4 minute read
Editor’s Letter
Game Changer
KENT GRAY kent.gray@motivate.ae • Twitter: @KentGrayGolf / @GolfDigestME
A
CURIOUS BAND of newbies has begun showing up at driving ranges across the UAE. They mostly arrive club-less but not clueless to the benefi t of lessons from a qualifi ed PGA coach. The lush green courses just beyond the practice grounds are not an immediate target, rather the desire for knowledge is caged.
These new players are Topgolf converts and they are loving this maddeningly brilliant new pastime they’ve just discovered.
“I’ve spoken to many people over the last couple of months at all the golf clubs in Dubai who have said they have seen people coming to their golf clubs asking for lessons because they want to be better at Topgolf,” said Chris May, CEO of Golf Dubai which manages Topgolf Dubai at Emirates Golf Club.
“It’s not [traditional] golf, but it is a start and it is our jobs in all the golf clubs to try and build that transition from a Topgolf bay into a green grass fairway, whether it’s a par 3 course, whether it’s more lessons and ultimately in the future to become members of our clubs.”
May was speaking at the Emirates Amateur Golf League’s ‘Future of Golf’ forum which shone an overdue light on the state of the UAE golf industry.
“Those of you that are old enough to know,” May continued, “[will remember] Dubai was very lucky in the early days to have the Nad Al Sheba club which provided an easy and aff ordable, accessible point of entry into golf. Topgolf I think has been doing that in Dubai for the last six months since we opened on January 3rd. “
With an average of 10,000 players a week since then, and a record of 12,000 participants in one seven day stretch, the arrival of Topgolf in the Middle East has been an unequivocal success.
Ironically, COVID-19 has also helped drive growth on the region’s more traditional fairways. The forum reported “approximately” 80,000 rounds played across the UAE’s 18 courses in April, up from 12,000 a year earlier at the height of the pandemic but more pertinently 26,000 more rounds than were recorded in April 2019.
It’s part of a global trend with even epidemiologists agreeing golf is about as safe a sporting pursuit as you could hope to fi nd in this weird new world in which we inhabit.
What has most pleased May is the diverse makeup of the chock-a-block bays at Topgolf Dubai.
“The diversity of nationalities, the diversity of age-groups, the number of UAE nationals and GCC nationals who are picking up a golf club for the fi rst time and playing and having fun, it’s really something I don’t think we’ve seen in this region before,” May said. “I think we’ll see several more Topgolf facilities in the region because it really is a way of getting new people into the game which will help the entire golf industry and certainly all of the golf clubs in the region.”
Our ‘State of the Nation’ feature (from p20) has more on that exciting prospect, as well as the views of other key stakeholders tasked with ensuring the unexpected momentum provided by COVID-19 isn’t wasted.
Be sure to check out our Tokyo 2020 (it’s a weird time, remember) preview as well. It features the inspiring stories of fi ve players chasing Olympic glory for their underdog nations, including Arabic pioneer Maha Haddioui from Morocco and Indian star Aditi Ashok who are so well known in this part of the world.
At a Summer Olympiad yonder, how wonderful it would be if a new star’s inspirational story includes how they were introduced to the game by thwacking balls towards the Dubai Marina skyline or some other iconic Middle East backdrop. Much stranger things have happened, especially in the past 18 months.
editor-in-chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer managing partner & group editor Ian Fairservice
editor Kent Gray art director Clarkwin Cruz editorial assistant Londresa Flores instruction editors Luke Tidmarsh, Euan Bowden, Tom Ogilvie, Matthew Brookes, Alex Riggs chief commercial officer Anthony Milne publisher David Burke general manager - production S. Sunil Kumar assistant production manager Binu Purandaran
THE GOLF DIGEST PUBLICATIONS editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde
director, business development &
partnerships Greg Chatzinoff international editor Ju Kuang Tan
GOLF DIGEST USA editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde general manager Chris Reynolds editorial director Max Adler executive editor Peter Morrice art director Chloe Galkin managing editors Alan P. Pittman, Ryan Herrington (News) chief playing editor Tiger Woods playing editors Phil Mickelson, Francesco Molinari, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson
Scan the QR Code to read, download and share the latest, and back issues, of Golf Digest Middle East.
head office: Media One Tower, PO Box 2331, Dubai, UAE Tel +971 4 427 3000; Fax +971 4 428 2270 dubai media city: SD 2-94, 2nd Floor, Building 2, Dubai, UAE Tel +971 4 390 3550; Fax +971 4 390 4845 abu dhabi: PO Box 43072, UAE Tel +971 2 657 3490; Fax +971 2 657 3489 london: Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London NW1 3ER, UK, E-mail: motivateuk@motivate.ae
GOLF DIGEST and HOW TO PLAY, WHAT TO PLAY, WHERE TO PLAY are registered trademarks of Discovery Golf, Inc. Copyright © 2021 Discovery Golf, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. Volume 72, Issue 2. GOLF DIGEST (ISSN 0017-176X) is published eight times a year by Discovery Golf, Inc. Principal office: Golf Digest, 1180 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y., 10036. Discovery Golf, Inc.: Alex Kaplan, President & GM; Gunnar Wiedenfels, Chief Financial Officer. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and at additional mailing offices.
golfdigestme.com
