Golf Digest Middle East - March 2025 by Motivate Media Group

Next Chapter

Adrian Otaegui opens up about his journey from DP World Tour player to UAE golfer, and how the future now looks for him. Page 50

4 Money Talks

A deal looks imminent in global golf between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, ﬁnally!

BY HARRY GRIMSHAW

the starter

6 Georgian Paradise

Tbilisi Hills Golf oﬀers a golﬁng experience with breathtaking views of the Caucasus Mountains and Tbilisi.

voices

8 Journeys

BY CONOR PURCELL

WITH HARRY GRIMSHAW

10 The Real Score is Jack 20, Tiger 18 Golf failed math, but it’s not too late to correct the record.

BY JERRY TARDE

features

48 Fitness Focused Dominic Foos has shifted his focus to ﬁtness and mental resilience from 2025.

BY HARRY GRIMSHAW

50 Golf, Desert and the Dubai Life

UAE golfer Adrian Otaegui shares insights into his life both on and oﬀ the course.

WITH HARRY GRIMSHAW

54 Canter on Form in Bahrain

Since being released from LIV, Laurie is a front runner on Tour.

55 Li’s Doha Delight

The Chinese star captured his fourth DP World Tour title in dramatic fashion.

56 LIV Golf Riyadh Meronk shines under the Riyadh lights.

57 Thitikul Cash’s In Riyadh played host to the $5 million PIF Saudi Ladies International.

58 Golf Digest Honours

Who made our sport the greatest this year?

BY THE EDITORS

how to play

12 Sticky Lies

It’s important to eliminate wrist movement in this shot.

BY JACKSON BELL

14 Amp Up Your Warm-Up

Don’t just start with a wedge.

BY ERIC COLE

15 Drain Those Six-Footers

Christiaan Bezuidenhout is one of the tour’s best short putters.

BY LUKE KERR-DINEEN

16 Find the Fairway All Day Long

We revive classic tips in our archive from the late, great Calvin Peete.

what to play

19 Range Rats

Thirty-two players, 248 clubs and roughly 40,000 shots.

BY PETER MORRICE

21 HOT LIST PART 2

Players Irons; PlayersDistance Irons; Game-Improvement Irons; Super-GameImprovement Irons BY MIKE STACHURA

42 What You Need To Know PXG GEN7 and Black Ops irons BY E. MICHAEL JOHNSON

where to play

44 Al Ain Equestrian Shooting and Golf Club

One of the leading multi-sports facilities in the UAE.

BY HARRY GRIMSHAW

46 Garden City’s Golﬁng Jewel

A golf course oﬀering a unique desert experience in Al Ain. BY SHANE PEACOCK

the gulf club

66 Club News

A gallery of some of the local winners in the amateur circuit.

The Yellow Brick Road

From rivalry to reuniﬁcation: how the PGA Tour and LIV are shaping the future of golf

BY HARRY GRIMSHAW

WITH THE MASTERS on the horizon, it’s “usually” a time when we see the game’s best coming together. But with the hurdles in the game over the past three years, I think there might be some actual light in the distance.

Irish golﬁng legend Paul McGinley has stated that a deal between the PGA Tour, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), and LIV Golf is set to not just be agreed, but in time for the men’s ﬁrst major of 2025. Oh yes!

But no one outside of the people “in the know” actually knows what this deal will look like. Will there be one tour or two working alongside each other? And how does the team component, which LIV has built their model around, come into play? Plus, LIV continue to assert the fact that they’re not going anywhere – so that means they’re here to stay in some capacity.

It’s crazy to even see that President Donald Trump is involved in ironing out this deal – a huge advocate of golf, he’s certainly not shy when it comes to making a dollar or two in the process of business.

A PGA Tour delegation of Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, and Commissioner Jay Monahan met with President Donald Trump at the White House in mid-February, along-

side PIF governor H.E. Yasir Al-Rumayyan. The PGA Tour even released a statement on the meeting: “We have just concluded a constructive working session at the White House with President Trump and H.E. Yasir Al-Rumayyan.

“Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, we have initiated a discussion about the reuniﬁcation of golf. We are committed to moving as quickly as possible and will share additional details as appropriate. We share a passion for the game and the importance of reuniﬁcation. Most importantly, we all want the best players in the world playing together more often and are committed to doing all we can to deliver that outcome for our fans.”

That seems oﬃcial enough. Even Tiger has had his say on the meeting – when he talks, you tend to listen. “So I think things are going to heal quickly. We’re going to get this game going in the right direction. We’ve been heading in the wrong direction for a number of years. The fans want all of us, all the top players, playing together. And we’re going to make it happen.”

So, it looks like we ﬁnally have an end in sight to this strange couple of years of headbutting and money spending. But with so much money being pumped into the game at the top, is it being ﬁltered down to where it needs to be? PIF and LIV have forced the PGA Tour to increase their prize funds to keep the players and fans interested, but surely there needs to be more investment in actually growing the game at a lower level? The gap between the top tours and the next tier down will only grow further apart, which is not what is needed.

harry.grimshaw@motivate.ae

@harrygrimshaw / @golfdigestme

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the starter

Tbilisi Golf Haven

A scenic masterpiece in the heart of Georgia.

TBILISI HILLS GOLF is located atop a mountain, just 15 minutes from the Old Town of Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi. Designed by Lassi Pekka Tilander, the course oﬀers panoramic views of the Caucasus Mountains, Tbilisi city, and the historic Shavnabada Monastery.

Opened in 2018, the golf course is both fun and challenging, with unique slopes and elevation changes that make it enjoyable for both beginners and experienced golfers.

With its combination of worldclass golf, Georgian cuisine, renowned wines, and unique architecture, Tbilisi stands out as a top golﬁng destination.

The 18-hole parkland-style course has been ranked among the Top 100 Golf Courses in Continental Europe and has been nominated for Europe’s Best Golf Course by the World Golf Awards for the past two years. tbilisihills.com

‘I

probably had some of my worst moments as a pro last year’

You’ve grown up watching all the Irish lads play, then suddenly you’re just playing practice rounds side-by-side with them.

BY CONOR PURCELL WITH HARRY GRIMSHAW

IWAS QUITE YOUNG when I was introduced to golf. My dad was a professional himself and the Head Pro at Portmarnock for 26 years, so ever since I was a kid, he was trying to put a golf club in my hand. Growing up at Portmarnock, we had so many Irish Opens that I was just earwigging with the pros all the time, so I was fortunate to see all the greats come through the door.

I was always interested in playing golf, then at the age of 13, I got more serious about wanting to do well in the game. Which was tough, because in secondary school, you’re weighing up what you want to do with your life. Sport had always just played such a huge role in my life; I dabbled in everything growing up. Tennis was huge; both my brothers are tennis coaches, so I was lucky that I had a bit of a choice of what to play, and that kind of sporty family just gets the best out of you as everyone’s pushing each other on. Then, having dad so involved in the game when I was growing up just made me want to try to beat him.

● ● ●

CONOR PURCELL

DP WORLD TOUR

AGE: 27

PRO WINS: 2

LIVES: DUBLIN, IRELAND

ous year, but my better golf was much better. I think the Challenge Tour, now HotelPlanner Tour, really rewarded high finishes. So it was a huge goal of mine to try to get my first win. Then to actually do it at Galgorm was just amazing with all my family and friends to see it happen and celebrate with me. I went through a bit of a tricky patch after the first win because you have that expectation that you should be up near the top of the leaderboard every single week. Obviously, that’s not the reality of golf. But I managed to get myself together and notch up that second win in China, and finish high up on the Road to Mallorca rankings.

It’s funny, though, because I probably had some of my worst moments as a pro last year, as well as some of my best. A tale of two halves. I had a stretch of events where I had never missed that many cuts in a row either. That’s just golf, it’s never the same year to year, week to week, it’s all different, it’s all part of it. You just need to learn how to deal with all the different things that come along with it.

● ● ●

A couple of the Irish guys reached out when I secured my DP World Tour card. It’s always nice to be recognised for having done well, but it’s almost a surreal feeling when you’ve grown up watching all the Irish lads play, then suddenly you’re just playing practice rounds side-by-side with them. That makes it nice to have people to look up to who’ve done so well in the game and know that it can be done.

● ● ●

In my amateur ranks, I saw a steady progression most years. I went through all the Golf Ireland programmes, different teams, all the age groups and dabbled with a bit of college golf in the States. I ended up playing in the Walker Cup in 2019 and then turned pro, right in time for COVID! That was tricky for everyone, and I think the most difficult thing for my career was I didn’t have a set place to play, and I was jumping from Tour to Tour, trying to play whenever I could get a chance.

● ● ●

2024 was my standout year. It was a funny year in the sense that, consistently, I wasn’t as good as I was the previ-

It’s really good for me personally to be out here on Tour, but as much as I’m selfish about it, I’d love to have loads of the Irish lads out here with me. It’s hopefully going to be a long career for me, and you want to have good times when you’re out on the road as well. So, I’m looking to get the best out of myself, and I really hope a couple of the lads can join me in the next couple of years, and we can all have a good run at it.

● ● ●

You never know, the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in 2027 would be a dream. It’s obviously down the road, but I don’t really pitch my goals too far ahead. I’m really trying to get to a place where I’m just focusing on every week as it comes and see what that brings.

The Real Score is Jack 20, Tiger 18

Golf failed math, but it’s not too late to correct the record

BY JERRY TARDE

Long before Tiger came a long, the pals of my youth were Hoganophiles or infantrymen in Arnie’s Army. I was a Nicklaus guy; I studied all things Jack. My first act of civil disobedience as a teenager was getting a Philadelphia public-library card under false pretenses in the name of “Jack Nicklaus.” I used it to read all the books on the shelf

about golf. Every year that Jack didn’t win the Masters was instantly ruined for me, because the Grand Slam—winning four majors in a single season— was out of reach.

Bobby Jones won the first Grand Slam by carrying off the U.S. Open and Amateur and the Open Championship and Amateur in 1930. Amateurs were as good as pros in Jones’ time,

and those four tournaments comprised the accepted “major championships.” It wasn’t until pros dominated the game that Arnold Palmer invented the modern Grand Slam on a transatlantic flight to the 1960 Open at St. Andrews—only then did we come to

COUNT ‘EM! 1961 U.S. Am runner-up Dudley Wysong congratulates Nicklaus on his second major.

value the Masters, U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the PGA as the four pro majors. Arnie had won the first two that year and announced to Pittsburgh sportswriter Bob Drum over cocktails that he was going for the Grand Slam. He finished runner-up in the Open and later tied for seventh in the PGA, which was the closest he’d ever come.

“Arnie wasn’t interested in counting, just winning,” says Tim Finchem. Jack embarked on a more historical quest to become the greatest of all time (back before we knew what acronyms like GOAT and POTUS stood for) and saw Jones’ total of 13–five U.S. Amateurs, four U.S. Opens, three Opens and one British Amateur—as a career numerical target. It was universally recognised that the Amateur championships counted as majors, so Jack turned pro with two U.S. Amateurs in the bank (1959 and 1961). He says he actually “started counting” in 1970 when he won the Open at St. Andrews for his 10th and the Associated Press writer Bob Green told him he “trailed Jones by three.”

In the preeminent golf-history book of our time, The Story of American Golf (1975 edition), Herbert Warren Wind stated unequivocally that by winning the 1973 PGA Championship at Canterbury, Nicklaus “smashed Jones’ old mark of 13 victories in the major championships.” Wind even included a chart that shows Jack’s finishes in all the majors including the U.S. Amateur from 1959 onward. It then totaled 14, to which Nicklaus would add six more. My computation says 14 plus 6 equals 20, but somehow we’ve been convinced it only adds up to 18. How did the game of golf collectively fail math?

The key evidence is the 1986 Masters, what might be the greatest tournament of all time. I walked the last nine holes and celebrated with Jack in the press building afterward. As Frederick Klein wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “It was his sixth win in the prestigesoaked tourney and his 20th win in a golf major.” Ron Green in the Charlotte Observer concurred: “He has now won 20 major championships, 18 as a professional.” So did Dan Jenkins in Golf

Digest, Rick Reilly in Sports Illustrated, Herb Wind in The New Yorker, Jim Murray in the Los Angeles Times, Gordon S. White Jr. in The New York Times, Dai Davies in The (Manchester) Guardian, Art Spander in the San Francisco Examiner, Jeff Williams in Newsday, Joe Greenday in the Philadelphia Daily News, Mike Rabun of United Press International, Tim Rosaforte in the (Fort Lauderdale) Sun Sentinel, Jesse Outlar in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution— they all counted 20 majors for Jack. I was the editor of Golf Digest in those days and we published an art poster showing scenes from Jack’s 20 majors illustrated by Jim McQueen. Browning, the firearms manufacturer, made a commemorative shotgun called The Nicklaus Twenty. The only significant golf writer who dissented at the time, inexplicably, was Bob Green, who for some reason credited him with only 18 in his AP story of the 1986 Masters. Other golf historians like Peter Dobereiner, Charles Price, Dave Anderson, Bob Sommers, Al Barkow, Jaime Diaz, Bill Fields, Guy Yocom and Alastair Johnston all have given Jack 20 majors. I don’t know a single legitimate golf historian who disagrees.

Do Amateur championships still matter? The collective wisdom is that they count historically even though the game now focuses on the pro majors. The late Dan Jenkins and I debated the issue at length and believed in what we called the Retroactive Rule—that is, Amateurs are validated if a player goes on to win a pro major. Therefore, Palmer’s 1954 U.S. Amateur gets added to his four Masters, one U.S. Open and two Opens for a total of eight majors. Phil Mickelson’s 1990 U.S. Amateur is tacked onto his six pro majors for a total of seven. Viktor Hovland’s U.S. Amateur (2018) awaits validation.

When did this putsch occur, overthrowing a century of history? “I went to bed with 20 and woke up with 18,” Nicklaus told me recently. “I’d like to know what happened.”

PGA Tour historian Laury Livsey and I conclude it derives from a research project ordered in 1988 by commis -

sioner Deane Beman to recount, once and for all, the PGA Tour’s official tournaments. From that, Sam Snead’s career total of wins was judged to be 82, the number that Tiger Woods has tied. (Nicklaus has 73.)

One might assume that it was based on exhaustive study and scholarship in the way Major League Baseball has created an unassailable statistical record book, but the tour’s effort was, to put it charitably, haphazard. Jenkins and I participated in the initial media committee, however it devolved into a series of “blue ribbon” non-expert panels mostly directed by Beman to promote the PGA Tour’s agenda, so no surprise that USGA championships got lost. “A gang of fools, dunces, point-missers,” Dan called them as we walked out of one meeting. They ended up publishing a “history” book ranking players by year that was immediately disputed, as one poignant example demonstrates: In 1953, Doug Ford was ranked No. 1 and Ben Hogan 14th—in 1953, Hogan won the Masters, U.S. Open and Open championships and Doug Ford won the Miami Open, the Labatt Open and the Virginia Beach Open.

But Beman’s powerful personality and the strength of the PGA Tour’s brand over time discounted all nonpro tournaments and maybe, as an unintended consequence, the Amateurs were left out in the cold. (Ironically, Deane won two U.S. Amateurs and a British Amateur, but no pro majors.)

Counting all major championships over a career is the one true measure of greatness in golf, and the game needs a new audit. It’s up to Nicklaus and Woods to correct their own record and speak out openly about their full major championship totals.

For those who care, the facts are these: Nicklaus has won 20 major championships—two U.S. Amateurs, six Masters, four U.S. Opens, three Opens and five PGAs. Tiger Woods has won 18 major championships—three U.S. Amateurs, five Masters, three U.S. Opens, three Opens and four PGAs. And good luck to anyone who can beat those historical records.

EDITED BY HARRY GRIMSHAW

“With the sticky lies around the greens in the UAE, it’s important to eliminate wrist movement in this shot. Grip down on the club, let the shaft become more vertical in setup, stand closer, and allow the club’s toe to work more into the ground.

When the toe works into the ground, it is less likely to dig in, compared to the sole or heel sitting into the ground.

Allow your arms and shoulders to gently rock, with the toe reaching the turf first, causing the ball to pop up from the turf for these sticky greenside chip shots.”

-JACKSON BELL, TEACHING PROFESSIONAL, TOMMY FLEETWOOD ACADEMY, DUBAI, UAE

Amp Up Your Warm-Up

My mum, Laura Baugh, knew how to prepare for a round BY

BERIC COLE

E ING NAMED THE PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year in 2023, 50 years after my mum, Laura Baugh, captured the same award on the LPGA Tour, was quite an honour. Fortunately for me, both of my parents were pros—my father Bobby Cole won the 1977 Buick Open on the PGA Tour—and I spent much of my childhood watching them play and practice.

My dad hit it well past me, so I spent more time playing with my mum. Although she never won, she had 71 top-10 finishes across her 25-year LPGA career. One thing I noticed about her warm-up was that she always started with her fairway woods. Most pros begin with wedges and work their way up to the driver, but my mum believed that by hitting some 3- and 5-woods off the deck, she would have a better sense of where her swing was that day. Not only must your rhythm and sequencing be sharp, but solid contact is a must if you want to hit woods off the ground. You have to be in balance and complete your backswing because you need more time to square the clubface.

I still warm up like this today. Even if I don’t anticipate hitting a lot of fairway woods, I’ll hit several off the deck

on the range (above) just because, as they say, mums know best. I know if I hit my woods flush, I’m good to go. It certainly makes hitting the other clubs feel easy. Next time you warm up, give it a try and see if it makes a difference in your ball-striking.

—WITH DAVE ALLEN

ERIC COLE is the second-oldest player (age 35) to win PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. He had seven top-10 finishes on tour in 2023.

+ ERIC BREAKS DOWN MUM’S SWING

So what else did Eric Cole learn from watching his mum play for so many years on the LPGA Tour? For Eric’s analysis of his mum’s full swing and, in particular, why he loved her finish so much, visit www.GolfDigestME.com.

CHRISTIAAN BEZUIDENHOUT pays the bills with his putter, which a lot of his fellow pros wish they could say. He ranked in the top 10 on the PGA Tour in 10 different putting categories this past season, including first in one-putt percentage (45 percent), which might be explained by a drill he does daily.

“It’s always been the strong spot in my game,” says the 30-year-old South African, who has five victories worldwide. “I love working on my putting, hitting different putts, reading greens.”

Bezuidenhout’s ‘dialed’ drill

Before every round, he sets up this putting station (above):

• He finds a flat a six-footer.

• He draws a chalk line from the ball to the hole.

• He places tees on either side of his putter to create a “gate” to putt through.

• He matches the line on his golf ball with the chalk line.

Drain Those Six-Footers

One of the game’s best helps you make these makeable putts

BY LUKE KERR-DINEEN

ROCK STEADY

At impact, try to keep the putter stable.

With the station ready, Bezuidenhout spends roughly 15 minutes swinging his putterhead through the gate and rolling the ball perfectly down the chalk line. The tees help make sure he hits the ball in the sweet spot with a square face.

“It gets my start line dialed and keeps my stroke consistent,” he says.

He’ll also hit putts with his left hand only to groove the feeling of having that wrist firm at impact, with the back of that hand facing the target. It’s a great way to train to keep the putterface stable.

Find the Fairway All Day Long

Advice from the most accurate driver in PGA Tour history

BY LUKE KERR-DINEEN

THE LATE CALVIN PEETE was an amazing golfer with an amazing story, and it’s hard to overstate just how straight he hit the ball. Peete didn’t take up the game until he was in his 20s, yet he led the PGA Tour in driving accuracy from 1981 to 1990 and was among the annual leaders in greens in regulation. He also won 12 times.

What was the key to his accuracy? Some say it was because of the way he was forced to swing the club to accommodate a left-elbow fracture from

his childhood that never completely healed. That explanation, however, diminishes his athletic skill.

Golf Digest periodically checked in with the Peete to talk about his precision. A common theme to his tips was to “stay balanced throughout the swing.” One time, however, he expanded on what that meant.

“Under pressure, my thoughts are tempo and balance,” Peete said in Golf Digest’s September 1983 issue. “You can’t have either if your weight isn’t evenly distributed in both feet, nor toward your toes or heels.

“I think of my left foot as rolling left on my backswing. On the forward swing, the left foot serves as an anchor, and my right foot rolls toward the target as my weight shifts back to the left. I never consciously lift either heel off the ground. I think of my feet as being similar to a governor on an engine. If I have good, light footwork, I can’t swing too fast. And if I swing too fast, I can’t have good footwork.”

ACCESS TO HISTORY

Peete, who died in 2015 at the age of 71, gave Golf Digest a lot of tips over the years, like cocking his head at address to help produce a draw (left head cock) or fade (right). You can read his advice, plus tips from legends such as Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus and more, in the Golf Digest Archives.

ARROW STRAIGHT

Calvin Peete hit nearly 82 percent of fairways in a nineyear span.

EDITED BY PETER MORRICE

Range Rats

Thirty-two players, 248 clubs, roughly 40,000 shots and over 300,000 words of feedback this year. The Golf Digest Hot List remains the most exhaustive equipment review in the game.

Knowing which of the four iron categories on this year’s Hot List you fall into might seem like a daunting task. However, a quick self-evaluation can get you on track. Are you an elite golfer? Check out Players irons. Are you a good stick but not hitting 12 greens a round? Try Players-Distance irons. An OK golfer looking to mask some ﬂaws? That’s Game-Improvement irons. Or a player who needs as much help as possible? Super-Game-Improvement is the way to go. Wherever you land, we’ve got you covered with the 38 irons that follow. You’ll ﬁnd the right one for you.

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‘It’s a classic look with a little extra size to offer help. I think it’s just beautiful in how it frames the ball. The most comfortable irons I’ve swung in a while.’

—5-HANDICAP

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TAYLORMADE P•770

RRP AED 6,685

• A hollow-body construction with a forged, high-strength steel face insert produces plenty of distance sizzle.

• The face insert wraps around the leading edge into the sole for more potential ball speed from impacts lower on the face.

• Tungsten within the head (as much as 41 grams) lowers the centre of gravity for more e ective launch.

• Top 5 in Forgiveness, low-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 33 degrees; PW: 45 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘They have the performance of gameimprovement clubs. They’re the perfect option for a guy who wants to fool others into thinking he’s a player. It’s a highlaunch club.’

—0-HANDICAP

TAYLORMADE P•7CB

RRP AED 6,685

• The single-piece forged cavity-back clubhead is more compact than the P·770.

• Cavities in the sole are milled out, allowing for tungsten and a slug of lightweight metalmatrix composite to be inserted to lower the centre of gravity.

• The metal-matrix composite is oneﬁfth the density of the surrounding steel. This allows for more perimeter weighting and ultimately more forgiveness.

• Top 5 in Forgiveness, low-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 33 degrees; PW: 46 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

★★★★

INNOVATION

★★★★

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL ★★★★ ½

‘Everything was pretty spot-on. It was hard to ﬁnd something that I didn’t like. It has a really nice, cushy feel to it; even on off-centre hits it’s not harsh.’

—7-HANDICAP

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Megastore

TITLEIST T100

RRP AED 7,980

• A forged, dual-cavity design creates a tourlike look in an iron that everyday single-digithandicappers can play.

• Super-dense D18 tungsten (1.5 times heavier than lead) in the heel and toe foster super-charged stability and improved feel.

• Coordinating with the company’s wedge designers brought a softened chamfer in the trailing edge of the sole for better turf interaction.

• Top 5 in Performance, middle-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 34 degrees; PW: 46 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

/ SOUND / FEEL

‘It has nice curves to the toe and the heel—a traditionallooking iron that would ﬁt in well at the country club. It cuts through the turf really well and launches high.’

—1-HANDICAP

TITLEIST T150

RRP AED 7,980

• The T150 is hotter than the T100 thanks to its stronger lofts (2 degrees) and a channel behind the face that adds spring at impact.

• The muscle channel is close to the face to provide a solid feel.

• Dense D18 tungsten is incorporated using an aerospace brazing process that eliminates weld joints. This allows for a more precise centre of gravity and increased stability on o -centre strikes.

• Top 5 in Forgiveness, middle-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 32 degrees; PW: 44 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

★★★★★

INNOVATION ★★★★

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘They get through the turf so nicely. It’s the thing I love about them the most. Even on shots that aren’t great swings, the sole seems to correct a lot of stuff.’

—1-HANDICAP

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CALLAWAY

Apex Ai200

RRP AED 7,350

• A forged, hollow-body clubhead is married to a forged, high-strength 455-stainless-steel face that wraps around the top and sole to create impressive face ﬂex through the 8-iron.

• The “Ai Smart Face” used the power of AI to analyse swing data of regular golfers to deliver tight dispersion and added yards.

• Tungsten encased in urethane with microscopic air bubbles assists feel.

• Top 5 in Forgiveness, all handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 30 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

OVERALL RATING

CALLAWAY

Apex Ti Fusion

RRP AED 10,465

• A proprietary brazing process was used to join the stainless-steel body with the titanium face—an industry ﬁrst.

• The strong and thin titanium face gives ball speed a boost.

/ SOUND / FEEL

‘These were straight as an arrow—deadly. Even intentional fades went straight. That was cool and yummy. The 5-iron is an absolute missile. One of the longest irons I’ve hit.’

—14-HANDICAP

• The forged-steel body features urethane microspheres inside the head to provide a feel typically found in forged irons.

• A diamond-like coating is more durable than PVD and reduces glare o the clubhead.

• Top 5 in Performance, low- and high-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 30.5 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE ★★★★

INNOVATION

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘I really like the all-black ﬁnish and shaft. The club was responsive. Mis-hits hung in there and performed well. It didn’t feel like it was hard to get the most out of these.’

—0-HANDICAP

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Megastore

COBRA King Tec

RRP TBC

• The muscle-back shape cleverly hides the fact that the head is hollow and uses a thin variable-thickness face for greater ball speed and a higher launch.

• A 20-gram tungsten toe weight in the 4- through 7-irons is positioned in a way that allows the centre of gravity to be more in line with the face’s centre.

• The ﬁve-step forging process and softer foam create a deeper sound that appeals to better players.

• Top 5 in Performance, low-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 29.5 degrees; PW: 44 degrees

Coming soon to eGolf Megastore

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘Another head that has no distractions. Even the thickness doesn’t bother you. It’s a well-balanced club, too. You can throttle it back to hit different shots if you want to.’

—+3-HANDICAP

MIZUNO

JPX925 Forged

RRP AED 6,650

• A new, hollow-body design allows for a thin, forged 4120 chromolysteel face for added spring at impact in the 4- through 7-irons.

• A revamped variablethickness face in the 4- through 8-irons expands the sweet spot from previous iterations of this model.

• Less weight in the toe makes it easier to draw the ball.

• A metal bar in the back cavity and a rigid topline contribute to a syrupy feel.

• Top 5 in Performance, high-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 30 degrees;

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘What it does the best, it takes a players-iron look and package and squeezes all that performance out of it, like squeezing limes for fresh margaritas.’

—1-HANDICAP

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MIZUNO

JPX925 Hot Metal Pro

RRP AED 5,950

• A multi-material clubhead (a ﬁrst for the JPX line) features a thin chromoly-steel cupface for improved ball speed and tungsten weighting for precise centre-ofgravity placement.

• A smaller, more controllable iron with less o set and a thinner topline than other JPX925 models.

• The sole features a beveled leading edge, high bounce and a trailing-edge grind to make entering and exiting the turf easier.

• Top 5 in Performance, high-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 28 degrees;

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

‘I love that it’s big enough to instill conﬁdence. You feel like a better player hitting it, but you’re actually cheating. It’s forgiving and powerful.”

—7-HANDICAP

MIZUNO Mizuno Pro 245

RRP AED 8,050

• This hollow-body iron’s face and neck are grain-ﬂow forged from 4135 chromoly steel through the 8-iron.

• Internal tungsten weighting through the 7-iron is 46.4 grams as opposed to 30 grams in last year’s version. This provides more stability on mis-hits.

• A new method of laser welding suspends the tungsten in the head, allowing the face to ﬂex on shots struck low.

• The copper underlay delivers a smooth feel.

• Top 5 in Performance, low-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 30 degrees;

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE ★★★★

INNOVATION

★★★★

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘It looks like a craftsman spent a lot of time getting the aesthetics just right. The sensation and sound at impact were on the velvety side, an absolute pleasure.’

—13-HANDICAP

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RRP AED 7,175

• A blade-style, hollow structure and highstrength maragingsteel face allow for signiﬁcant bending of the face at impact for extra distance and a higher launch.

• An arcing sole cascade helps with the ﬂexing to ensure maximum height that leads to stopping power.

• A “Hydropearl 2.0” chrome ﬁnish helps ensure lower launch angles with high spin rates on the short irons.

• Top 5 in Performance, middle- and high-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 42 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE ★★★★ ½

INNOVATION ★★★★ ½

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL ★★★★ ½

‘There’s a lot of forgiveness. The sweet spot was the entire clubface. It self-corrects when you swing it. You can’t miss unless you’re missing the ball completely.’

—7-HANDICAP

P GEN7

RRP AED 9,100

• The maraging-steel face is razor thin (.050 of an inch) to maximize face ﬂex.

• A proprietary internal polymer enhances sound and feel.

• An internal channel around the hitting area also promotes faceﬂexing at impact.

• A 20-gram tungsten toe weight positions the centre of gravity in the middle of the face and boosts the moment of inertia, which helps to minimize loss of ball speed on mis-hits.

• Specs: 7-iron: 30 degrees; PW: 44 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

★★★★ ½

INNOVATION

★★★★ ½

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL ★★★★

‘I liked the rising trajectory with a loud thump at impact. That port in the back of the clubhead felt like it was delivering extra oomph. Good presentation.’

—13-HANDICAP

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Megastore

SRIXON ZXi5

RRP AED 6,495

• A condensed forging process allows for a localised hardening of the steel from high on the toe and along the topline to optimise durability and feel.

• The face features a variable-thickness pattern of internal grooves and channels, bolstering ball speed.

• Srixon’s venerable V-sole design uses a combination of sole width, notches and bounce to promote a smooth glide through the grass.

• Top 5 in Performance, middle-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 31 degrees;

PW: 44 degrees

OVERALL RATING

TAYLORMADE P•790

RRP AED 7,195

• The face on the long irons is made of a highstrength, forged steel alloy and wraps around the sole in an L-shape to create a signiﬁcant trampoline e ect.

• The key to getting the weighting right is how the back wall of each iron uses alternating thick and thin sections, almost like latticework.

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

/ SOUND / FEEL

‘The head feels well balanced and not too heavy. It has a slight offset, but you can work it both ways and have some forgiveness on the mis-hits. Very high launch.’ —0-HANDICAP

• Injecting the heads with a lightweight urethane foam helps control unwanted vibrations.

• Top 5 in Performance, low- and middle-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 30 degrees; PW: 44 degrees

‘More than anything, a well-struck ball connoted power and ﬂew straight to the target. If you missed one a little thin or fat, you didn’t lose much distance.’

—11-HANDICAP

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TITLEIST T200

RRP AED 7,980

• The dual-tapered L-face insert (in which the face wraps around the sole) improves deﬂection and helps shots maintain a tight dispersion.

• The use of tungsten weights allowed for precise centre-ofgravity placement to promote a high launch in the low and middle irons.

• The sole’s variable bounce makes the T200 play smoother through the turf.

• Top 5 in Performance, middle- and high-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 30.5 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘Not a lot of noise in this design, but you see that explosive ball ﬂight. It gave me the highest ball speed that I’ve had. A crisp click on contact.’

—12-HANDICAP

CALLAWAY

Apex Ai300

RRP AED 7,350

• The Apex Ai300 replaces the Apex DCB and targets golfers who are early in their journey or are looking to step up from the super-gameimprovement category.

• The forged 455-steel face was designed with the help of AI analysis of everyday player impact data in which the topology behind the face is di erent for each iron—thinner and thicker in areas where it needs to be to create maximum consistency.

• Top 5 in Performance, all handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 42 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

★★★★★

INNOVATION

★★★★★

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘The ball is just ﬂying off the face. Even though the head is small, the performance is as big as you want for game improvement. It glides through the turf.’

—+3-HANDICAP

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CALLAWAY

Elyte

RRP AED 5,565

• The hollow-body construction features a variable-thickness cupface designed with the help of AI analysis of thousands of real golfers’ swings.

• The special, highstrength stainless steel is thinner than traditional stainless steels, resulting in a fast-ﬂexing face.

• Tungsten weight encased in urethane microspheres helps drive the centre of gravity lower to assist with launch.

• Top 5 in Look, all handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 42 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

‘It’s like a wolf in sheep’s clothing in terms of looks. You wouldn’t expect it to be a gameimprovement set, but it is! And you can work the ball. I hit perfect 7-iron after perfect 7-iron.‘

—7-HANDICAP

CALLAWAY Elyte HL

RRP AED 5,950

• Designed for players with moderate to average swing speeds seeking a higher launch with more carry.

• As with the standard Elyte model, a highstrength stainless-steel cupface—in which the face wraps around a section of the sole and topline—provides Formula-1 speed at impact.

• The sole design is e cient to the point that it can add one mile per hour of ball speed, according to Callaway.

• Top 5 in Performance, high-handicaps

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

‘These clubs dress up any bag. Especially attractive was how high the ball launched and how quickly it climbed. Seeing it land softly was rewarding.’

—10-HANDICAP

• Specs: 7-iron: 30 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

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COBRA DS-Adapt

RRP AED 4,970

• The L-face insert (part of the face wraps around the sole) is used on the 4- through 7-irons to boost ball speed. The face has a new leading-edge channel that extends around the face from the sole into the toe area to help with impacts there.

• Cobra engineers used simulated golf-ball impacts to adjust the face pattern and the interior leading edge to deliver faster ball speeds.

• Top 5 in Performance, middle-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 27 degrees; PW: 42 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

/ SOUND / FEEL

‘I don’t think I hit a single solid shot, yet the ball speed was insane. The distance was there; the direction was there. I feel like the entire club was a sweet spot.‘

—6-HANDICAP

COBRA King Tec-X

RRP TBC

• The 4- through 7-irons feature a hollow body with soft foam inside to enhance feel and help the face bend.

• A 70-gram tungsten weight is used to lower the centre of gravity and maximize launch.

• The wide sole helps with launch and with minimizing fat shots.

• Consumer feedback led Cobra to design a rounder, slimmer topline and to neatly hide the o set to provide an appealing look at address.

• Top 5 in Performance, high-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 27 degrees; PW: 42 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘Nice, compact design. Clean. Absolutely rockets off the clubface on centre strikes. I felt like it was actually receiving more energy than I was transferring.’

—11-HANDICAP

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Coming soon to eGolf Megastore

MIZUNO

JPX925 Hot Metal

RRP AED 5,565

• The new face on the 4- through 8-irons is 30-percent thinner at its thinnest point, or a slim 1.2 millimeters on the low heel and high toe, to produce faster ball speeds.

• The cupface, in which part of the face wraps around the topline and sole, enhances ball speed throughout the hitting area.

• A variable-thickness sole promotes face ﬂex, especially on shots struck low—where most iron impacts occur.

• Top 5 in Performance, all handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 28 degrees;

PW: 42 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

‘If my shot data was accurate, my mishits were incredibly far and straight. This is the club you want rolling out of the car, straight to the ﬁrst tee with no range time.’

—1-HANDICAP

PING G440

RRP AED 6,265

• The face is shallower and thinner compared to the G430 for increased ball speed and a more playerpreferred look.

• The size reduction saves four grams per iron that is placed lower and further back in the head to drop the centre of gravity and assist launch.

• The shaft length of the 4-, 5-, and 6-irons was extended threequarters of an inch to help golfers launch those irons higher.

• Top 5 in Performance, middle-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 42 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘As a low-handicapper, I would play this club. They allow you to hit all the shots you want to hit but also have the forgiveness and distance you want.’ —+3-HANDICAP

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RRP AED 9,100

• Compared to the P model, the XP targets middle- and highhandicaps who don’t mind looking at a little heftier clubhead with more aggressive o set and stronger lofts in exchange for extra distance and forgiveness.

• At its thinnest, the maraging-steel face is just .05 of an inch thick, helping the face to ﬂex. An internal channel in the back delivers even more spring and potential distance.

• Specs: 7-iron: 27 degrees; PW: 41 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

‘You

got ballistic energy when you caught it. The shots headed for the moon. The design is a bigger footprint, but I didn’t feel like I was carrying a shovel around.’

—15-HANDICAP

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SRIXON ZXi4

RRP AED 6,495

• Unlike the ZXi5 and ZXi7 irons, the body of the ZXi4 is not forged. Instead, the cast multipiece iron uses a forged high-strength steel face insert (HT1770) supported by a cast 17-4 stainless-steel body and a hosel that is heat-treated to allow for bending.

• The back side of each face is milled in a variable-thickness pattern comprising indentations to increase ball speed while saving mass.

• Top 5 in Performance, low-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 28.5 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘I love the technology with the sole grinds. That helps with turf interaction. The ball goes super high right off the face. A lot of the fat shots autocorrect.’

—0-HANDICAP

TAYLORMADE Qi

RRP AED 5,390

• With the Qi, TaylorMade prioritised reducing the chances of a slice. A multi-material capback that is lighter than the steel it replaces decreases weight high in the toe, making the clubface easier to square at impact.

• It has been a staple of TaylorMade irons for more than a decade, but to ignore the heat brought by the “Speed Pocket” slot up to the 7-iron would be journalistic malpractice.

• Top 5 in Sound/Feel, middle-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 28 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

‘Really long. Even smooth swings produced shots longer than I’m used to. Flew higher, too. I’d tell you about mis-hits, but I just striped this repeatedly.’

—11-HANDICAP

TITLEIST T350

RRP AED 7,980

• The T350, with its larger size and wider sole, is the company’s most aggressive approach to boosting forgiveness and ball speed.

• The high-strength, variable-thickness steel clubface features the same alloy as the T200 as well as the L-shape that overlaps into the sole for extra rebound at impact.

• Healthy chunks of super-dense tungsten in the heel and toe foster sumo-wrestlerlike stability.

• Top 5 in Performance, all handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘It was light but explosive off the clubface. I could make an easy swing to get real easy power. It also was effortless through the ground.’

—12-HANDICAP

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Megastore

CALLAWAY

Elyte X

RRP AED 5,565

• Callaway used AI analysis of averagegolfer impact points to selectively thin areas on the face to maximise ball speed. The face also wraps around the topline, sole and toe to widen the springlike e ect.

• A metal-injection molding process fashions the internal tungsten weighting to better position the centre of gravity.

• The pre-worn leading edge helps prevent digging at impact.

• Top 5 in Performance, high-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 28 degrees; PW: 41 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘Very sharp angles that focus you on the centre of the club. It’s eyecatching. These produce one of the more penetrating ball ﬂights, with a lot of control.’

—12-HANDICAP

CLEVELAND

Halo XL Full-Face

RRP AED 4,595

• This hollow-body, hybrid-style iron is designed to help golfers get the ball in the air. It features a variable-thickness face and oversize head.

• Grooves that stretch across the face improve launch conditions for shots hit outside of the typical groove area by providing more spin consistency.

• Rails on the bottom of the 4- through 7-irons prevent digging on shots where distance is needed.

• Specs: 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 43 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION ★★★★★

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘If you want to hit it into the air and have it land soft, you could do a lot with this. It almost feels like the easier you swing, the better the result.’

—10-HANDICAP

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COBRA

DS-Adapt Max

RRP AED 4,970

• Most of the same technical features of the DS-Adapt irons are used here but with a longer blade length, more o set and a wider sole—all things highly useful to players in this category.

• Concentrating weight low and back is key to achieving easier launch and more speed. That’s accomplished via a steel weighting system that gets mass in the proper position while allowing maximum ﬂexing of the face.

• Top 5 in Performance, high-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 29 degrees; PW: 43.5 degrees

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OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘It was so easy to get the ball in the air with a very manageable ball ﬂight, and there never was a feeling of sacriﬁcing distance. Mis-hits ended up playable.’

—12-HANDICAP

MIZUNO JPX925 Hot Metal HL

RRP AED 5,565

• High-strength chromoly 4140M steel is used for the face. The hitting area is thinned around the perimeter, increasing rebound for maximum ball speed.

• The wide sole teams up with tungsten weighting low in the clubhead of the 4through 7-irons to help golfers get the ball up in the air.

• Balanced weighting of the iron’s frame improves control while maintaining forgiveness.

• Top 5 in Performance, high-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 31 degrees; PW: 45 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

★★★★★

INNOVATION

★★★★ ½

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL ★★★★★

‘I got smooth, easyfeeling compression, like everything at impact was always perfectly timed so the ball rebounded in perfect harmony. There was loads of velocity.’

—15-HANDICAP

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at eGolf Megastore

Megastore

PING G730

RRP AED 6,965

• An enhanced, metalwood-style variable-thickness face uses a special heat treatment to allow thinning of the 17-4 stainless steel.

• The large head and wide sole o er increased stability and instill conﬁdence.

• Shaft lengths are a focus here. The set starts at the 5-iron and uses .75-inch increments for the 5and 6-irons instead of .625 inches to improve ball speed and height.

• Top 5 in Performance, high-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 28 degrees; PW: 40 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

INNOVATION

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘A raucous-sounding impact with the ball climbing straight north. You’ll get a crater when it lands. I didn’t notice excessive spin on that kind of height.’

—15-HANDICAP

TAYLORMADE Qi HL

RRP AED 5,390

• The multi-material capback is lighter than the steel it replaces and wraps around the high-toe area. The reduced weight in that location makes it easier for golfers to square the clubface at impact, reducing the possibility of hitting a slice.

• The centre of gravity is lower in the long irons to boost trajectory and progressively rises, allowing for controllable short-iron shots that don’t balloon during ﬂight.

• Top 5 in Performance, high-handicaps

• Specs: 7-iron: 30 degrees; PW: 44.5 degrees

OVERALL RATING

PERFORMANCE

★★★★★

INNOVATION ★★★★

LOOK / SOUND / FEEL

‘I got a ton of consistency. You get the impression you could hit multiple shots in a bucket, especially with the wedge. It also took the right side out of play.’

—11-HANDICAP

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What you need to know

PXG GEN7 and Black Ops irons

BY E. MICHAEL JOHNSON

WHEN PXG INTRODUCED its original 0311 iron line it took more than three years before its next introduction. Since that time, the cadence for new irons has been almost annual. That means the introduction not only of its 0311 GEN7 irons but a new Black Ops iron as well. The GEN7 irons (P and XP models) utilise a new proprietary internal polymer that boosts ball speed, while the Black Ops is a hollow-body, dual-cavity design with a larger profile designed to instil conﬁdence for the game-improvement audience

1. Material matters

Long known for its use of internal polymers, PXG has been on a long journey to constantly improve the performance beneﬁts of it. Originally used primarily to produce a pleasing sound and feel, subsequent iterations focused on keeping those traits intact while reaping more rebound.

“We wanted a material that feels soft but behaves more like a super ball than a dampener,” said Brad Schweigert, chief product o cer for PXG. “This material is unlike anything we’ve used before and it allows us to get the C.O.R. [a measure of springlike e ect] close to the USGA limit.”

The result, according to internal testing by PXG, are the longest irons and the biggest distance gain from a previous iron in company history while maintaining the soft feel the company has come to be known for—not easy to accomplish considering the maraging-steel face is razor thin at .050 of an inch at its thinnest. Additionally, a channel around the hitting area of the face provides extra face ﬂex.

3 COOL THINGS

2. Two for the show

The 0311 GEN7 line boasts the P and XP models, two decidedly di erent clubs that share a host of base technologies. A lightweight titanium insert in the back saves 5 grams of weight that is redistributed to up forgiveness. A 20-gram tungsten toe weight pulls double duty by helping position the centee of gravity in the middle of the face while further boosting the moment of inertia, which helps mitigate ball speed loss on mis-hits.

Each iron is five times forged from 8620 carbon steel and has a milled back surface that produces a pleasing aesthetic. Speaking of which, both are offered in an Xtreme Dark ﬁnish in addition to chrome. Company CEO and founder Bob Parsons likes to refer to his company’s clubs as “sexy.” These hit the mark.

So what’s different? The P model is aimed at low to mid handicaps that appreciate a club head with a little less bulk and a moderate amount of o set that allows the player to control their ball ﬂight. The XP is targeted at mid to high handi-

caps that don’t mind looking a little heftier clubhead with more aggressive o set and stronger lofts in exchange for chasing distance with forgiveness features built in.

3. Going to the dark side

Another option geared at the somewhat less skilled is the Black Ops irons. A hollow-body iron ﬁlled with the company’s XCOR2 polymer with a lightweight insert on the outer cavity. Together these technologies save weight in the centre of the club and allows it to be repositioned to foster forgiveness both heel-toe and high-low.

The Black Ops has the same thin face and power channel as the 0311 GEN7 line, but its larger face (nearly ﬁve per cent larger than the 0311 XP GEN6) and thicker topline are geared more to the player seeking help in getting the ball airborne as opposed to getting it close to the pin. The help extends to the sole, which is wide enough to assist shots hit fat—and we all hit some shots fat.

where to play

EDITED BY HARRY GRIMSHAW

Al Ain Equestrian Shooting and Golf Club (AESGC) has been in existence since 2007. Located just 90 minutes from the cities of both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. AESGC is one of the leading multi-sports facilities in the UAE, offering activities such as Rugby, Cricket, Equestrian, Shooting, Wall Climbing, Padel and of course its Par 70 Championship golf course.

Garden City’s Golfing Jewel

From a nine-hole course to a Championship destination: Al Ain’s golfing journey

BY SHANE PEACOCK

AL AIN IS UNIQUE IN MANY WAYS.

We are often referred to as the Garden City due to our lush greenery, and this is no different once you enter the gates of the resort. The golf course offers a unique desert experience, with the Jebel Hafeet mountains providing a stunning backdrop on many holes.

Our Championship course at AESGC is a par 70 that stretches to 7,117 yards from the back tees. The club hosted the 2024 Abu Dhabi Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour and will host it again this coming April.

When it opened in 2007, we were initially a ninehole course. A further nine holes were added in 2010, bringing us to an 18-hole Championship course. In 2015, the front nine underwent an extensive renovation and was reopened in late 2016. Additionally, European Golf Design recently visited the site to offer new design concepts for potential enhancements to the layout, which we are very excited about.

Both the back nine on the Championship course and the par-3 Academy course are fully floodlit, allowing for play into the late evening.

Being the host club for the 2024 Abu Dhabi Challenge was an incredibly proud moment for the club and our members. It was by far the most significant event the club has hosted in our short

history and something our members really supported. We had numerous members keen to help out as volunteers, and many members were out walking the fairways following the action, especially over the weekend when most had no work commitments. We are very much looking forward to hosting the tour again in April.

So many times, I hear from first-time guests that they didn’t even know a golf course existed in Al Ain and are truly taken aback by both the standard of the golf course and the quality of the layout they have just played.

I feel we are slowly changing this perception and have seen repeat business from both green fee guests and golf societies after their initial visit.

Al Ain has a small population compared to the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but when considering the relatively small expanse of land that the city covers, we have a population of more than 800,000 people. The biggest challenge we face in Al Ain is that it is very much a transient community, which makes growing a membership a difficult task. By hosting bi-weekly events on the Academy course, we have been able to introduce new golfers to the game and gradually transition them onto the Championship course and into membership. This has resulted in growth in all categories of membership over the past two years.

GLOBAL STAGE AESGC is preparing to host the HotelPlanner Tour once again, the feeder Tour to the DP World Tour.

Shane Peacock is the Director of Golf at Al Ain Equestrian Shooting and Golf Club.

HOLE 10

The 10th hole at AESGC is the longest hole in the UAE at 678 yards!

For your tee shot, the ideal line is down the left side of the fairway to avoid the strategically placed fairway bunkers on the right. The landing area is relatively generous, but it narrows as you approach 300 yards off the tee.

Considering the length of the hole, ideally, the second shot should be advanced as far down the fairway as pos-

KEY HOLES

sible to leave a shorter club for your third shot. Keeping to the left side of the fairway is preferred, as the fairway on the right slopes towards the water on the front right, guarding the green.

With such a large green, any miscalculation in distance or mis-strike can almost immediately rule out a birdie four. The green slopes from back to front, with many subtle undulations throughout. Walking to the next tee with a five on your scorecard is never a bad result on this hole.

HOLE 12

The 12th is a challenging par four at 417 yards that requires a strategic play to navigate its unique features.

Favouring the left side of the fairway is preferred, as any tee shot leaked right will likely catch the fairway bunkers or desert, making the second shot incredibly difficult into its shallow green.

The green is very well protected by a stream running across the front. If you manage to avoid this but get your club selection wrong, many greenside bunkers await your ball, spanning from the front and around the back right.

HOLE 16

With the addition of a new tee, the 16th has really added some bite to the hole and sets up a potential dramatic finish to any round, measuing 456 yards.

The new tee, moving back, tightens the landing zone with the lake pinching the right side of the fairway, and the left fairway bunker now very much in play. There isn’t really a bailout area!

If the fairway is found from the tee, it’ll leave a medium to long iron approach to a green sitting at a slight angle away from the line of play. The green slopes from back to front and left to right, with a back-left pin being by far the most difficult to access.

If you safely make the middle of the green, followed by two putts, it won’t harm any scorecard approaching the end of a round.

FITNESS FOCUSED

Dominic Foos has re-sculpted his fitness and mental resilience in preperation for the future.

BY HARRY GRIMSHAW

rejuvenated focus on hard work, fitness, and mental fortitude lies at the core of Dominc Foos’ aims for 2025.

The Dubai resident has navigated his way through the choppy waters of the professional world over the past 10 years.

In 2015, aged just 17, he burst onto the scene by becoming the youngest winner on the then Challenge Tour, thanks to an invite into the event. Despite the fast start to his career, the youngster never kicked on fully to the DP World Tour. But still, German-born Foos describes his current golfing situation as “a lot”—but in the best possible way.

“I’ve been working really hard lately. I always have, but it’s been a lot of work,” shares Foos on the driving range at The Els Club Dubai, his home course. The now 27 year old had just returned from a ten-day trip to the US to see his coach, but despite his busy schedule, remains upbeat in what lays ahead. “I love working hard, so I’m having a lot of fun.”

Having called Dubai and The Els Club his home for over 10 years, even in the past decade, the city was a very diﬀerent place from how Dominic remembers. “None of the houses were built then,” he recalls. “This really feels like home. I’m very grateful to them (The Els Club Dubai) for helping me and supporting me over the years, as well as for giving me an amazing course to play and practice on.”

Like many professional athletes, Foos has faced challenges over the last few years, especially with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic serving as a stumbling block for his career development. “Everyone I talk to says the Covid years just ﬂew by. It’s deﬁnitely been challenging.

“I certainly haven’t played as well as I wanted to, but I feel like I’m on a really good track now and working on the right things.

“I’ve just got my Asian Tour card, which is great. I’ve only played one event so far, but there are some good ones coming up, so I’m really looking forward to getting started there and posting some good results.”

Foos’ mindset shift is also reﬂected in his approach to ﬁtness—not just for golf, but for his life in general. “I think it plays a very big and important role, for sure. It’s kind of evolved for me a little bit as well.

“You’ve got to be very mobile, and you’ve got to have the speed, strength, and endurance, especially with all the travelling we do.”

So much so, Foos has undergone a new fitness and lifestyle regimen including the 75-Day Hard Challenge, in a bid to open up his mind to a different approach to golf fitness. “It was super spontaneous,” Foos admits. “I didn’t plan on doing it at all. It includes two workouts a day, a strict diet—no sugar, no alcohol—and a commitment to reading ten pages of a nonfiction book every day.

“This is day 31 today, and I’m kind of over the sugar part, so it’s all good there. But forcing myself to read every day, especially after a long practice, when I’m not really in the mood to read, I’m still forcing myself to do it. But I’m really loving it now.”

“For me, it’s like 90% mental,” he says. “When I work out, I automatically want to eat better, I sleep better, and I just feel more structured in everything I do, including my golf.” His emphasis on mental health is clear, and he’s continually seeing the diﬀerence ﬁtness can make on his overall well-being.

“If I’m structured in my workouts, I’m much more structured in my golf game and practice,” he explains, stressing the link between physical and mental health.

“Tiger started it with the whole fitness thing, and if you look at the guys on tour, they’re all fit-looking guys. The same with the ladies— they’re all super athletic. You can really see a big shift towards fitness now, even on the DP World Tour. They do a great job of giving players the logistics and infrastructure to have a gym there every single week, and players use it, so it’s super important.”

As his season progresses, Dominic is not just playing golf—he’s redeﬁning his approach to his career, ﬁtness, and mindset. Whether it’s on tour, in the gym, or competing in the Lion’s Den at The Els Club Dubai, Foos is determined to keep evolving.

As he himself puts it, “Golf doesn’t change, right? The ball is the same. The clubs are the same. But I just feel like I’m in a really good place now.” And with the way he’s preparing for 2025, he’s set to do just that.

Adrian Otaegui opens up about his journey from DP World Tour player to UAE resident, his passion for growing the game, and the unique golf scene in Dubai.

WITH HARRY GRIMSHAW

GOLF, DESERT AND THE DUBAI LIFE

IN THIS EXCLUSIVE Q&A, we sit down with DP World Tour’s Adrian Otaegui, a player who has made Dubai his home for over 14 years.

From his early days as a young pro to now representing the UAE, Adrian shares insights into his life both on and off the course. With an inimitable perspective on the game and his experiences in the Middle East, this conversation, offers a rare look at what it takes to balance elite golf with life in one of the world’s most dynamic cities.

•••

Adrian, a week off at home must be nice after a stretch of events, even though they weren’t too far from home? Yes. It’s always nice to have a little break and a week off. I had a bit of time off in December, but I started out this year with four events in a row, which is already quite a lot! One of my goals for this year was actually to try and play a little bit less and prepare a little bit more for each event. But actually, this year has started pretty busy! It was great to play all four events in the Middle East. Two of the events I actually stayed at home for, such as the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Ras Al Khaimah Championship. So now, a week at home in Dubai to just rest and prepare myself for the next events, which will be in Kenya and then South Africa.

•••

Being in Dubai yourself for close to 14 years, how has that been for you?

Half a life! It’s been great. I turned pro quite young, when I was 18. I had some opportunities to go to university in America, but I knew I wanted to be a golf professional, and I was around 20th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. I thought, in order to learn the job with my dad and my team, playing golf with professionals in professional tournaments was the best way of learning.

Turning pro is a big change. Obviously, playing for money, playing for the points, and it’s very competitive. I got my European Tour card when I was 18 in 2011. I think I was the second youngest on Tour after Matteo Manassero. We thought at the time that Dubai is at the beginning and the end of the season on the European Tour. I knew some people who were living in Dubai already, and the facilities here were amazing. You could practice on world-class golf courses where you actually play the

tournaments. So it was like the perfect place to practice. So we said, okay, let’s come to Dubai.

At the beginning, you don’t know many people or places, so it wasn’t that easy. But amazingly, I made good friends very quickly, especially Emirati friends with the players from the UAE National Team. I’m thinking about Hassan Al Musharakh, Abdalla Al Musharrekh, Khalid Yousuf – and we made very good friendships. They were very nice to me and would take me into the desert on the weekends, and we’d always have plans together. So I’ve been very lucky to be close to a lot of Emirati people, and they’ve always welcomed me so well.

I made friends quickly, epsecially Emirati friends from the UAE National team.

Apart from heading into the desert, what else do you get up to in Dubai when you aren’t golfing? You have so much choice. It’s fantastic. Usually when I’m in Dubai and I’m practising, I don’t do too many crazy things. But when I have some time off, I love to do anything outdoors. I love hanging out with friends; we might have a barbeque, or we might go to the beach. My favourite thing, because I love cars, would be going to the desert with friends, driving the sand dunes, having a barbecue, watching the sunset, playing some music. That’s my perfect weekend.

Do you manage to treat yourself to the odd staycation? Yes, absolutely! I’m actually staying at the Fairmont The Palm this week with my wife for a few days. You are still “at home”, but you almost feel like you are having more of a vacation or staycation. They treat us fantastically at the Fairmont The Palm, so we’re having a great time. It’s the perfect place to recharge my batteries, still do a bit of practice, and be able to focus again on the next event.

There must be close to 10 to 15 DP World Tour pros that have decided to take a jump and relocate out here? It’s funny, over the last few years, there have been so many European professionals that have moved to Dubai, and it feels like it’s a little bit trendy at the moment. But strategically, it really, really makes sense.

Still, even in these last few weeks, lots of players have been asking, “How do I do it? I want to move to Dubai. Can you give me a hand?” I really feel like there’s more and more interest. Dubai is very, very well known and trendy worldwide right now. There are a lot of opportunities here, and life is great here – it’s fantastic.

Having been a resident for 14 years, you now represent the UAE when it comes to golf, how special is that? It’s great. It’s something I never really thought about, but when the opportunity came, I thought, it’s like a once-ina-lifetime opportunity.

I’ve been working and collaborating with the Emirates Golf Federation for maybe seven to eight years now, trying to help as much as I can with the kids, the next generation, their best pros, doing some clinics, so they’ve known me for a long time.

I think they like the work I do, the values I have for training, practice, and my dedication. Now they want me to spend more time with the players and bring

them my experience from the amateur golf world to help them transition into becoming a pro.

I really want to see an Emirati kid in ten years playing on the DP World Tour with me. That would be like a dream come true.

Obviously, for the UAE, the next Olympic Games are very important for the country. They were telling me how important it is for them to have representation in golf in the Olympics, so me trying to bring home a medal is something I really want to dedicate my time to over the next few years, preparing well for the Olympics in Los Angeles.

It’s just a beautiful opportunity that came to me, and it really motivates me.

A couple of years ago, you were saying how much it would mean to play in the Ryder Cup for Team Europe. Obviously, you now can’t do that. It

As with any decision in life, you have to weigh up the pros and cons.

must’ve been a hard decision to make the switch in that sense? Yes. I would say it was probably tougher, the more I thought about the decision. Obviously, I’ve never played in the Ryder Cup, but I believe it’s one of the most special events in the world. Every time I’ve spoken to a player who’s played in the Ryder Cup, they say it was one of the best weeks of their lives and it was very special. I was quite close to making the team in the last Ryder Cup, but I didn’t make it.

As with any decision in life, you have to weigh up the pros and cons. The decision to represent the UAE, as they want golf to become the number one sport here, is something I believe has a lot of potential. We have a lot of work still to do, but I think it’s very motivating. It’s going to be very challenging, but that also motivates me. So, yes, I’m not going to be able to play in the Ryder Cup, but there are new and different motivations for me now.

Throughout your time here, how have you seen the golf develop for the National team? At the amateur level and within the National team, it has improved, as seen through some international tournaments they’ve played in, like the DP World Tour, the HotelPlanner Tour (Challenge Tour), some of the GCC events, and in Asia as well.

I think it would be great for the players to start competing even more in Europe, and for the more experienced players to expand and compete more outside of the region. Play against different players from different countries on different types of golf courses. Modern golf for professionals involves playing in all sorts of weather, on different grasses and courses, and a true pro needs to adapt every single week. We’ve just come from playing in Doha, Qatar, but next week we’re playing in Kenya, which has completely different soil, grass, bunkers, and greens. You have to adapt every single week.

That’s what I think the juniors now also need to understand. Yes, you play on fantastic facilities in Dubai, but it’s not always like that when you go outside. •••

What do the plans look like for developing the UAE crop? Personally, my focus will be to help the elite players on the National team – the ones that really want to make golf their living and turn professional. They’re good golfers and can hit the ball very well, but playing on the golf course and competing is a different thing.

Golf is a very mental game, and you have to manage your golf both on and off the course in terms of preparation and visualization. So, I think those are the areas where I can bring my experience and help.

Then what the Emirates Golf Federation wants is to have a player who can inspire the younger kids as well. Unfortunately, at the moment, there aren’t enough Emirati kids under 13 or 14 years old playing golf, and they are the future of golf in Dubai and the National team. So we want to start working with the schools and golf clubs to get more Emirati kids playing golf.

•••

How would you describe the golf tourism scene here? Well, it’s huge in Dubai! There are so many world-class

golf courses in great condition. The weather is amazing, especially in the winter when it’s cold in Europe and America. They all come here to play golf, and that’s why it’s so hard to get a tee time! Unless you have some good connections, it’s so hard to get a tee time! Weekends? You can forget it!

I just think it would be great to have more courses in Dubai. I think there’s a need for more golf courses. When you go to any golf course, you can see how full the car park is, so there’s a real demand for golf. Obviously, lots of tourists play, but there are also lots of people living here who want to play more golf, which is great for our sport.

•••

In bringing more golf to the region, Sergio Garcia and José María Olazábal are designing a couple of new courses over in Bahrain. What have you heard about those? Yeah, well, Olazábal has already designed Education City in Doha, which we played a few years ago on the DP World Tour, and I know he’s also designing one in Bahrain now, as is Sergio.

So golf design here is also growing, especially in the Middle East. It’s great to have those great players bring their knowledge and design golf courses in the Middle East – it’s fantastic.

Is golf course design something you would want to dabble in down the line? Well, actually, a couple of years ago, the opportunity came along, and I’m currently designing a golf course in South Africa. It’s going well, but obviously, it takes time.

Things don’t go as quickly as you would like, but it’s been an amazing learning process. Working with the architects, with the agronomists, and with the owners of the land as well, proposing a few different master plans.

It’s been a challenge, but it’s been a great learning process, and I’m really enjoying it. Hopefully, we will finish that golf course in South Africa soon, and I would love to design a golf course in the UAE or the Middle East.

As I said before, I think there’s a need for more golf courses, and I could add my touch to golf design in this region.

Since being released from LIV Golf, Laurie Canter has captured two titles on the DP World Tour

Laurie saved his best until last as he beat Pablo Larrazábal and Dan Brown in a play-off to win the 2025 Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship and claim his second DP World Tour title.

The Englishman had looked like coming up just short after carding an eagle and a birdie in a ﬂawless 69 to share the clubhouse lead on 14 under at the Royal Golf Club after 72 holes.

But he was given a lifeline when leader Larrazábal bogeyed the last to set up a play-off with Canter and countryman Brown.

And he took full advantage, producing a shot-ofthe-day contender at the ﬁrst extra hole to give himself a close-range birdie putt.

Canter made no mistake, nervelessly sinking the winning putt to enter the DP

World Tour winner’s circle for the second time in a year, after his maiden victory at the European Open last season.

“I’m so chuffed to have stuck in there,” said Canter

“It’s unfortunate what happened to Pablo (Larrazábal) but I’m absolutely delighted to have stuck in and got another win.

“A lot of the stuﬀ I’ve kind of stumbled on at the beginning of this year, being part of that Team Cup and listening to a few of the speakers and people, how they deal with pressure.

“So I just said ‘we’ve got

CANTER ON FORM IN BAHRAIN

a job to do here and let’s really knuckle into what we’re trying to do, hit some quality shots under pressure’, which is what we’re practising doing. And I did that great. The two swings I made in the play-oﬀ were super and then sort of limped the putt in so it was nice to win with a three.”

The former LIV Golfer started the day two shots oﬀ the lead and parred the opening ﬁve holes before his round sprang into life at the par-four sixth as he secured a stunning hole-out eagle.

After seven more pars, Canter nearly repeated the trick at the 14th but instead had to settle for a tap-in birdie to move to 14 under.

He was unable to make any more birdies coming in, but when Larrazábal missed his six-foot

par putt on the last, Canter seized his opportunity in the play-oﬀ, producing a delightful tee-shot before spinning his approach to tap-in range to win the trophy.

“Delighted (with how I’m playing). I’m fully into trying to climb the world rankings. This is going to get me some points and I’ve not got many to defend, so I’ll do everything I can to get myself in that top 50 and open up the opportunities that brings.

“I’m not that far oﬀ it now, and it’s great to have a target like that.”

LEADERBOARD TOP 4

Ivan Cantero (ESP) -13 Martin Couvra (FRA) -13 David Puig (ESP) -13 Richie Ramsay (SCO) -13

Li’s Doha Delight

THE CHINESE STAR CAPTURED HIS EIGHTH VICTORY AS A PROFESSIONAL AND FOURTH ON THE DP WORLD TOUR.

LI HAOTONG claimed his fourth DP World Tour title as he birdied the final hole to win the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters by one stroke.

The Chinese star carded a three under par closing round of 69 at Doha Golf Club to sign for a 16 under par total, one shot ahead of last year’s HotelPlanner Tour Number One Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.

“I feel great. It’s an emotional one. Seems like everyone is quite emotional,” said Dubai-based Li.

“I’ve been playing really well. I handled my emotions quite nicely, especially on that back nine. It was quite tough for me and those bogeys were hard to swallow. But I kept telling myself I was still in it here and I just keep hitting my shots.

“If the day was my day it would come, if not, we’d go next time.

The 29-year-old started the day with a twostroke lead, which he doubled with birdies on the first two holes. He then cancelled out bogeys on the eighth and 11th holes with gains on the ninth and 12th, but Neergaard-Petersen had made his move and was six under par through 15 holes.

The Dane, who represented Continental Europe at the Team Cup in January, took the outright lead after his seventh gain of the day at the 16th as Li bogeyed the 15th hole. Momentum swung immediately back in Li’s favour, however, as Neergaard-Petersen’s par putt on the 17th stayed above ground and Li birdied the short par four 16th after driving the green to move ahead on 15 under par.

Neergaard-Petersen birdied the last to sit in the clubhouse on 15 under after recording the lowest round of the day, a seven under par 65, but Li made up and down from a greenside bunker on the 18th, holing his birdie putt from 15 feet for a 16 under par total and his first victory since the 2022 BMW International Open.

Brandon Robinson Thompson recorded his best DP World Tour result as he finished third on 13 under par and 2021 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters champion Antoine Rozner carded a four under par final round of 68 to finish fourth.

That’s a wrap in the desert for the DP World Tour as it completes its five-week run of events in its annual Middle East Swing. We look forward to seeing the Tour return in November for the final two events on the 2025 Race to Dubai: the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

MERONK SHINES UNDER THE RIYADH LIGHTS

Dubai-resident won the LIV Golf Individual season opener in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia while Legion XIII took the team spoils.

CLEEKS GC’S ADRIAN MERONK faced some tense moments on the back nine, under the lights, at LIV Golf Riyadh presented by Ma’aden. On the other hand, Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII spent the ﬁ nal round mostly in cruise control, with their substantial lead never seriously threatened on the team leaderboard.

In the end, both Meronk and Legion XIII emerged as wire-to-wire champions in LIV Golf’s season-opening event of 2025 and the ﬁrst tournament at Riyadh Golf Club.

The 31-year-old from Poland won his fi rst Individual title since joining LIV Golf prior to last season, shooting a one under par 71 to fi nish at 17 under, two strokes ahead of Rahm and Torque GC’s Sebastián Muñoz. Dean Burmester from Stinger GC and Lucas Herbert of Ripper GC fi nished tied for fourth at 14 under par.

“Super special,” said Meronk, a Dubai resident. “I was nervous all day. I played quite well in the beginning, then it was a ﬁght at the end. But I’m super happy that I crossed the line. It was very satisfying, deﬁ nitely.”

Legion XIII won the team season opener for the second consecutive year, having captured the title last year in Mayakoba when making their debut as LIV Golf’s ﬁ rst expansion team.

Captained by two-time Major winner Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Caleb Surratt and newly acquired Tom McKibbin, began Saturday’s ﬁnal round with an 11-shot lead, which ended up as their winning margin.

“Luckily we had a nice cushion going into today and we could aﬀord to not have our best day as a team,” Rahm said, “But still, it was a decisive win and very happy we got to start the year again like this.”

Their winning total of 50 under for the week was just three shots off the record low by any team in a LIV Golf event, with Riyadh being the first tournament in which all four scores counted for every round. Legion won three more times in 2024 and now have five wins in their first 15 LIV Golf tournaments.

THAILAND’S JEENO THITIKUL

Thitikul Triumphs

POWERED TO VICTORY IN RIYADH, WHILE SOMI LEE SKIPPERED HER TEAM TO GLORY

Jeeno Thitikul secured her ﬁfth Ladies European Tour (LET) title after storming to a four-stroke victory at the US $5 million 2025 PIF Saudi Ladies International, matching the men’s equivalent from PIF Saudi International Powered By SoftBank.

The Thai star, who was number four in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, began the ﬁnal day with a three-shot lead at Riyadh Golf Club.

Thitikul rolled in a birdie on the ﬁrst before adding further birdies on the fourth and seventh holes to put herself in a commanding position.

Another birdie on the 10th was followed by a bogey on the next hole; however, she soon added another birdie on the 12th before a dropped shot on the 14th hole.

A round of 69 (-3) on the ﬁnal day to end the week with a score of 16-under-par, was more than enough to ensure Thitikul began her 2025 season in the best way.

“It means a lot to win, and it’s a really nice start to my 2025 season,” said Thitikul, who won the 2021 LET Race to Costa del Sol and Rookie of the Year titles. “I think everyone will be proud, especially my team out there. They know how hard we work, so it’s paid oﬀ.”

Korea’s Somi Lee ﬁnished the week in second place with a score of 12-under-par, as England’s Annabell Fuller recorded her best-ever ﬁnish on the LET with solo third place on 11-under-par.

In the Team event, it was double-delight for Somi Lee as she captained her Team to victory in securing a two-stroke victory, with a total of 34-under-par.

The quartet was made up of skipper Lee and her fellow Korean Minsun Kim, alongside France’s Nastasia Nadaud and England’s Amy Taylor.

“I’m so happy! I’ve met great friends and great players,” said Captain Lee.

“Golf is usually an individual sport, but being able to play as a team made me feel more relaxed and comfortable.”

GOLFERS WHO GIVE BACK LEAD THE WAY FOR ALL WHO MAKE OUR GAME THE GREATEST

THE LEGACY AWARD

Jordan Spieth

Jordan Spieth has mastered the pro part of pro-ams. He looks the part, he acts the part, he certainly plays the part of being a fearless professional. So, it’s appropriate he’s the inaugural winner of The Legacy, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Award presented by Golf Digest and the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. On the 40th anniversary of AT&T’s sponsorship, the pro-am has been the PGA Tour’s leading contributor to charity with $18 million donated annually to the surrounding communities’ non-profits and schools.

Spieth’s heroic play has led to three major championships—the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open and 2017 Open championships—but the moment he’s equally known for is an approach shot he hit inches from the cliff on the eighth hole at Pebble Beach during the 2022 AT&T. “I was standing right next to him,” says his longtime pro-am partner, the country music singer Jake Owen. “It was an intense moment. [His caddie Michael] Greller

didn’t want him to hit the shot. But there’s no backing off in Jordan. That shot was pure Spieth—he exudes confidence in the way he always carries himself. That’s why kids like him so much—total fearlessness as a player. His morals, his integrity, his courage, you see it in every shot.”

There’s a philanthropic connection between Spieth and AT&T’s sponsorship: Spieth won the 2017 pro-am and is a brand ambassador for AT&T. As one of the most popular partners in pro-ams, he exemplifies the game’s giveback spirit. Spieth, 31, launched his family foundation in 2014 to focus on pediatric cancer research, individuals with special needs, junior golf scholarships and military families. He also works with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Northern Texas PGA Junior Golf Foundation.

Owen has played with Spieth at Pebble Beach since 2013 when he replaced Tony Romo as his pro-am partner. “He’s become kind of family to me, super caring, like a little brother,” says Jake. “I admire his character, his professionalism. It’s all encompassing—it’s who he is.” Owen believes he has also had a calming influence on Jordan. “When he misses a putt or shot, he can get mad at himself for three or four holes,” Jake says. “That’s the beauty of our partnership. I tell him, ‘Shake it off, Dude.’ And he gets it.”

The partnerships at the AT&T have been legendary and beneficial on both sides of the pro-am experience. Celebrities, athletes and business leaders have formed lasting bonds with tour pros, like Jack Lemmon and Peter Jacobsen famously playing together for 20 years. Professionals Matt Fitzpatrick, Brandt Snedeker, Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar and Davis Love III initially formed relationships with Workday co-founder Aneel Bhusri at the AT&T that led to corporate ambassadorships and eventually to Workday’s sponsorship of the Memorial Tournament. Vijay Singh and Sahith Theegala played as the partner of Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen before becoming Adobe

ambassadors. Same with Wyndham Clark and Anthony Noto, the CEO of SoFi, and countless others over the years. “I know I’m biased,” says Monterey Peninsula Foundation CEO Steve John, “but these golf partnerships can be life changing.”

For two generations the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has been universally considered the premier pro-am in golf, with No. 2 as the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews and No. 3 as The American Express in La Quinta, California.

The history of all these pro-am events is tied to golf’s heritage of philanthropy dating back to the 1917 American Red Cross Patriotic Open, a tournament held by the U.S. Golf Association when the country focused on World War I and suspended play in the U.S. Open for the duration of the war. Pros and amateurs raised money for war bonds during both World Wars, and Bing Crosby started inviting Hollywood friends to play in his clambake in San Diego annually starting in 1937 and then 10 years later in Pebble Beach, which led to the pro-am movement that culminated in AT&T taking over sponsorship in 1985 and contributing almost a quarter billion to area charities in the four decades since. As part of this year’s Legacy Award at the AT&T, Golf Digest will donate $50,000 to the Monterey Peninsula Foundation. Golfers giving back is now part of the fabric of pro-ams everywhere. —JERRY TARDE

BEST NEW RIVALRY

It took three weeks for Rianne Malixi, 17, and Asterisk Talley, 15, to accomplish what the USGA had never seen in 129 years conducting national championships. While two players had faced each other more than once in the final of an individual USGA event over the years, never had a pair competed headto-head in the final of two different championships, much less in the same year. In July at the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur, Malixi, a native of the Philippines, coasted against Talley,

8 and 7. Talley, from Chowchilla, California, hoped to flip the script in their unprecedented August rematch at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, but fell once more, 3 and 2. (Talley can take solace in having claimed a USGA title herself in May at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball.)

If you’re looking for bad blood between the two, you’re out of luck; by all accounts the newly minted rivals get along, but that doesn’t mean they’re not keeping score. It was Malixi, actually, getting redemption after finishing

second by a distant six shots to Talley in March at the prestigious Junior Invitational at Sage Valley as well as missing the cut at the Augusta National

Women’s Amateur while Talley posted a T-8 in April. The scoreboard appears tied or darn near in 2024, with more hopefully in store. —RH

BEST UP & DOWN GAME CHANGER

Leslie Kleinman, winner of the George H. Bush Volunteer of the Year Award, believes that cooking and golf have a lot in common. “They both are fraught with failure,” she says, and resilience is the key to enjoying and excelling. Kleinman knows that from guiding the “Fit to a Tee” culinary program at First Tee-Cleveland the past 16 years. In the cold winter months, she puts kids into cooking groups, gives them a recipe and ingredients, and then coaches them to work together to get the job done. Estimating that she’s seen more than 1,000 kids go through her classes, Kleinman, 81, says, “I have a passion for this because I just love seeing kids do something for the first time that they never thought they could do.” A retired teacher, Kleinman began volunteering at First Tee-Cleveland in 2003 after seeing a newspaper story about the program and has contributed more 4,500 hours of service, including teaching golf classes for many years. “You say ‘kids and golf’ and I’m in!” she says.

—TOD LEONARD

BEST SHOT

To hit a green from 324 yards away is astounding, but to smoke a 3-wood from the rough to knee-knocker length to set up a winning birdie in a playoff in the biggest event of your season is something else entirely. Yes, it was downwind and conditions were firm. Yes, it was in the pressure caul-

dron of an alternate-shot member-guest shootout after his partner had topped his tee shot. Wasn’t it Bobby Jones who said the purest form of golf is amateurs competing for a few thousand bucks in parimutuel wagers before a fleet of carts loaded with heckling spectators and cocktails?

Already it was a mystical year for the team of Woody Benson and son Jake, who advanced out of the B Flight of the Quahog Classic Invitational at New Seabury C.C. on Cape Cod. Aged 66 and 33, Jake had become a father and let his once plus-handicap slip to 2. Woody was off 13, which explains but doesn’t excuse his 20-yard dribbler on the third playoff hole. The ball settled just left of the path where carts scatter, so the lie was decent. From here mounds obscure the green, guarded by water and bunkers, and Jake, a solidly built former high school basketball player, lasered the flag multiple times to be sure, then swung with everything he had. There’s talk of a plaque. “If Tiger hit that shot on TV, it’d be the greatest of his career,” says Woody, who to his credit, wiggled in the putt. —MAX ADLER

The chip from a collection area right of the 18th green at PGA West’s Stadium Course was good, but on its own, not highlight-worthy. Ball back in his stance, club straight back and through, Nick Dunlap sent it skidding to six feet, leaving a putt PGA Tour players make 71 percent of the time. But Dunlap was not a PGA Tour player. He teed off in the final round of The American Express as a University of Alabama sophomore, but the closing par save and one-shot win over Christiaan Bezuidenhout changed everything. The 20-year-old earned a two-year exemption onto the PGA Tour and notably became the first amateur since Phil Mickelson in 1991 to win on that tour. Although he didn’t collect first-place prize money, he turned professional days later, captured another win in the Barracuda Championship in July, and ended the year with nearly $3 million in earnings, all of which explains why a relatively straightforward up-and-down in the desert was so monumental.“Most nervous I’ve ever been, by far,” Dunlap said. “Just tried to breathe but also look up and enjoy it a little bit.” —SAM WEINMAN

THE ARNIE AWARD

Justin Rose

Justin Rose and his family call London home, but during the period of life when they lived in Orlando, the golfer enjoyed numerous opportunities to interact with Arnold Palmer at Bay Hill Club. Those times are among his most cherished memories, but it’s a chance encounter with The King at the 2015 Open that is most ingrained.

Palmer had hit a ceremonial tee shot and was accompanying the Champion Challenge exhibition at St. Andrews. Rose was playing a practice round and found Palmer off the 16th green. “Arnie walked over to me. There was always such a warmth to him,” Rose said. “Then he took my putter and started waggling it, and I’m like, ‘Man, this guy still has golf in his bones and blood.’

“He did so much in the game and for the game. And then he used his place in the game to help so many people.”

Similarly, Rose has used his station in golf to give back, primarily through the Kate and Justin Rose Foundation. Since 2009, the foundation has focused on the nutritional and educational needs of impoverished children in Central Florida. In fulfilling the foundation’s mission of “feeding hungry tummies and curious minds,” the Roses have joined with the “Blessings in a Backpack,” program that provides supplemental weekend meals for elementary school children.

In recognition of his many charitable undertakings, Rose is the recipient of the 2025 Arnie Award presented by Golf Digest. Winner of 11 PGA Tour events, including the 2013 U.S. Open, Rose, 44, will be honoured in March at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club with a Palmer bronze sculpture created by the renowned artist Zenos Frudakis. Golf Digest will donate $50,000 to the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation.

“Obviously, this means so much because people hold Arnie in the

highest regard. He’s pretty much the benchmark for how people think a sportsman should act,” Rose said. “He had charisma, he had passion, he had determination. He was a winner. He was fierce but friendly, a mix that’s such a difficult thing to have.”

Rose, whose two children were born at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in Orlando, quickly credits Kate for their legacy of philanthropy. “It’s why she gets top billing. She’s got a heart of gold,” Justin said. “She got involved right away with the PGA Tour Wives’ Association, got engaged with Blessings in a Backpack through cities we visited, and then we took that to heart to help in our adopted city.”

Rose also sponsors the Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Golf Championship to encourage junior golf development, and in 2020 he and Kate created the Rose Ladies Series to provide playing opportunities in England for women golfers during Covid. Additionally, Rose has raised money for cancer research and contributed to various causes in The Bahamas.

In addition to tangible assistance, Rose also appreciates feeding young minds with inspiration. Rose remembers one occasion during his foundation’s annual Bay Hill Day, when students from a local elementary school attend the Arnold Palmer Invitational and have lunch with Amy Saunders, Palmer’s daughter. Rose was playing alongside Tiger Woods, and as they made the turn, Rose “plucked up the courage” to ask Woods to acknowledge the children. “The kids didn’t know anything about golf, but they knew Tiger,” he said. “Tiger hit and turned around and gave them a wave. They were just wide-eyed.

“These kids have never seen such manicured, perfect grass. They sit down and actually stroke the grass. You don’t expect them to go on to be golfers, but it’s about opening their eyes to the sport and another world. Hopefully, you just create one little spark. Sometimes, that’s all a kid needs.” —DAVE

SHEDLOSKI

GAME CHANGER

At 27,000 square miles, the Navajo Nation’s massive reservation that covers parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah is larger than 10 U.S. states, with a population of 165,000 Native Americans. On all of that land is not a single golf course. That didn’t stop Layne Frazier, a P.E. coach at Eva B. Stokely Elementary in the Navajo town of Shiprock, New Mexico, from teaching golf to school kids while melding his work with First Tee-Four Corners. Frazier, the recipient of First Tee’s Teacher of the Year Award, says few of his students have been exposed to golf before they attend his classes. “For me, there are lots of opportunities to broaden those experiences and have students try new things, and golf is one of those,” Frazier says. “What’s really fun is when I have high school kids come back and tell me they’re on the golf team because they learned from me. It makes you feel like you’re making a difference.” Virtually every child who goes through Stokely Elementary will have experienced golf through Frazier. “They’ll have it in their tool belt,” he says. “In the future, if they want to, they can participate in golf with their family and friends and feel comfortable doing it.”

—TL

BEST PAR

A Zen Buddhist koan asks: If three shots are hit deep into the forest, can you still make par?

Ten-handicap Brian Vanderweyst says yes. The par-5 fourth hole at his home course, Greenhills C.C. in London, Ontario, is a sweeping dogleg right. He wildly sliced his tee shot deep into the trees, but after a loud crack it miraculously appeared in the fairway. Selecting a driver off the deck for his second (he says his 3-wood bananas more), he sliced again, and again got the same lucky ricochet result. Undeterred, he chose driver

again, sliced, but this time the friendly forest merely returned his ball to a spot of rough just outside the hazard line. After a 60-yard wedge to the back fringe, he trickled in a ticklish 15-foot putt. The rest of the group collapsed in bewilderment. We were left thinking how bad the 3-wood slice must be. —PAUL DETRE

BEST BIRDIE

The 590-yard par-5 10th at Valhalla was one of the easiest holes for the field at this year’s PGA Championship. For a man who warmed up for his second round by stretching in a jail cell, however, a 4 was a hell of a score. Scottie Scheffler was arrested Friday morning in Louisville in Valhalla’s parking lot, near the spot where an hour earlier a pedestrian was hit and killed by a shuttle bus in a separate incident. The World No. 1 had opened with a 67 and had finished second or first in his five previous starts—including his second Masters win—but now appeared to be forced out of the championship. Yet, less than 30 minutes after a photo of Scheffler in an orange prison suit circulated the news, he emerged from an SUV under the clubhouse awning. After a handful of hurried range swings, he was greeted by a standing ovation and “Free Scottie!” chants on the tee. His drive found the rough, forcing a lay-up. But his third from 90 yards went to three feet. When he converted the putt, there was a cry of “A bird for the jailbird!” As he walked to the 11th, playing mate Brian Harman patted Scheffler on the shoulder. A small sigh of relief. —JOEL BEALL

GAME CHANGER

Manny Gallardo grew up and still resides in the Northern California town of Gilroy, renowned for its garlic harvest and the strong aroma that comes with it. To the north is San Jose and the Silicon Valley, a diverse center of entrepreneurship and families from all walks. They are at the core of Gallardo’s work at First Tee-Silicon Valley, where he has been a tireless contributor on numerous fronts as Program Coordinator.

Named as the national First Tee Coach of the Year, Gallardo trains other coaches, manages donations and financial aid, coordinates Girls Golf events, delivers parent orientations, and somehow finds time to coach seven golf classes each session. Among his most rewarding projects was leading an effort to make resource videos during the pandemic to educate students and their parents on many aspects of golf.

“My dad and I took up golf together, and it was hard learning on our own,” Gallardo said. “I always wanted to teach kids and give them the experience I had, while streamlining it for them. We’re familyoriented, do some goofy stuff to get the kids interested, and have a lot of fun.”

—TL

BEST PAIR OF ACES

A storm was rolling in, but Ann and Bill Gray, and their friends David and Karen Barriera, stood on the tee box of the 16th hole at Capital Canyon Club in Prescott, Ariz., thinking they’d have enough time to play the par 3.

Ann never liked the hole. She’d bought a new 7 hybrid specifically to help her conquer the canyon in front. From 82 yards, she made a

BEST ROUND

BEST ACE

Francesco Molinari acing his final hole Friday to make the cut at the U.S. Open on the number wasn’t quite the golf equivalent of a Hail Mary. After all, Molinari didn’t win the U.S. Open at North Carolina’s Pinehurst No. 2, but it certainly was Hail Mary adjacent. The 42-year-old Italian knew the only way he was going to play the weekend was if he found the cup with his 7-iron on the 194-yard par-3 ninth, his final hole of the second round. Not many had faith. “Molinari … going to miss the cut,” was NBC host Mike Tirico’s call just before the former Open champion, two off the cutline, brought the club back. Molinari didn’t ask for an apology. “It looked on a great line the whole way, but what are the chances, really,” he said afterward. “I don’t even know what to say just incredible.” If only Molinari could have turned water into wine by going on a weekend run. Alas, he finished T-64.

—RYAN HERRINGTON

good swing, the ball rolled straight and went in—her first hole-in-one. Karen hit next, her ball coming to rest about a foot from the cup. They drove to the tees their husbands were playing. Bill stepped to the 140-yard shot. The thought crossed his mind that it’d be incredible if he could get an ace, too. He hit what he thought was a good 9-iron, but it

Jimmy Ellis, 39, stood out at the 2024 U.S. Amateur not only with his age but his play. An oil and gas landman with a wife and two young kids, Ellis beat all the college pups over two days of stroke play, becoming the first midam to win medalist honors at the event since 2013. His sizzling secondround 61—ten birdies against one bogey with a 30-foot eagle attempt

was nowhere to be found. “I thought it was short,” Bill says. Then Ann checked the cup. It was Bill’s seventh.

The course emptied for the storm, creating a massive celebration in the clubhouse. As hail pummeled the roof, they toasted with champagne and signed the $850 bar tab. “We were thrilled to pay it,” Bill says.

—KEELY LEVINS

at the last coming up just short—at Chaska Town Course sealed his surprising No. 1 seed in match play. Ellis, who played college golf at Florida Gulf Coast University and Ohio University nearly two decades earlier, earned a spot at Hazeltine by winning the Florida State Amateur two months prior. He entered the week at No. 783 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. His legend only grew when

he bought golf gloves and balls from the Hazeltine pro shop. “I don’t get free s—,” he told a Golf Channel reporter. Ellis’ tournament came to an end in the Round of 64 when he lost to Oklahoma State rising sophomore Ethan Fang, a golfer 20 years his junior, but he’ll always have that 61, the accompanying USGA medal, and whatever else he purchased at Hazeltine. —ALEX MYERS

the gulf club

Craig Vance & Intissar Rich Trump International Amateur Open Trump International Golf Club Dubai

Malcolm Young

Zorah Golf and Yacht Club

Aryan Siddharth

Tommy Fleetwood Academy Junior Medal Series by DP World Jumeirah Golf Estates

Winner’s Photo

Beat the Pro’s Jumeirah Golf Estates

Aoife Kelly

Montgomerie Dubai Amateur Open Montgomerie Golf Club Dubai

Shagir Mohammed and Riaz Khan

BMW Pairs Open Social Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club

Team Paliwal

Jumeirah Golf Estates Pro-Am by Titan Wealth International Jumeirah Golf Estates

Stanley Sudhakaran Senior Open Golf Champion Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club

Sam Mullane

Montgomerie Dubai Amateur Open Montgomerie Golf Club Dubai

Mattias Rejman

OMA Emirates Medalford Jumeirah Golf Estates

Gary Williams & Jack Wanliss

Generations Day Jumeirah Golf Estates

Henry & Dehan Ungerer

BMW Pairs Open Social Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club