GOLF DIGEST MIDDLE EAST CAUGHT UP WITH THE NEW CEO OF GOLF SAUDI

BY MATT SMITH

WHEN GOLF SAUDI ANNOUNCED the appointment of Noah Alireza as its new CEO in February, succeeding Majed Al Sorour in the role, it also signalled the next step in the Kingdom’s vision for the sport.

Alireza, a former member of the Saudi Arabian national team who represented his country at the Asian Games, brings a wealth of experience in strategic advisory serving some of Saudi Arabia’s most influential entities within the public and private sectors, and he is a lifelong student of the game of golf and a graduate of Brown University, Rhode Island.

As he settles into his new role, Alireza’s remit is to activate and accelerate Golf Saudi’s mandate in creating and serving the growing demand for golf in Saudi Arabia, through mass participation programmes and increasing access to the sport in the country as part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 programme.

Golf Digest Middle East recently caught up with Alireza to get the lowdown on the man, the hard work and next steps for Golf Saudi

•••

First of all, how are you settling into the role?

Being Saudi as well as a passionate golfer, it is a privilege and an honour to wake up every morning to work on something you love.

There’s a clear and exciting challenge that lies ahead, which is to convert the major strides already made when it comes to events into accelerating the build up of golfrelated infrastructure within Saudi Arabia.

The most exciting part is that, with Vision 2030, this is one of many streams that are happening in Saudi Arabia when it comes to sports activation, and we have the ability to synergise and leverage each other to achieve unique, original and impactful outcomes. This clarity and the potential impact sports can have on the social, economic, and environmental levels in Saudi Arabia makes this challenge worth devoting every working hour.

•••

How have you found these past two months, especially with the men’s and women’s Saudi Internationals?

Staging back-to-back events like we have just witnessed are no easy feat, so it is to the credit of our amazing team that delivery of both was, once again, of the very highest standard.

I have been fortunate enough to be part of these events as a Pro-Am guest in recent years so knew what to expect to an extent, but things are always very different looking from the inside. It is evident how much these tournaments stand as a showcase for the sport in Saudi Arabia. They serve as an opportunity to encourage a burgeoning domestic interest in the sport. Part of the challenge is to channel the outcome of these events from viewership into participation.

•••

There were many clinics and talks during the events, how do you see the growth of the game in Saudi Arabia?

Despite the incredible progress to date, golf is still a young sport in Saudi Arabia. However, our focus is to have an accelerated growth trajectory. A combination of factors will be crucial to this and mainly revolve around striking the right balance between access and demand.

Ultimately, the courses in development here are the pinnacle for us, and we want as many people as possible to eventually become members of a thriving golf community.

We also continue focusing on off-course and mobile facilities — such as driving ranges, simulators, and fun mini-golf experiences.

All of this, and more, helps create a pathway, encouraging people to try the game and, hopefully, make them lifelong golfers.

•••

What are the immediate and longer-term visions for golf in the Kingdom?

The overall focus is to develop a thriving golf landscape here in Saudi Arabia, by allowing ease of access to anyone who wants to participate and benefit from the virtues of this game.

The immediate challenge is turning the current awareness into active golfers and having the correct access points at all incomes and skill levels, from beginner to intermediate to national team to elite — and in the long term, to create new world champions, who in turn create new dreamers, to inspire and feed the cycle. We’ve recently seen this in the World Cup when Saudi Arabia beat Argentina — that was a generational moment that inspired a new wave of interest that will ultimately create future stars. Eventually, with the right balance of demand and supply, the golf industry will become self-sufficient, creating thousands of jobs and serving thousands of recreational players.

•••

Besides getting players on courses, how are business and college programmes helping Saudis from all walks of life get on the career ladder?

In developing a thriving sector, we must concentrate on all components, and the professional expertise of a workforce in golf is critical. In areas such as golf instruction, facility management and hospitality we require highly skilled individuals who are looking to enjoy a career in this sport. Therefore, we have created partnerships with the likes of Club Managers Association of Europe (CMAE) and the National Training Centre for Facilities and Hospitality Management (FHM).

Last year we launched our fi rst Arabic Golf Education Training programme. Several individuals have now progressed from this and are moving into employment within our facilities, which is something we are all terrifically proud of.

The plan is to continue to develop on these efforts and go further into developing other disciplines within the golf value chain such as agronomy. Our primary focus is to ensure that knowledge in these disciplines is transferred and eventually led by Saudis.

•••

Othman Almulla was thrilled to welcome Saud and Faisal to the pro ranks at the Saudi International. What are your hopes for them and the inspiration they provide future generations? Celebrating the achievements of Othman, Faisal and Saud, three incredible ambassadors for both their sport and their country, will help us grow interest in golf here in the Kingdom. They have shown they can compete with the best on the Asian Tour, with Faisal and Saud both making cuts within their fi rst two events after turning pro, so the future is looking bright.

We will continue supporting them, celebrating their successes and bringing news of their achievements back to the youth in Saudi, who we hope will be inspired to follow in their footsteps.

•••

We are also seeing massive growth in the region among women thanks to the likes of Chiara Noja winning ATS Jeddah last year and Ines Laklalech getting her first pro win in France, and then there was the flagship Ladies European Tour event — the Aramco Saudi Ladies International — off ering equal prize money to the men of $5 million, attracting the likes of world No. 1 and winner Lydia Ko (pictured le ) …

The ladies’ game is going from strength to strength, and that is supported by global participation figures which is amazing to see. Our support of events and players on the LET is helping to build this momentum, and we hope it continues to boost interest in golf back in Saudi Arabia among women.

We know that having some of the stars in the women’s game visiting KSA was crucial in inspiring uptake in our Ladies First Club initiative in 2020 and we already have graduates from that initial programme participating as amateurs in Aramco Team Series events.

Our aspiration is to have Saudi ladies play golf at an elite level and we will be giving full support in this endeavour.

•••

The ladies return for the Aramco Team Series, but in Riyadh rather than Royal Greens. Is this part of a plan to spread the events to a wider audience across the Kingdom?

Absolutely it is, yes. Riyadh being the vibrant capital of Saudi Arabia already has three courses with other worldclass facilities currently being built. Riyadh Golf Club, which is currently the closest to the city centre, is going through the necessary improvements to ensure that it is a real challenge for the world’s best players. Riyadh is where the majority of golfers in Saudi Arabia are, and we are excited to bring a professional golfi ng event to the capital city and continue to grow the game here and across the country.

After five years of events at Royal Greens, which will nevertheless remain a key host of other events in the future, everyone at Golf Saudi is very excited about hosting the ATS in Riyadh and we think the ladies are going to enjoy the challenge.