Issue # 4
Editor: Paula Savage
May 2014
Editorial, by Paula Savage….. There are lots of great golfing stories to report on again this issue, as we have witnessed a good few weeks for several club members plus two Dubai Creek teams. They say a picture paints a thousand words, well, just see below for two great pictures of two great teams!! Champions – the Creek Ladies team successfully defended their Inter Club Challenge Trophy at Yas Links in April. Scoring was very close but the team played brilliantly to take the honours ahead of Abu Dhabi National and Al Badia. That’s three wins in four years now – take a bow ladies!!!! Congratulations – to the Creek Team for winning their home leg in the Clash of the Titans, the bi-annual tournament against Emirates Golf Club. Some fantastic golf was played and the scores at the end of the day reflected this. The Creek team seemed to take full advantage of the home course advantage Clash of the Titans and produced some great team performances. Six out of the ten Creek team members managed to break the 40 point mark and this ensured a successful and convincing title defence for Dubai Creek with a superb final winning total of 397 points to Emirates Golf Club’s 364. This win saw Dubai Creek edge into a 4-3 lead ahead of the return leg later in the year. Thank you – to everyone who has been making a conscious effort to help repair and maintain this wonderful golf course of ours. Well done to the Marshalls for patrolling the fairways and ensuring all players are reminded of their responsibilities. Please, everyone, keep up the good work. Speaking of the course this issue, Matthew Perry, provides an update for us on the works being carried out at the moment and what we can expect over the next couple of months. June sees the start of some fabulous summer Golf Academy Promotions to prepare you for the new season, whilst the dining promotions will refresh you perfectly after a round in the summer heat – read on for more details. Inter Club Challenge Trophy at Yas Links
a day is more than enough!!
Temperatures are certainly rising, summer is here, but that doesn’t stop us golfers. Personally, I don’t think you should play too much golf – two rounds
Until the next issue, enjoy the read and happy golfing…..
An update from Matthew Perry, Golf Course Superintendent Well the summer has well and truly kicked in now and we have started to see the golf course change quite dramatically, especially in the rough areas. Basically we are now going through what we call Transition which is when the rye grass (cold season grass) dies off and the Bermuda (warm season grass) comes through. We only overseed the rough and tees with rye grass during the winter, so those are the areas that are affected now. I am happy to say that the fairways and greens are now very strong with the increased temperatures. You may have seen we have new divot boxes on the Par 3 tees, please use these after taking your tee shot as it will increase recovery time and make a better tee quality. Sorry ladies we didn’t put one for your tees, but we all know how clean you hit the ball and don’t cause too much damage! That’s all from the Golf Course Maintenance department this month, if you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact me on mperry@dubaigolf.com.
May Round Up Mashreq Gold Cup in association with BMW and Harvey Nichols Saturday 19th April: The Mashreq Gold Cup consists of four events that run throughout the season alongside the Mashreq Medal Championships, at both Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, and Emirates Golf Club. Former Club Captain, Ara Nakhnikian put in a superb performance and clinched his 1st ever Medal victory in his time at Dubai Creek with a fantastic four under par 67. David Gowans also went under par to take top spot in Men’s Division A with a solid net 69. Ashok Sindhu continued his recent good form as he took the runner-up spot in the division with a net 70. Mohammed Al Musharrekh and Kuttan Malattiri finished tied on net 70 in Men’s Division B. It was Malattiri who took the Division B title on a better back 9. Somchai Sukkhasantikul took top honours in the Senior Division, also on a count back with a net 73. Aashka Desai was victorious in the Ladies Division after a superb round of 2 under par 69. Mark Williams had an almost faultless round and took the Best Gross prize for his level par round of 71.
International Pairs Qualifier sponsored by On Course Golf Friday 25th April: This series consists of a number of events that take place at various clubs across the region and present elected teams of two to compete for a place in the Grand Final which is held at Yas Links on June 7th 2014. The winners from the Grand Final will then go on to represent the UAE in the International Final at Mar Hall, Scotland from 6th-9th October 2014. Booking their place in the Grand final with a superb team performance and a fantastic 42 Stableford points was the father and daughter team of Ishwar and 2014 Ladies Club Champion, Henna Jodha. Scoring was very good elsewhere on the day with another two teams finishing above 40 points. The team of James Gonsalvez and Keith Wicks finished slightly the stronger to clinch second place on a count back from Kurup Devanand and Sudhir Vora. Ishwar Jodha was in fine form on the day and amongst the prizes again as he was awarded the nearest the pin for his accurate tee shot on the par3 5th hole, whilst Mansour Khodjasteh was awarded the same on the par 3 14th.
Dubai Creek Junior Open Saturday 26th April: The end of April saw the final event of the EGF order-of-merit championship. Once again this year the event was a great success with over 60 players battling for the title of junior boy’s and girl’s champion. Dubai Creek junior Rayhaan Thomas carded a superb 1 under par score of 70 to successfully defend his title and be crowned 2014 Dubai Creek Junior Open champion. Fellow Dubai Creek junior Mikhail Pinto challenged Thomas’s lead, but finished with a solid 1 over par 72 to take the Boy’s Gross title. Aryan Chordia (DCGYC) also put in a great round of 73 and was the Boy’s Gross runner-up. In the Girls category it was Arabian Ranches Golf Club junior, Kim Chiang who came out on top after a fantastic 6 over par round of 77. Winning the Boy’s net title with a superb 6 under par net 65 was Creek Junior, Kabir Nanda with Dhruv Nair (DCGYC) only two back on 67 to finish runner-up in the division. Another sub-par score came from young Aashka Desai (DCGYC) who shot a 4 under net 67 to win the girls net division title by 8 shots.
Mashreq Monthly Medal Saturday 3rd May: The event proved its popularity once again this month with another full field of over 100 players taking part. Congratulations go to Shahriar Khodjasteh who took top honours this month with a superb performance and a round of 67. Dhruv Chopra took the Men’s Division A title with a solid 2-under par net 69. Meanwhile, Mark McCarthy was back among the winners as he finished with a level par net 71 to take the runner-up spot in the division. George Chidiac produced a fantastic net 68 to take the Men’s Division B title by just one shot over Christophe Blanc who finished runner-up after his net 69. Bayhaan Lakdawala added another win to his list of accomplishments this season as he took best gross prize for a solid 1 over par 73. Barry Henderson took the Senior Division title after finishing with a level par net 71, as did Naema Maya to take top honours in the Ladies Division.
Spotlight on Cyril Rozes There is more to Cyril Rozes than his movie star looks and dreamy accent – honest! Cyril has been helping and improving members’ golf games at Dubai Creek for 13 years. As well as individual lessons, Cyril is very popular with the Junior and Ladies Academy programmes. This article is best read in a French accent! PS: So, Cyril, when did you arrive in Dubai and join Dubai Creek? CR: I arrived in Dubai in 2000. I started working for the Creek as a freelance in 2001 and got a full time contract in March 2003. PS: Where are you from in France? CR: I was born in Bordeaux, in 1967 (not a good year for the red grape) PS: At what age did you start playing golf and where is your home club? CR: I started golf at 16 with my dad and my home club is Golf Bordelais. PS: When did you turn professional, which tours did you play on and when and why did you decide to become a teaching professional? CR: I turned pro at 20 years old. I played for few years on the French Tour and played the pacific tour when I was living in Tahiti. I decided to become a teaching pro when I missed 3 cuts in row by one point - I felt I was not good enough and it was costing me too much money! PS: Do you have an early/favourite memory of when you were just starting? CR: I remember a game of golf at my home golf club, I think I was about 19 years old and full of confidence. I started very well, like 7 under after 8 holes and finished at 3 over par! Thank you golf - I learnt a lot that day! PS: Do you have a favourite golf course? CR: In the UAE it has to be the Creek for the finishing holes - a lot of concentration is required. Outside UAE, my favourite course is Golf du Medoc. PS: There are quite a few good French guys out there on tour at the moment. Who, in your opinion, is the best and why? CR: Victor Dubuisson - what he has done these past few months is incredible. I think his coach B. Ducolombier is the reason for his success. PS: Who would be your dream four-ball? CR: It would have to be a one club challenge with Seve Ballesteros, Lee Trevino and Greg Norman. PS: Which is your favourite club in your bag? CR: The Sand Wedge – there are a 1000 ways to play this club. PS: What is the best tip you can give to us amateur golfers? CR: For me the set up (grip/posture) is the most important. But the best tip for an amateur is HOW TO PRACTICE.
Golf Promotions
From 1st June to 30th September, The Golf Academy is offering the following promotions for members. Summer Swing AED 900 Package includes: 5 x 30 minute lessons, swing analysis using V1 software with lesson emailed to your inbox and a SAM Putt lab analysis giving you plenty to work on over the summer. 9 Hole on Course Lesson AED 600 Let your golf Professional work on the fine touches in time for the new season.
Ladies Locker Room News
Wednesday 9th April, Ladies JW Marriott Marquis Monthly Medal Making it an Easter to remember was Haide Wright who claimed first place with a net 66 to win with a better back 9 from Mioko Muro. On course prizes were picked up by Vanessa North and Mego Han for their close efforts at the par 3’s whilst Glory Xavier collected the longest drive prize at hole 12 and had the best Gross with an 89. Wednesday 14th May, Ladies JW Marriott Marquis Monthly Medal It was a smaller field than usual but the standard of golf was wonderful. 1st place went to Daniela Sacchini with a stunning net 66, beating Glory Xavier by 3 shots who came in 2nd with an equally outstanding net 69. In 3rd place, again, was Mini Philip with a net 73. Best gross of the day went to Veronique Rosset with a gross of 83 together with the nearest the pin on hole 5. Chikako Inoue took nearest the pin on hole 14 and Harini White had the longest drive on hole 12. As always, a big thank you to JW Marriott Marquis for their generous support of this event.
The Future Generation - Creek Juniors Thursday 17th April 2014 - Dubai Duty Free Junior Medal Samuel D’Souza went one better on his performance last month and took top honours in this month’s event with a superb score of 29.5. Punya Khanna also performed well and took the boys division with a score of 31, with the runner up Joshua Hill finishing on 33.5. Katherina Nielsen put in another great round and got her second victory in as many months after her round of 37.5. Dhruv Nair was without fault and took the best gross prize with a level par 35. Markus Nielsen and Jennifer Vincent were awarded for their accurate tee shots on the par 3, 5th and 8th holes. . Thursday 8th May 2014 – Dubai Duty Free Junior Medal Abhivridh Sunil picked up his first win of the series and some valuable order of merit points after a superb, 4 under par winning round of 32. In the Boy’s Division, Rishi Nair and Adam Savage finished tied one shot back from Sunil on 33, but it was Nair who took the Boy’s Winner trophy after a count back over the last 6 holes. Arkesh Bhatia produced a fine round of 1 under par 34 to take the Best Gross prize. Rishi Nair and Kabir Nanda were awarded for their accurate tee shots on the par3, 5th and 8th holes. As always a big thank you to George Horan and his team at Dubai Duty Free for their support of our juniors.
Dining Promotions During June
Legends • Indulge in our special Chef’s Gourmet Menu, a five course menu for just AED 290 available daily from 6.30pm • Let’s Meat on Mondays • The Legendary Friday Brunch will move inside during the hotter months • Don’t miss the Grand Cru Grape Evening on June 19th from 7.30pm, a five course menu with wine pairings for AED 495 per person
Lakeview • Seafood Night on Thursdays, 6.30pm to 10.30pm • Meat Night on Fridays, 6.30pm to 10.30pm
The Savage Garden Issue 3 Ok girls this is issue three and it might not float your boat!! You have had your cute little silverbills and the pretty little hoopoe and parakeet, now it is time for the real macho machines, Feb / march is the time that we see a few birds of prey around, being birds of prey you usually find them on their knees. Here is the daddy of them all, they don’t come any bigger than this in our part of the world. This is the best picture I have at the moment, taken at Ras al Khor nature reserve where this year there were up to seven lesser spotted eagles stopping off on their way from turkey and Cyprus to the Yemen peninsular and south Africa for their winter break. One ringed specimen last year spotted in Qatar was born in Kazakhstan, these birds often float over the creek golf course at any time of day hunting for frogs, lizards insects and small birds, yes girls, he will take your pretty little hoopoe for lunch!, And I don’t mean to the Boardwalk. I am currently training one of these birds to snatch from the fairway, golfers who do not clean up the bunkers after hacking them to bits, and to drop them head first in the middle of the creek, he should be ready for active duty in a couple of months, his name is raker. How many of you spotted this little bird of prey between the 11th and 12th fairways being mobbed by crows and bulbuls, he was only here for a couple of weeks and was on his way from Eastern Europe to East Africa, he was a bit off line, a lot like many of my nine irons into the greens, but, I am sure he has the ability to correct himself, unlike me!. All you europeans should be familiar with his rather clever tactic of hovering whilst hunting mice and voles, I did not see him hovering so it is unlikely that any of you recognised him, if you did, your prize was a bar of chocolate! But, it has sadly melted. The 18th fairway and green was our hot spot for spotting the fisherman of our birds of prey during February / March, our visiting osprey was little darker than the one in the photo which I took in Costa Rica, the species are both resident and migrants in the middle east wintering on the coasts of Saudi, Yemen, Oman, Iran, Qatar and the marshes of Iraq, he is always observed near water and was seen diving into the creek and the 18th lake for his fish supper. All my yellow ball’s confused the life out him in the lake in front of the 18th green, he thought they were koy carp! How many games does a man need to play and how much golf equipment does a man need to purchase before his wife walks out on him? I do not know the answer but I must be nearly there!!! www.anibirds.co.uk
Getting to know you….. The Academy • Beat the heat with Academy Cafe new fresh juices promotion. Make your own freshly squeezed juices from our daily selection of delightful fruits and vegetables!
This month we highlight Carlos and his Crew down on the Driving Range. Open from 6.30am-10pm, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, so there really is no excuse not to practice more! (from left to right) Marc Lewis, Mark Lester Murillo, Joseph Orense, Jeriel Padilla, Jerald Serdania and Carlos Cabral - Supervisor