6 minute read
Editor’s Letter
All teed up for another season
With the cooler weather just around the corner, it is time to retrieve the clubs from the back of the closet — or pick one up for the fi rst time
By Matt Smith
IT’S THAT TIME of year again where the golfers of the UAE dust off their clubs, call up their mates and see who is up for a post-summer round to blow away the cobwebs and shake off the rust after a few months away from the course.
As the temperatures get back to tolerable levels and the steam-room humidity recedes for another year, it means one thing — the UAE golf season is back.
From the seasoned members looking to see what damage months of idleness has done to their handicap, to the weekend warriors scaring the local fauna and digging up the fl ora, the great, not-so-great and good are preparing to get back out on the fairways across the emirates in force.
As well as the familiar faces returning to the changing rooms to relocate their locker, every autumn — and in growing numbers — brings with it a new wave of players of all ages taking up the game for the fi rst time.
It can be a tricky selection process for rookie golfers looking to join a club and pick up this notoriously unforgiving pastime — same goes for established players looking for a new challenge and venue.
The great thing out here is the options are greater than ever. While demand is high, memberships can be an expensive outlay, so it is important to select the right one for you. Thankfully, there are more than 20 championship-standard clubs across the UAE to choose from, with something tailored to everyone’s needs.
Whether you fall into the category of a parent looking to get their kids into the game, the fi ve-rounds-a-week grinder, the fair-weather hacker, or the casual member who enjoys the pool and padel courts as much as the fairways, the UAE is second to none when it comes to choices available.
As the conveyor belt of talent has shown over the past few years, there are plenty of kids out there waiting to unleash their potential and the professionals are on hand to help. Almost all clubs across the UAE have an academy in some shape or form, many with cutting-edge technology to help you along the way. This is undoubtedly the best course of action for newbies young and old, and some great package deals can be found out there for lessons and access to the club facilities to help you get into the game.
new role
Dubai-based teenager Chiara Noja has been selected as a Golf Saudi ambassador
For those getting back in the swing once again after a summer of hiding from the glaring sun, check out the inside back page of this edition to familiarise yourself with what your buddies say — and what they actually mean!
Further afi eld, the DP World Tour enters its home straight for 2022 with the Rolex Series BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth getting the party started. Tickets are already sold out for the fan-favourite event — Razorlight and Jax Jones will be rocking out at the festival-style weekend —where the likes of Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick will fi ght it out with the cream of the DP World Tour for the $8 million prize pot.
The BMW PGA Championship also means one more date on your calendar is just around the corner as it is not long at all now until the big one — Jumeirah Golf Estates hosts the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in November.
It has been an eventful year for the PGA Tour as the FedEx Cup fi nale — the Tour Championship — brings the curtain down on the action once more. It has been a season that has certainly seen as much off course drama as on-course thrills. With more money on off er than ever before as a result, the PGA is certainly doing its utmost to keep up with the new LIV kids on the block.
Speaking of which, following a month’s break, the LIV Golf action returns at The International Golf Club outside Boston (September 2-4) before the party rolls on to Rich Harvest Farms near Chicago, Illinois (September 16-18).
A raft of new players is set to be announced once the FedEx Cup champion is crowned, and hopefully we can get back to enjoying the on-course action after a summer of accusations and turmoil.
The Ladies European Tour returns to New York for the latest leg of its Aramco Team Series, which is growing in popularity with each event, and will certainly be worth the watch after Nelly and Jessica Korda lit up the course in style at La Reserva Club, Sotogrande in Spain last time out.
It was great to hear that Dubai-based rising star Chiara Noja has been given the recognition she deserves after a stellar debut season on the LET Access Series. At Sotogrande, the German, who plays out of Jumeirah Golf Estates, was selected as an ambassador of Golf Saudi, who have been key to promoting the ladies’ game over the past few years.
Chiara, 16, will join international stars such as Carlota Cigana, Anne van Dam, Olivia Cowen, Anna Nordqvist, Emily Pedersen and Bronte Law as Golf Saudi ambassadors, and will help bring the game of golf to the next generation of budding stars — and perhaps even unearth the next … well … Chiara!
editor-in-chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer
managing partner & group editor
Ian Fairservice
editor Matt Smith art director Clarkwin Cruz editorial assistant Londresa Flores instruction editors Luke Tidmarsh, Euan Bowden, Tom Ogilvie, Matthew Brookes, Lea Pouillard, Alex Riggs
chief commercial officer
Anthony Milne publisher David Burke
general manager - production
S. Sunil Kumar 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, Bubba Watson, Tom Watson
drive time
The courses around the UAE will begin to get busier once again as the temperatures get cooler across the region
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