingham took top honours with a solid score of 37 points from Mark Hughes in 2nd place on 36 points with Michael Nielsen taking 3rd place with 35 points.

Red Hot Open

Mrs H.H Choi took the Ladies Division title with a superb 36 points from Charmaine Bruwer, who just edged out Henna Jodha to the runner up spot on a count back after being tied on 33 points. KS Kim recorded 36 points to take the Seniors Division title, whilst Erik Hartzuiker was the Junior Champion with a solid 33 points. Michael McGinley put in a solid performance and took the Best Gross prize for his 37 gross points.

Saturday 21st June 2014: saw the 3rd edition of the Red Hot Open, sponsored by Titleist. This is proving to be a very popular end of season tournament with yet again over 100 players turning out to compete. This event provides a different challenge for the players as everyone has to play from the forward red tees.

Two superb performances on the day came from, Abdul Aziz Al Hakim and 14 year old junior member Rayhan Thomas. Both players played extremely well and finished tied with a total of 43 stableford points. Rayhan was without fault on the day as he fired a superb 8 under par 63, not dropping a single shot.

However, it was Aziz’s superb back 9 of 24 points that earned him his first major title on a countback over Rayhan.

Mohammed Al Musharrekh took top honours in the Men’s Division with his total of 40 points, with Warren Panting claiming runner up place on 39 points on a 6 hole countback from Chris Alderman! Henna Jodha added another victory to her name as she took the Ladies Division title with a solid 32 points, with Maureen Platt runner up on 31 points. Although he narrowly missed out on the overall title, Rayhan Thomas was still victorious, winning the Junior Division title ahead of Abhivridh Sunil who finished 2nd with 38 points.

Captains Five Club Open Saturday 10th May: The brain child of Club Captain, Tejan Fadlu-Deen, provided an afternoon of fantastic golf and great fun. Two players, Ashok Sindhu and Adonis Nasr were tied after tremendous rounds and great scores of 35 points. The winner would have to be decided on a count back and in the end it was Sindhu who finished slightly the stronger to be crowned Champion. Adonis Nasr finished runner-up and the 2014 Men’s Club Champion Bayhan Lakdawala took 3rd place with a solid 34 points. In the Ladies Division, it was Dubai Creek Ladies Vice Captain, Harini White who was victorious with a winning total of 33 points. H H Choi took runner up spot in the division, finishing just one point back on 32. Adam Savage took the Junior Division title with a superb 34 Stableford points, one ahead of runner up, Dhruv Nair on 33.

Alongside the main competition there were a host of on-course competitions. Adam Savage was triumphant again as he picked up the prize for the junior longest drive on the par 5 4th hole. Glory Xavier and Rayhan Thomas won the same in the ladies and men’s divisions on the 7th and 12th holes. Allan Stanton and champion, Ashok Sindhu were winners of the nearest the pin competitions on the par 3 5th and 16th holes. The Savage Family sponsored the 8th hole, where Michael Nielsen won Beat the Savage, by getting inside the tee shot from Savage Jnr! The refreshments provided by the Savage Garden Bar seemed to be very well received by all who stopped by there!

The Creek Cup Friday 16th May: The most eagerly anticipated club event of the year, The Creek Cup was started and donated in 2007

by Colm McLoughlin, Dubai Creek Golf Club’s first appointed captain. The event was always played as an East vs. West event but is now a Captain vs. Vice Captain team match. Captains chose their teams from the list of entries and then pair up these players to compete in a 4-Ball Betterball Match Play format. This year proved to be successful once again with over 60 players heading out for a day of friendly yet serious competition. In the history of the event the Captain’s team are yet to taste victory!

After some great matches in some very tough and windy conditions it seemed that history had repeated itself again this year as the Vice Captains team cruised to a comfortable 10 1/2 - 4 1/2 victory over the Captains team. Alongside the main trophy, and thanks to the event supporters, Seawings, there were 4 nearest the pin competitions on the day, with the winners receiving vouchers for the Seawings tour of Dubai. Winning the first of these for her tee shot into the par 3 5th hole was Henna Jodha. Arkesh Bhatia followed suit and claimed the prize on the challenging par 3 8th, whilst George Varghese and Ladies Vice Captain Harini White were winners on the 14th and 16th holes.

Dubai Golf Trophy 17th/18th May: The 15th edition of the annual Dubai Golf Trophy was contested at both the Emirates and Dubai Creek golf clubs. The Dubai Golf Trophy is one of the most hotly anticipated local golfing events of the season. It is contested over two days and it always promises some intense competition as the 16 leading UAE based PGA Professionals go head to head against the leading 16 Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) Amateur golfers in a Ryder Cup style showdown in a bid to be crowned champions. The professionals were looking to keep their record intact having been victorious for the previous five years.

The players started with the foursomes and four ball games at Emirates Golf Club on the Saturday. The Amateurs put themselves in a promising position after the morning play and the match was tied at 4-4. In the afternoon the professionals stepped up their game and pulled ahead to leave the standings at 11-5 in their favour ahead of the singles games on Sunday.

With the Professionals taking a 6 point lead into the final round there was a mountain to climb for the Amateurs. Despite the tough challenge the amateurs gave it their all under the guidance of their captain John Fellingham. The final round scores were close and finished 7 1/2 - 8 1/2 in favour of the Professionals, which meant the overall match finished with the Professionals winning 19 1/2 - 12 1/2.

Friday 16th May 2014 : saw the presentation for the winners of the Dubai Creek Omega Match Play Series. The ever popular series, sponsored by OMEGA, was a huge success once again with over 300 players competing since the start of the series back in November 2013. Players in the series have the chance to compete in four respective categories, Men’s Singles, Doubles, Ladies and Scratch Match Play.

Men’s Singles: After some thrilling and very closely contested matches, it was two of Dubai Creek’s lowest handicap golfers, Miki Mirza and Michael McGinley who would go head to head for the title in the series final.

The final would promise to be one of the best with these two players. After a superb match and a great display of golf it was Mirza who managed a 3&2 victory to claim his 2nd Dubai Creek OMEGA Men’s Singles Match Play title.

Men’s Doubles: The reigning champions Adhip Shankar and Alok Pant proved they are a force to be reckoned with as they booked their place in the final to have a chance of becoming the first pair in the history of the series to make a successful defence of their title. They would face the duo of Kevin Savage and Neil Taylor, who showed great teamwork and produced

some fine performances throughout the series to book their place in the final.

Despite Savage & Taylor’s best efforts, Shankar & Pant ran away with a 5&3 victory to be crowned Dubai Creek OMEGA Men’s Doubles Match Play Champions for the 2nd year running.

Men’s Scratch Match Play: Two of Dubai Creek’s newer members, Mark Williams and Edoardo Galeppini, produced a great display of golf in the final. In the end it was Edoardo Galeppini who cruised to a comfortable 4&3 victory over Williams to be crowned 2014 Dubai Creek OMEGA Men’s Scratch Match Play Champion.

Ladies Singles: Despite not possessing the depth of field as the other divisions, the Ladies series produced some thrilling matches and a host of great performances throughout. It was Naema Maya and young Aashka Desai who found themselves in the final after solid performances from the start. Aashka Desai put up a great fight against the 4 time winner of the series Naema Maya, but in the end Maya was too strong and closed out a 2 up victory over Desai to claim a record 5th Dubai Creek OMEGA Ladies Match Play title.

Mashreq Medal Championship

Saturday 7th June: Despite the increasingly hot conditions the June event was very well received again in June, boasting a field of 80 players. Adonis Nasr overcame the humid conditions and fired a superb 68 to claim top honours, whilst Club Captain, Tejan FadluDeen finished with a 1 under par net 70 to take the Men’s Division A title. Junior member Dhruv Nair took the runner-up spot in the division with a level par net 71 and was also a winner in the beat the pro competition on the par3 8th hole. Abdul Meeran put in a great performance and was the Men’s Division B champion with a superb net 69, whilst Robert Tobias finished runner-up after a solid net 72. Miki Mirza fought back superbly after a shaky start to finish with a level par score of 71 and claim the Best Gross prize. Barry Henderson was the Senior Division winner for the 2nd month running with a 1 under par net 70. Dubai Creek Lady Vice Captain, Harini White was the Ladies Champion with a solid net 77.

Spotlight on

Kenny Monaghan

Kenny has been with the Creek Pro Team now for almost four years. He comes across as a quiet kind of chap, and considers himself to be “just an average Joe”, but put him on a football field and you will see a whole different side to him, as any of the dog fighters who dared to challenge the Pro boys to a game of football earlier in the year will testify! Indeed, if he had not been a professional golfer, Kenny would have liked to have played football professionally and I’m sure the Scottish Premiership would have been a bit more interesting if he had! Well football’s loss is our gain and here is a little insight into the very popular King Kenny of Monaghan!

during the season with the long days on the range.

During the summer months I try to train at least four times a week. I have recently started doing some Yoga along with all the other golf professionals at the Creek flexibility is of course huge in golf, shame we are all too stiff to touch our toes!

PS: So, So Kenny, where do hail from?

KM: I was born in Glasgow, Scotland

PS: As well as fitness, refuelling is also key to a round of golf. What do you eat before and during a competition to keep you energised and focused?

KM: Hydration is key here in the desert, I try to drink lots of water the night before and in the morning before a game. I would be trying to also drink some energy drinks as I get into the back nine to keep me energised. (As you well know, Paula, my favourite drink, however, comes in a green can!) As for diet, I don’t want to comment here in case someone sees me eating a pizza in Boardwalk!!!!

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

KM: : I started when I was about 5/6 years old. I actually hated golf in the beginning and my mum had to drag me there. I only went because she would buy me a plate of chips at the end!

PS: Where is your home club?

KM: Airdrie Golf Club, on the outskirts of Glasgow. It’s a small members club famous for big hills to walk up and down and 14 of 18 greens being blind shots!

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

KM: I was 19 years old when I turned professional PS: Which tours did you play on?

KM: I played a lot for the first few years until I had spent all my money! I played predominantly on the Tartan Tour (Scottish PGA tour) but also the Europro tour and Tamzil tour - both based all over the UK.

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PS: So when and why did you decide to become a teaching pro?

KM: When I was about 24 years old, I realised that I wasn’t good enough to compete at any higher level, plus I had run out of money and needed a new job!!

PS: Can you remember how old you were the first time you broke par and on which course?

KM: Not sure when exactly the first time was, but I certainly remember winning a boys open at Bothwell Castle Golf Club where I shot 3 under par and second place was on 4 over par. That was one of the first memorable scores I had at 14 years old. I eventually went on to work at Bothwell Castle when starting my PGA diploma.

PS: Which is your favourite golf course?

KM: The best condition course would be the Ritz Carlton Members Club in Sarasota Florida. I would also have to mention Loch Lomond Golf Club in Scotland, though, as it’s an amazing private members club with a lot of history etc. I still get butterflies every time I drive through the gates!

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PS: Name me your dream fourball KM: Tiger Woods for obvious reasons, Kevin Bridges a Glaswegian comedian who will keep us entertained and Holly Sanders (golf presenter on golf channel) as she is better looking than the first two!

As a loyal member of the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, Gargash Enterprises is privileged to offer you exclusive prices on a wide range of Mercedes-Benz models valid until 31st December 2014.

PS: Do you have a favourite club in your bag?

KM: Driver

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

KM: Work hard on your short game, try to keep challenging yourself as much as possible, we all know it’s hard to practice putting and pitching, so play games all the time to keep your mind active and record your progress.

PS: I regularly see you in the gym. How important is fitness in your opinion and how often do you train?

KM: I try and keep as fit as I can, this becomes quite difficult

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Fitness and Well Being Corner

Yoga has long been the favoured exercise of many a top sportsman, even our very own Golf Pros are discovering the benefits of flexibility. To this end, Bespoke Wellness would like to introduce Bespoke Yoga and Meditation to Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. Miki Lee Dale, Yoga instructor, focuses on balancing strength with flexibility whilst being rooted in alignment. We explore asana’s/poses in conjunction with the breath to encourage openness of mind and body. Bespoke Yoga’s guided meditation class is designed to bring you into the present to bring energetic balance and to reset your connectivity. Open air classes will be held in the beautiful surroundings of Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. Private sessions and smaller classes can also be arranged. To book a class call Miki Lee Dale on +971 (0) 528 47 6370

The Future Generation Creek Juniors

The Savage Garden Issue 4

This bird is the “Vlad the Impaler” of the bird world, if we were only three inches tall we wouldn’t want this guy to spot us. Shrike are hunters and take large insects, small birds, rodents and lizards. like other shrikes it hunts from prominent perches, and impales corpses (and golfers who do not rake bunkers) on thorns or barbed wire as a larder. It breeds in open cultivated country, preferably with thorn bushes, but not as far as i am aware in the uae. For you fellow Brits out there it is a scarce visitor to the UK with one sighting on average per year.

Wagtails can be common around the golf ball collection lakes of the uae golf courses.

Most of them are Pied or African Wagtail’s, this one is a little rarer it is a Forest Wagtail (I think) identification is a little difficult as it is a female or juvinile without its wedding suit on. This is an Asian species and well off its beaten track.

This is a common little chappie in the UAE and can be seen anywhere. The little green bee-eater has a vast range, stretching from Mauritania in West Africa, across subSaharan Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent as far north as Nepal.

Its range extends into Southeast Asia, from central China, south to Thailand and Vietnam. The little green bee-eater forages either alone or in small parties of 15 to 20 individuals. From a perch on a fence, low bush, the little green bee-eater takes rapid flight after an insect, seizing its prey and returning to the perch, where it strikes the insect to kill it before devouring it. As its name suggests, the little green bee-eater prefers to prey upon bees, but will also take other insects such as fruit flies and grasshoppers.

As some of you are aware I am back in the UK, and wasted no time chasing my old golf partner Harry out for a round, getting home late Marie (my caddie) asked how it went, “started off all right” I said, “then Harry had a heart attack on the 10th and died” in sheer horror she said, “that must have been awful” “it was” I said, “for the whole of the back nine it was hit a shot, drag Harry, hit a shot, drag Harry”.

Neil Taylor

Ladies Locker Room Thursday 22nd May: The final event of the Dubai Golf Par 3 Series was played over the Emirates 9 hole Academy Course. This year has proven a huge success originally being an initiative by the Dubai Golf Academy Professionals to encourage junior golfers to move from the driving range to the golf course. With a tremendous 29 Tanishq Lalvani took the top spot picking up the black level win and adding a 100 points to his order of merit account. In the Purple level Natalie Gupta took first place with 32 whilst Mikhil Yadav came runner up with 37. Finn Williams and Aarnav Nath took first and second in the Blue level with 33 and 36 whilst Kalle Williams took first in the Yellow with Tobias Lundgren taking runner up on a count back.

Fardeen Meeran secured the Black level order of merit, whilst Joshua Hill came in second. Hoshi Yadav placed top in the Purple division with Mikhil Yadav following his lead. In the Blue division Aarnav Nath took top place and David Polo secured the runner up position. Tobias Lundgren and Sadie Brannock took first and second in the Yellow division whilst Mirwais Arghandwial placed top in the White division with Daniel Bankes as runner up.

Thursday 22nd May saw the Dubai Creek Lady members welcome some of the players from Dubai Creek’s Coffee Morning initiative in a 9 hole Texas Scramble challenge sponsored by Falcon Golf Arabia. Though many of the coffee morning ladies lacked experience they certainly did not lack heart, as low scoring and high spirits were the call of the morning. In first place was Dubai Creek’s Lady Captain, Paula Savage partnering Nadia Evans winning on a countback from Creek Lady member Mini Philip and her coffee morning partners Suzanne Jackson and Annie Ellerby with a score of gross 43. On course prizes went to Maureen Platt for nearest the pin on hole #14 and Annie Ellerby for straightest drive on hole #12. Our thanks go to our generous sponsors Falcon Golf Arabia, one of the region’s most popular golf clothing websites.

Getting to know you Rick and the boys on bag drop are always there to meet and greet us so efficiently and always with a smile.

Clean clubs after your round, especially after a busy weekend shotgun, is much appreciated – thank you, keep up the good work guys!

Rick Del Rosario Juls Sebial Noel Decena Rommel Del Rosario