Worldwide Golf November 2017 by Worldwide Golf

T H E M I D D L E E A S T ’ S N O .1 G O L F M A G A Z I N E

EST

1999

Worldwide Golf

NOVEMBER

2017

WHY THE MIDDLE E A ST I S S O C R U C I A L FOR THE EUROPEAN TO U R I N 2 01 8 A N D B E YO N D

TOMMY

FLEETWOOD O N M E D I TAT I O N , FAT H E R H O O D A N D H OW H E M A N AG E D TO STAY A H E A D O F T H E PAC K I N T H E R AC E TO D U B A I

P L AY E R FOCUS

L E E W E ST WO O D SERGIO GARCIA JON RAHM

Photo ©pcooperphoto.com

PAT P E R E Z TA L KS PXG & DUBAI APPEAL

Worldwide Golf is the Official Media partner to the European Tour in the Middle East and the official magazine of the Emirates Golf Federation

T I T L E I ST 8 1 8 HYBRIDS T E ST E D

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COLUMN

GARY PLAYER believes something must be done quickly to keep our historic courses relevant.

Low scores on links a wake-up call Course records at Carnoustie and St. Andrews being broken at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is a warning sign that our classic courses are in danger of becoming obsolete due to ongoing new technology.

HAVE said it many times over many years that the powers that be have to find a way to limit the distance that players can hit a ball before so many of our iconic, famous and treasured golf courses are made redundant for being too short. I am truly delighted that Ross Fisher played so well, along with several other players, in the Dunhill Links Championship, scoring 61 over the Old Course at St Andrews in the final round. Despite his course record 61 he had to settle for second place, three shots adrift of Tyrrell Hatton, who finished 24-under par. Given that the weather was unusually kind over the four days at Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews, scoring was very low all week and Tommy Fleetwood also broke the course record at Carnoustie. They are entitled to feel great about how well they played and I congratulated them accordingly. There’s no question that shooting a 61 on any course in an official event is an outstanding achievement and I believe, generally, that this is good for golf. Having said that, this is certainly another wake-up call in regard to how the game has changed due to the advancement in technology in the ball, the equipment and conditioning. I’m aware that American Justin Thomas shot a 59 in the Sony Open in Hawaii and that South Africa’s Branden Grace had a 62 in The Open at Royal Birkdale this season. This erosion of our golf courses has been gradually eating up the yards over the last 50 years. I’ve been criticised throughout that time for pointing out the obvious danger to the game. I issued the warning decades ago that players would soon be hitting the ball nearly 300 yards and many people laughed at me. We are now looking at the situation

where the big-hitters will soon be driving the ball accurately more than 400 yards off the tee. The only way to save our traditional golf courses that currently host our Majors, and maybe even save the game of golf itself, is to limit the equipment as well, as to how far the ball can go. I’m not including amateurs, I’m talking about the professionals. Let the weekenders have all the help they can get. It’s good to be able to provide the amateurs golfers with all the ammunition there is. It will keep them on the golf course and we need more people to play golf around the world. We don’t need courses to become unplayable for the general public because they can’t match the new, extended golf courses designed for Tour pros who can hit it a country mile. We all like to see big-hitting, exciting golf. But many tournament courses are played on layouts that were not designed to challenge a player who is hitting the ball so far with par-5s reduced to par-4s and sometimes to par-3s. Golf is a game of traditions and history. If we continue on the same lines, our best loved courses like St Andrews will become obsolete. Many courses have already taken the tee boxes further back to add extra distance but for so many great courses that is just not possible. The added cost of this land, more maintenance, extra water and higher overall costs are simply not sustainable to most golf courses. I have suggested over the years that one answer is to reduce the distance the ball can travel for the Tour pros. Let the technology in balls and equipment continue for the amateurs but limit the distance for the balls the Tour players play.

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CONTENTS 18

COLUMN

THE STARTER

PETE COWEN

DAVID HOWELL

RAFA CABRERA BELLO

This month we feature a stunning aeriel shot of the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates and look at all the latest happenings in the game. We look back at Rory McIlroy’s ten years on Tour and decipher why so many top stars are switching their caddies.

PGA Master Professional Pete Cowen assesses the form of his stable of stars ahead of the DP World Tour Championship where it will be the players who have saved something in their energy tank who prevail after a long season on Tour.

European Tour veteran David Howell had a first-hand look at players trying to retain their playing rights and their livelihood at the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama and gives us a hint of what it’s like inside the ropes at such a crucial stage of the year.

Refreshed and raring to go, Rafa Cabrera Bello is back in action and looking forward to a strong finish to his 2017 Race to Dubai campaign at the DP World Tour Championship and has his gaze firmly fixed on qualifying for next year’s Ryder Cup Team in Paris.

38 Tommy Fleetwood Worldwide Golf speaks exclusively to Race to Dubai leader Tommy Fleetwood about his sensational season, his new arrival at home, how meditation helps him balance his life on and off the golf course and how he’s gearing up for the European Tour’s grand finale at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

FEATURE

TOUR NEWS

Lee Westwood

Jon Rahm & Sergio Garcia

The Luckiest Ball on Earth winner is announced and the Ceremonial Tee Shot which marks the countdown to the DP World Tour Championship is struck by H.E. Sheikh Fahim Bin Sultan Al Qasimi.

The Englishman looks back at his victory in the inaugural DP World Tour Championship in 2009 and talks about the success of this year’s British Masters. PLUS: Pete Cowen breaks down his swing.

Spanish stars Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia have both had a year to remember as they look forward to bidding to end the season on a high at the DP World Tour Championship.

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CONTENTS 56

FEATURE

Colm McLoughlin The Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman and CEO talks exclusively to Worldwide Golf about the company’s role in the growth of Dubai and their relationship with Rory McIlroy which has made the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open one of the most popular and prestigious tournaments on Tour.

FEATURE

The Race to Dubai

52 Keith Waters

As the DP World Tour Championship approaches we keep an eye on who the big movers have been over the past month on the European Tour.

European Tour Chief Operating Officer Keith Waters talks about the growth of the Tour’s presence in the Middle East, the future and the ongoing success of the DP World Tour Championship.

Feel The Pressure

with Martin Robinson at The Address, Montgomerie Dubai.

Improve Ball Striking with Michael Bolt, PGA Professional at Trump International Golf Club, Dubai.

and hit longer shots off the tee with Alex Nicholson, Teaching Professional at The Track, Meydan.

We track the movers and shakers as the conclusion of the Challenge Tour’s Road to Oman draws to a close in Muscat and Joel Sjöholm talks about his season so far.

Tennis Ball Drill

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Tour Destination

Quick Five

This month, our series on European Tour Destinations heads to Portugal, just south of Lisbon, to report on the stunning Troia Resort.

Five things you don’t know about Belgium’s Thomas Detry.

GEAR

Build A Solid Base

Road to Oman

79 82

Instruction

Titleist 818 Hybrids

Worldwide Golf Editor Alex Gallemore tests the impressive 818 Hybrids.

Pat Perez’s PXG clubs PGA Tour Pro Pat Perez talks about his PXG clubs, his upcoming trip to Dubai and his love of Nike Air Jordans.

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An iconic Pete Cowen drill which will develop consistent clubhead speed with Stephen Deane, Head Professional at Emirates Golf Club.

Two Club Body Drill

Nick Cork, Senior PGA Pro at Abu Dhabi GC showcases a drill for greater consistency and purer shots.

Swing Lag

Jaco Stander, Teaching Pro at Saadiyat Beach GC teaches us a thing or two about creating lag.

PXG 0811XF Driver

eGolf Megastore’s custom-fit specialist, Regardt van Rooyen, gets to grips with PXG’s latest bomber.

TaylorMade M CGB Irons

Are these TaylorMade’s most forgiving irons? eGolf Megastore’s custom-fit specialist Jason Ashley puts them to the test.

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EDITOR’S LETTER

Get set for season ending fireworks in Dubai

s we get set for the biggest golfing event in the region, and one of the biggest in world golf, it’s hardly surprising that our cover feature is Tommy Fleetwood, giving us an exclusive and interesting insight into how he’s managed to find his best form when it counted most and what it would mean to be crowned Europe’s Number One golfer at Jumeirah Golf Estates. With Sergio Garcia as his main rival on the Race to Dubai taking a three-week break after his win at Valderrama, and with Tommy entered in all three remaining tournaments where the total purse amounts to $22.5 million, he might even be crowned champion of the Race to Dubai before he tees it up on the Earth course. It’s been an interesting year with only Garcia, Hatton and Fleetwood recording more than one victory on the European Tour. Yet it has highlighted the significance of the Rolex Series. Just like the Majors and the WGC events, a win, or even a half decent week, can rocket a player up the rankings. So it’s no surprise that for 2018 the Tour has grouped these events in the calendar to entice the big names to play, starting with the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in May, followed by the Italian Open the week after. With the 2018 Ryder Cup in the minds of many it will also be interesting to see if any of the leading lights from the PGA Tour enter the HNA Open de France, which will be played on the same Le Golf National course as The Ryder Cup. Apart from gaining valuable experience of the course ahead of The Ryder Cup in September, the HNA Open de France is a $7 million Rolex Series event. Matt Kuchar is rumoured to be playing, so who knows whether the likes of Spieth and Thomas will hop on the

jet with him for a week in Paris. We talked to Keith Waters, COO of the European Tour, to get his thoughts on the 2018 schedule and how critical the Middle East is, not only for the players but for the Tour. With the NBO Golf Classic hosting the Grand Final of the Challenge Tour in Oman this month, which evolves into a full European Tour event next February, and the excellent Greg Norman-designed Ayla Jordan course having staged a MENA Tour event last month, followed by the opening of the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Saudi Arabia, there’s still a great deal of potential golfing growth in the region. One player we caught up with from the PGA Tour who isn’t worried about jetting across the pond to play in the Middle East to earn some extra dollars is Pat Perez. He will be teeing it up at the Dubai Desert Classic in February for the first time and he’ll be great to watch. This man just goes straight at everything. It’s easy to see why his idol is John Daly. On the technology front I had the pleasure of meeting up with the experts from Titleist to find out if their new slogan for the 818 Hybrid, “When was the last time you were thinking up and down from 215 yards out?” is actually true or just marketing hype. Our columnist and Titleist ambassador, Rafa Cabrera Bello, is certainly enjoying his best season to date. He’s my favourite to win the DP World Tour Championship. He’s gone off the radar for a while, due to trying to balance playing on both Tours, but he’s got the length and the knowledge to master the Earth course; especially now he’s got the short stick working better than ever. Don’t miss this month’s DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates on November 16-19. It promises to be one of golf’s most memorable occasions. Alex Gallemore

ISSUE No.197 NOVEMBER 2017 • Published by: Worldwide Sporting Publications Ltd • Published in Dubai by: Prografix • PO Box 24677 • Dubai, UAE (Tel) +9714 340 3785 Editor-in-Chief: Mike Gallemore • Executive Editor: Gary Player • Editor: Alex Gallemore (alex@wspglobal.com) Publisher: Mike Gallemore (mike@wspglobal.com) • General Manager Dubai: Richard Bevan (rick@wspglobal.com) • Editors: Todd Staszko, Scott Grayston, Ashraf Ahmed • Production/Design Editor: Thameem Rayyan • Editorial Panel: Gary Player, Mike Gallemore, Alex Gallemore, Richard Bevan, Todd Staszko • Photography: Getty Images • June 2009 SSN 1- 46805671 • Approval UAE National Media Council: Ref.816 30/5/2007 Trade Licence No. 1/104375/15280 • Worldwide Golf specifies that post-press changes may occur to any information given in this publication and takes no responsibility for goods or services advertised

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F O CU S O N T H E TO U R ' S G RA N D F I N A L E I N D U BA I

THE COURSE Jumeirah Golf Estates The European Tour season comes to a conclusion on the Greg Norman-designed Earth course for the ninth consecutive year

S the curtain comes down on another season, the best 60 players on the European Tour head back to Dubai after a year-long battle to compete one last time for a purse of $8m and a chance to be crowned European No.1. The Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates opened in 2009 and hosted the inaugural DP World Tour Championship, which was won by Lee Westwood on 23-under-par. Since then the course has matured into one of the finestconditioned layouts on the European Tour. The contrast between the green grass, dazzling white bunkers and redwood chip enhances the undulation throughout the course, while water features add a serene quality, most notably when the meandering wadi comes into play on the closing four holes. The course measures 7,675 yards from the tips of the tee boxes but the fairways and greens offer big targets, which makes course strategy just as pertinent as a booming drive. Wayward shots will either be gobbled up by the 102 bunkers while many of the greens have run-off areas to penalise any poorly struck approach shot. Sweden's Henrik Stenson holds the tournament record score of 25-under-par when he romped to a six-shot victory in 2013. The following year he successfully defended his title on 16-under-par. None of the previous winners have won the tournament wire-to-wire.

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Photo Â©joannaeardley.co.uk

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STARTER It's Over...

The delicate nature of the player-caddie relationship

● Familiar faces no longer together – Phil Mickelson and Jim 'Bones' Mackay (top) and Rory McIlroy and JP Fitzgerald

IT’S been a tumultuous year for the player/caddie relationship at the elite level with five high-profile splits, which all raised eyebrows across the game. Early in the year World No.1 Lydia Ko abruptly sent Gary Matthews (the ninth caddie of her career) packing before hiring Pete Godfrey to carry her bag. The next big name with a new 'carrier' was 2016 Masters Champion Danny Willett after his friend and long-time caddy Jonathan Smart left him midway through the RBC Heritage, one week after his Masters defence. Just a few weeks later the 25-year relationship of Phil Mickelson and Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay came to an end after the US Open. Mickelson missed the event to attend his daughter’s high school graduation and just a few days later both he and Bones released statements announcing their split. If that wasn’t enough, shortly after the next Major – The Open at Royal Birkdale – Rory McIlroy shocked everyone by parting company with JP Fitzgerald, just days after praising him for his motivating peptalk which propelled him to a fourth place finish. Later, Jason Day and Col Swatton went their different ways, despite Day speaking of him as a “father figure” who saved him from a troubled youth. Day was 12 when the pair met, not long after the youngster's father passed away. Under Swatton’s watchful eye, Day developed into a Major champion and a World No.1. The pair will remain friends, with Swatton continuing his coaching role – but he will no longer haul Day’s golf bag around.

Jason Day and Col Swatton embrace after winning the 2015 US PGA Championship.

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TRACER N E WS F R O M ARO UND TH E WO RLD

Challenge Tour records came tumbling down at last month's Hainan Open as Chinese amateur Li Linqiang became the youngest player to make the cut on the Tour at the age of 13. Linqiang, who turns 14 this month, opened with a 69 and followed that with a 75 to make the weekend.

Social Media star Paige Spiranac will be the official starter at next year's Omega Dubai Desert Classic. The 24-year-old, who has 1.2 million Instagram followers, played the Dubai Ladies Masters in 2015 and 2016 and she will be back at Emirates Golf Club in January tasked with introducing the likes of Sergio Garcia on the tee.

Colin Montgomerie hit a rich vein of form on the PGA Tour Champions with two wins within the space of five weeks. The Scot clinched the Japan Airlines Championship in September and last month won the SAS Championship.

THERE'S a familiar name in the LPGA Tour's winners circle. Jin Young Ko won her ﬁrst title at the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship last month, closing with a 68 to win ahead of S.H. Park. The most famous Ko in golf, Lydia, is still in search of her ﬁrst win since July 2016. The former World No.1 has slipped down to eighth in the Rolex Rankings.

QUICK

HITS Greg Norman will don his straw hat and pick up his sticks once more next month when he and his son, Greg Jr, play in the PNC Father Son Challenge in Florida. Norman hasn't played competitively since making four starts on the 2012 PGA Tour Champions. Sergio Garcia has announced he and his wife Angela are expecting their first child in March next year – just in time for the Spaniard's defence of The Masters. Phil Mickelson may not have won a title since the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield, his third place finish at last month's Safeway Open was his 27th in his 27th season on the PGA Tour. He has 34 runner-up finishes and 42 career wins. Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjorn believes Tyrrell Hatton has a very good chance of making his debut for Team Europe at Le Golf National near Paris, France, next September, The Dane says the young Englishman "is aggressive in his mind and has a good chance of achieving great things."

KO W I N S B U T N OT TH E KO W E K N OW

Teeing it up

News, Facts and Figures from around the Tours

Tiger Woods tweets swing updates

No PGA Tour players attended Hall of Fame ceremony for Davis Love III

Former World No.1 holes sends twitter into meltdown Tiger Woods opened up the discussion on his future by tweeting a slow-motion video of him hitting a short iron and then two weeks later, one hitting driver in his Sunday outfit. Both tweets were liked over 35,000 times and generated roughly 4,000 replies. The first video was posted the week after The Presidents Cup where Woods gave this summary of his progress as he recovers from back surgery: "I don't know what my future holds for me. I'm hitting 60yard shots." The video of him hitting driver came with the caption "Making progress."

Pieters to host Belgian Knockout European Tour returns to Belgium with mixed format event A European Tour event will take place in Belgium for the first time in 18 years when the Thomas Pieters-hosted Belgian Knockout takes place in Antwerp next May. The format for the event will incorporate a headto-head strokeplay knockout format over nine holes after the leading 64 players are settled, following 36 holes of strokeplay . "I think it's going to be exciting," said the Ryder Cup star. "We're going to see an innovative new format and it will be really exciting for people coming along to watch."

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Induction took place in New York City – just a few miles from The Presidents Cup site As Davis Love III and the Class of 2017 were being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, not one player from the PGA Tour showed up to honour him. The ceremony took place on the Tuesday of The Presidents Cup week and Love III took time out from his Assistant Captain duties at Liberty National to attend his induction, but his Captain, Steve Stricker, and fellow Assistant Captains Jim Furyk, Fred Couples and Tiger Woods did not – and nor did any players.

Shot Clock to be trialled in Austria Padraig Harrington approves 40 seconds per shot rule The European Tour will next year trial a "shot-clock" system at the Austrian Open, with referees on every group enforcing a 40-seconds per shot rule. Any breach of the rule will result in a one-stroke penalty. Ireland's threetimes Major winner Padraig Harrington has welcomed the innovation, saying: "It's actually pretty lenient, 40 seconds is a long time to hit a golf shot, so I think it's a good idea."

STARTER

TEN YEARS OF

RORY

WHEN Rory McIlroy turned professional in September 2007 he had already made the cut at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic earlier that year and had won the Silver Medal as the best-placed amateur at The Open Championship at Carnoustie. He was the talk of golf and easily earned his 2008 European Tour card with top-ﬁve ﬁnishes at the Dunhill Links Championship and the Open de Madrid. Since then, he’s been European Golf’s leading light with four Major titles, a clutch of Race to Dubai titles and four consecutive Ryder Cup appearances.

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Breaks into top 50 on World Ranking with runner-up ﬁnish at the Hong Kong Open

Wins his ﬁrst title at the Dubai Desert Classic with a one-stroke win over Justin Rose, later ﬁnishes second on the Race to Dubai

Breaks through on the PGA Tour with victory at Quail Hollow

Cinches his ﬁrst Major title with a stunning eightshot win at the US Open at Congressional CC

Wins second Major – again by eight shots – at the US PGA Championship and tops the Race to Dubai with victory at the DP World Tour Championship

Switches equipment to Nike. Wins the Emirates Australian Open in November to avoid a winless season

Bounces back with two Major titles – The Open and the US PGA – and easily tops the Race to Dubai again

Suﬀers ankle injury playing football and misses The Open but still tops the Race to Dubai with three wins including a second DP World Tour Championship title

Wins on home soil at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and later wins the FedExCup in the USA

Struggles with niggling rib injury throughout the year, posts two runner-up ﬁnishes but ends his campaign without a victory

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COLUMN

PETE COWEN: The European Tour’s fun events are a huge step in the right direction.

Long year of hard work comes to a close Life as a touring professional can be mentally draining and players rarely get a lenghty break so it will be fascinating to see which players have kept enough in the tank as the European Tour season ends this month in Dubai.

OMING into the DP World Tour Championship, Mike Walker and I train nearly 25 per cent of the field of the 60 top players on the European Tour. But, surprisingly, we’ve got no one right up there to challenge for the Race to Dubai, which is a first for Mike and myself. Tommy Fleetwood’s run of form around The Masters and his win at the HNA Open de France pulled him away from the rest of the lads and no one has been able to give chase. It’s been a long hard season as usual but the players will always look to peak around the Majors and the big events. So it will be interesting to see who’s kept something in the tank for the final events, starting at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China before the final three Rolex Series events, as there’s some serious money on offer. We will be working hard on the driving range with our lads at Jumeirah Golf Estates in the run-up to the climax of the European Tour. But even though we might not have a shot at the Race to Dubai we’ve got a good chance of successfully defending the DP World Tour Championship itself. Matt Fitzpatrick is coming into form and having won the Championship last year he certainly knows his way round the Earth course and how to get the job done. Kiradech Aphibarnrat is another one of my players with the talent and experience to win. All eyes are on Thomas Pieters wherever he tees it up. He’s a little rusty but don’t be surprised to see him play his way into form coming into the final event. Thomas loves to take a break. He only wants to play events when he’s fresh and he’s only interested in winning tournaments. Looking ahead to next year’s schedule, it’s fascinating to see how the Middle East has become even more crucial to the players and to the European Tour. We can expect to see strong fields as usual in Abu Dhabi and Dubai but I think Nick Tarratt and the European Tour will be pleased to also see a good turn out for the events in Qatar and Oman. I appreciate that the prize money isn’t as strong as the other two events but they fit perfectly into the calendar. The players

who don’t qualify for the WGC event in Mexico will have very few options to play until after The Masters. All the players really enjoy the Middle East for its weather and its great courses so I expect some might even stay in the area after Dubai and work on their game before heading over to Qatar. That is one of the reasons for developing my presence in Dubai, but I will announce more about that around the time of the DP World Tour Championship. Having examined the Tour’s 2018 International Schedule with the players, it’s interesting to see how the European Tour are again introducing new ideas. I don’t know the full structure of the 2018 Shot Clock Masters in Austria next June, but anything that can be done to speed up the game can only be good. I liked the GolfSixes at the Centurion Club and it’s great to see it back on the schedule along with Thomas Pieter’s event, the Belgian Knockout, in May. I know Thomas’ sister and brother-inlaw are involved with the event and with Belgium producing two Ryder Cup players in recent years (Colsaerts and Pieters) interest in the game has certainly increased. So I’d expect that event to be a success but, more importantly, anything that can be done to make the game more interesting to youngsters is essential and these fun events are a huge step in the right direction. The Ryder Cup next year will always draw attention, regardless of age groups. Things look quite well balanced at the moment with the USA having seven players in the top 20 in the world ranking and Europe with 10. However, the USA were strong at The Presidents Cup and having spoken to Phil Mickelson in China he was delighted how their players fought to turn matches around early on in the event. But although they more than dominated the fourballs and foursomes the International team had the upper hand in the singles and anything can happen in match play. I just hope it’s a close encounter in Paris. The more attention the game receives the better.

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COLUMN

DAVID HOWELL every day is a battle out on Tour.

Success and disappointment up close The regular European Tour season came to a close in Spain and I had a firsthand look at some players on the cusp of retaining their playing rights for 2018. It was success for some and a disappointment for others.

HE Andalucia Masters at Valderrama effectively brought to a close the European Tour season, with only the Final Series left, culminating in the DP World Tour Championship. The race to keep their Tour card for the players further down the list came to an end on the iconic turf of Sotegrande on the southern tip of eastern Spain. Whilst Sergio Garcia was thrilling his local crowd with another victory on home soil, edging out last year’s runnerup, Holland’s Joost Luiten by a shot, from a pros point of view the real drama was happening slightly further down the leaderboard. I talked to Daniel Brooks at lunch in Italy just seven days before Valderrama, about golf and the Tour in general. I knew he wasn’t in a great position heading into the final week. For the first two rounds of the Andalucia Masters I played with Ashley Chesters, a rookie who has had a terrific year. He was just outside the mark he needed to keep his card, by just a few hundred Euros. Jamie Donaldson, who three years ago hit the winning shot in The Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, was also battling to save his full Tour card. Valderrama is a unique challenge. It’s brutal when you stray offline. The greens are tiny and the rough around the greens is penal. If you come into the tournament short of confidence it’s a harsh course to play. I can vouch for that, personally. Just take a look at my scores. So to play Valderrama under the strain of having to perform at your very best to keep your job is an immensely stressful task. On Friday my race was run in terms of making the cut by around the 11th hole. But I was more than mindful of keeping the atmosphere in my group as cheerful as possible. Ashley Chesters was playing for his livelihood. He was close to the cut line in the second round. As bogeys came his way everything looked to be slipping from his

grasp. When we walked onto the 18th green I could see from the scoreboard he was 5-over par. The cut looked like being 4-over. Ashley had a 30-foot birdie putt to keep his job. As I strolled past him I suggested that he should knock it in the hole. He gave it a good roll but he ran it nearly five feet by. I thought it was all over for Ashley, but my caddie told me the scoreboard was wrong and that he was only 4-over. Now Ashley was staring at the longest five-feet putt he had ever faced. If he three-putted he’d lose his Tour card which would hurt him forever. I felt nervous for him. But he slammed it right in the middle, a braver putt I haven’t seen in a decade. Ashley kept his card with a beautiful weekend’s golf. Daniel Brooks needed to finish in the top four to keep his card but he hadn’t finished in the top four all year. He had only just made the cut, but his slim hopes were still alive. Then Wham-Bam! A 64 on Saturday shot him into contention with the round of his life – or was it? Maybe it should be his level-par round on Sunday, which took the young Englishman to third place and ensured that Danny kept his job. Jamie scored a 4-under 67 on Saturday and a Herculean effort on Sunday saw him finish fourth to keep his card for next year – fifth and it would have been a whole different story. So, Jamie kept his job. These are the real performances of champions in my book. Sure, Sergio won, and we are glad he did. He supports the event and the event supports his charity. An event in Spain without Sergio wouldn’t feel right, but the stars of the event were playing for a different trophy, a little plastic card that says EXEMPT on it, which comes with the right to play against Europe’s best players for another year. That little card is literally worth its weight in gold.

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COLUMN

RAFA CABRERA BELLO feeling refreshed and ready for a final push up the Race to Dubai rankings.

I’m rested and ready to contend again It’s been a long hard year competing on both the US PGA Tour and the European Tour and now I am ready for the closing stages and the grand finale at the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

S the DP World Tour Championship approaches, I’m still in with a chance of topping the rankings and I’m trying to perform to the best of my ability so I can to play to my optimal performance level. If it’s possible that I can win one of the final events that I’m playing then I’ll be in the hunt, potentially to contend for the Race to Dubai title. Prior to these events I spent a few days surfing in Bali, trying to refresh myself ahead of the last push of the year. I will be going back to Bali for a few days after the WGC-HSBC Champions and then back home to Dubai before going on to South Africa to play the NedBank Golf Challenge and then the DP World Tour Championship. I hope that the surfing will do me some good and recharge my batteries so I’ll be ready to go. It’s the time of year that I really look forward to and being in contention to try and win the Race to Dubai is fun. I’m playing very well and I’m going to be 100% focussed. I just need to put all the aspects of the game together. But I feel good and refreshed after a long season playing both the PGA and European Tour full time. It’s been a big year for me playing a lot of new golf courses and taking on new challenges – and I’ve been very happy with the way it’s gone. After I won in Scotland and then finished in the top five at The Open I struggled a little bit and felt a little bit mentally tired on the golf course. I didn’t play well at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and missed the cut at the US PGA Championship but I

improved in September at the PGA Tour’s FedEx events. It wasn’t quite enough to get me to the Tour Championship but, overall, I’m happy. It was a tough decision to skip the Italian Open – one of the Rolex Series events – and the Andalucía Valderrama Masters in Spain to head over to Asia and play in two events on the PGA Tour. I took that decision to get some appearances under my belt on the PGA Tour. The CIMB and the CJ Cup both count towards the 2018 PGA Tour season and I need to play 15 tournaments as a minimum to retain my playing rights. The WGC-HSBC Champions also counts as a PGA Tour event and those three events will count towards those 15 tournaments which means I will be under less pressure to play more events in the United States in the New Year. Obviously, I want to retain my card over there, but my focus next year is on The Ryder Cup and performing well in Europe to get on Thomas Bjørn’s team in Paris and win the Cup back. Hopefully, playing these US Tour events means I don’t need to add more to my schedule in the United States. My wedding date is fast approaching but I really haven’t had much time to get nervous about it due to playing so much competitive golf. I played three of the four FedExCup Play-off events on the PGA Tour and I’ve been in Asia so a lot of the preparation has been done in conjunction with my fiancé, Sofia. I’m not nervous about it because I’m looking forward to sharing my life with a wonderful person.

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DP World Tour Championship

Countdown begins with ceremonial tee shot

HE countdown to the 2017 DP World Tour good for DP World.” Championship, Dubai officially began when Yousuf Kazim, CEO, Jumeirah Golf Estates, said: “This H.E. Sheikh Fahim Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, is the ninth year that we are hosting the DP World Tour Chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation, hit Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates. This is a very a ceremonial tee shot from the first tee of the important spectacle for the United Arab Emirates and Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. especially for Dubai. Last year we attracted The top 60 players on the European 65,000 spectators and we broadcasted to Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings will over 500 million people across the world. gather at the same venue on “This year we are trying to upgrade Monday, November 13th to begin all our facilities so the fans enjoy the preparations for the US$8 million experience even more, from the moment DP World Tour Championship as they arrive at the course with the facilities the Race to Dubai reaches its we provide such as the Championship climax with the tournament action Village, Kids Zone and numerous outlets. unfolding from Thursday 16 to Working together with the European Tour, Sunday 19 November. To mark the we always strive to ensure that we are official run-in to the event, His going above and beyond our customers’ Excellency fired a straight drive of expectations at this fabulous tournament.” 195 yards, watched by a group of Nick Tarratt, Director, European Tour, dignitaries and media. Dubai, added: “We are eagerly anticipating Abdulla Bin Damithan, Director our opportunity to showcase the top of Commercial Department 60 players on the European Tour. The – Yousuf Kazim, CEO, UAE, DP World said: “A global Race to Dubai involves 47 events in 27 Jumeirah Golf Estates tournament such as the DP World destinations leading to the culmination Tour Championship shows how of this great worldwide series here at our business and Dubai can work hand-in-hand to Jumeirah Golf Estates. project both our brand and the emirate as a leading “The Earth course is currently being overseeded so business, tourism and financial centre. things are taking shape and this year we have a new “Dubai is a cosmopolitan city and it is recognised all Hero Challenge at Atlantis, The Palm, for our guests to around the world, so this fantastic event definitely puts participate in. There will be plenty of surprises for sports the emirate on the world stage. We want Dubai to be a fans to experience and view at the season-ending grand destination for all kinds of sports and activities like golf, finale.” ■ as well as a key centre for trade. What is good for Dubai is

“Last year we attracted 65,000 spectators and we broadcasted to over 500 million people across the world.”

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Tour News Luckiest ball

AURANGZEB ALL SET TO TEE IT UP WITH THE STARS

hazi Aurangzeb is looking forward to joining the stars of the European Tour at this year’s DP World Tour Championship Rolex Pro-Am after being crowned the winner of the 2017 Luckiest Ball on Earth Series. After 22 events played at 21 golf clubs across the UAE with more than 1,000 players taking part, Aurangzeb, who represented The Track, Meydan Golf, Dubai, put on an outstanding performance to beat the 20 other Luckiest Ball on Earth Grand Final competitors with a net Stableford score of 41 points. The Rolex Pro-Am, on Tuesday 14 November, is the curtain-raiser to the DP World Tour Championship will be contested by 46 teams captained by European Tour professionals, including the likes of Sergio Garcia, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Justin Rose and defending champion Matthew Fitzpatrick. “I’m lost for words and usually I’m full of them,” said Aurangzeb. “In the Grand Final I got off to a great start and managed to ride my luck and then managed to hang in there for the win. I’m really excited and can’t wait to play in the Pro-Am. “I entered the competition on a whim and now I’m the champion. It’s such a great series and in terms of being an amateur golfer I think this is as good as it gets. I’m happy to play with any one of the pros as I never expected to get to the Pro-Am.” Aurangzeb is also invited to the Championship Beach Party held at Nasimi Beach, Atlantis, The Palm, on 14 November. The Luckiest Ball on Earth Grand Final, sanctioned by the Emirates Golf Federation, saw players teeing off from the Signature Tees on the Fire course. Alberto Rubio of Jebel

Ghazi Aurangzeb pictured with Nick Tarratt celebrates with the DP World Tour Championship trophy.

“I entered the competition on a whim and now I’m the champion, It’s such a great series and in terms of being an amateur golfer, I think this is as good as it gets.” Ali Golf Resort and Spa took the runner-up position with 37 points while Elli Oschmann of Arabian Ranches Golf Club secured third place with 33 points. The Luckiest Ball on Earth Series has proved to be a great success with the UAE’s amateur golfers since its launch in 2011. The

competition has been held annually since then and is open to all golfers aged 18 or over who hold an Official Club Handicap recognised by the EGF (maximum 28 for men and 36 for ladies). Nick Tarratt, Director, European Tour International, Dubai Office said: “We have seen 21 golf clubs represented from around the UAE and over 1,000 golfers have competed in the qualifying rounds with the 21 winners going through to compete in the Grand Final on the Fire course and in the end we have a worthy winner in Ghazi. “This is our seventh year holding this initiative and our ninth year holding the DP World Tour Championship. It really activates and enthuses the golfers in the community so that they are well aware of the tournament. As there is quite a rotation of golfers in the emirates it gives everyone an opportunity to be part of the Luckiest Ball on Earth Series.” ■

DP World Golf Day Singapore 2017 – Creating the Future NOW DP World got into the swing of things in the Far East last month with a tournament entitled ‘DP World Golf Day 2017 – Creating the Future Now.’ The field, pictured at the Masters Course at Laguna National Golf and Country Club in Singapore, gathered to pose for a group picture, which was reproduced as a table mat for the Gala Dinner.

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2017 Race to Dubai

Back-to-back

PAUL DUNNE clinched his first European Tour title at the British Masters supported by Sky Sports last month and with it earned 562,500 points to surge from 34th to 12th place in the Race to Dubai. The Irishman, who led after the third round of the 2015 Open at St Andrews, is set to make his DP World Tour Championship debut this month. He finished his rookie campaign of 2016 in 106th place in the Race to Dubai. Sweden’s Robert Karlsson, who won the DP World Tour Championship in 2010, finished third behind Dunne at Close House to take home 211,275 points and move into the top 100.

Hatton on course for best ever Race to Dubai ﬁnish A two-week blitz across three in them.” Hatton’s compatriot fine links courses in Fife and Ross Fisher finished runner-up one which borders the famous at both events to do his Race racetrack at Monza earned to Dubai ranking no harm at England’s Tyrrell Hatton over all. “It’s great to be playing well 1.5m Race to over two weeks, “To win a Rolex Dubai points back-to-back, Series event is and lifted the and being in very special. They 26-year-old into contention and the top five on the playing some are new for this rankings. of the best golf season and all of “The end goal is of my life,” said the players look to get as high as Fisher, who shot forward to playing possible up the a course record in them.” world rankings,” 61 on the Old – Tyrrell Hatton said Hatton after Course to finish following his second at St victory at the Alfred Dunhill Andrews and is narrowly ahead Links Championship with a win of Hatton in the Race to Dubai. at the Italian Open. “Obviously, Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat the last two weeks have helped finished in a share of second a lot. To win a Rolex Series event place in Italy to move into the is very special. They are new top 60 in the ranking and secure for this season and all of the his spot in the DP World Tour players look forward to playing Championship.

Registration for your FREE DP World Tour Championship tickets is now open: To register please visit: http://bit.ly/dpwtc17

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HATS OFF TO SERGIO GARCIA who clinched his first title since winning The Masters in April, at his own event – the Andalucia Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation – and with it he closed the gap on Race to Dubai leader Tommy Fleetwood. Meanwhile, top-ten finishes for Daniel Brooks (third), Jamie Donaldson (fourth) and Wade Ormsby (fifth) saw them move inside the top 100 in the Race to Dubai to secure their European Tour cards for 2018. “I had a good day out there and at the end of the day I had kept my card, which was nice. That was the goal at the beginning of the week,” said Brooks.

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Big moves made on the Road to Oman Victor Perez slides into contention after Spanish triumph

The stage is set for the finale of the 2017 Road to Oman as the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final hosts the top 45 on the rankings, with the leading 15 players after close of play, earning their playing rights for the 2018 European Tour season. A hole-in-one fired France’s Victor Perez to a maiden victory at the Challenge de España and with it he moved up to 14th on the Road to Oman, with a 2018 European Tour card well within reach. Perez shot a third round 61 heading into the final day and with a final round 65, which included his first career hole-in-one, he sealed a three-shot victory over Jarand Ekeland Arnoy. “I can’t really put this into words,” said the 25 year old. “I actually won here in Spain last year on the Alps Tour so my dad was saying that I should do well here as well. I arrived playing well, and have been doing for a while, and I managed to put it all together.” Runner-up Arnoy moved to 36th in the rankings to give himself a shot at making a late run into the top 15 while Marcus Kinhult made a birdie at the last to finish in third place and move inside the top 15 on the Road to Oman.

Oliver Farr earned his European Tour card with victory at the Foshan Open, surpassing 120,000 points for the year to guarantee a top 15 finish in the Road to Oman. South African Erik van Rooyen sealed his spot on next year’s European Tour as victory at the Hainan Open in China took him to fouth place in Road to Oman, guaranteeing himself a place in the top 15.

Dantorp enters top 45 with RAK win Sweden’s Jens Dantorp produced a stunning finish to win the Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge in a dramatic sudden play-off, securing his place in the season-ending NBO Golf Classic Grand Final in Oman in the process. Having started the final round at Al Hamra Golf Club one shot off the lead on 11-under par, Dantorp, who finished tied 47th in the inaugural Ras Al Khaimah Golf Challenge last year, birdied the par-five 18th to finish with a four-under par round of 68, forcing a play-off with Poland’s Adrian Meronk, who had finished minutes earlier after carding a five-under 67 to set the clubhouse target on 15-under par. The pair headed back to the 18th tee where Dantorp powered his drive down the centre of the fairway before firing a spectacular approach on the 557-yard hole to within six feet of the pin. Meronk rolled in his birdie putt but the steely Swede held his nerve to hole an eagle putt and claim the $56,000 winner’s cheque. The win catapulted Dantorp from 48th in the Road to Oman rankings to 17th, which cements his place in the Challenge Tour Grand Final, where the Road to Oman’s top 45 players battle it out to secure a place on next season’s European Tour.

After receiving the trophy from His Excellency Sheikh Fahim, bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation and President of the Arab Golf Federation, Dantorp, whose last victory on the Challenge Tour was at the 2013 Rolex Trophy said: “What a feeling. It’s been a few years chasing so this feels great,” said the 28-year-old. “I set out for the course record today, but that didn’t happen! I just wanted to hit as many fairways and as many greens in regulation as I could and hope the putter was hot. It was hot enough. “That approach in the play-off was probably

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one of the best shots I’ve hit in my career. I just had one shot in mind when I hit it – that was Henrik Stenson’s special shot on 18th at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai a couple of years ago. I tried to repeat that and got it pretty close. Dantorp’s fine finish was unlucky for Meronk, who had earlier posted an eagle on the par-five third hole and birdies at the seventh, ninth 7th, and 14th. Despite missing on out victory, Meronk’s performance rocketed him from 78th in the rankings to 33rd and a place in the Oman field.

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World Round-Ups

Tour News

The European Tour had back-to-back weeks in the United Kingdom before heading oﬀ to Spain and Italy. With Ryder Cup and World Ranking points on the line, some players made signiﬁcant statements as the DP World Tour Championship fast approaches. HATTON DEFENDS AT ST ANDREWS IN STYLE

British Masters supported by Sky Sports

DUNNE GETS IT DONE AT CLOSE HOUSE

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

TYRRELL HATTON became the first player to successfully defend the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after a final round 66 earned him a 3-stroke win over Ross Fisher, who shot a course record 11-under-par 61. France's Victor Dubuisson finished third with a 63 while Robert Rock, Marc Warren and Gregor Bourdy shared fourth place.

HATTON WINS BACK-TOBACK WITH CHEQUERED FLAG AT MONZA PAUL DUNNE carded a sensational final round 61 to win his first European Tour title by three strokes at the British Masters supported by Sky Sports. Rory McIlroy closed with an impressive 63 to finish in second place, three shots back, with veteran Robert Karlsson taking third place outright shooting a 66. German Florian Fritsch, who has a fear of flying and drives to every tournament, finished in a share of fourth place alongside Sweden's David Lingmerth and England's Graeme Storm. "I went out and really tried to win the tournament rather than have someone hand it to me," said Dunne. "That was the focus. Once I was in front, I just keep pushing, with no bogeys to see how many birdies I could make. I'm absolutely thrilled."

US PGA Tour News

Brendan Steele gets his hands on a familiar trophy after successfully defending his title at the Safeway Classic in California.

TYRRELL HATTON fired back-to-back weekend rounds of 65 to once again deny Ross Fisher and win the Italian Open at Golf Club Milano, which is set beside the famous Monza F1 race track. Fisher fired a 63 to share second place alongside Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat with Matt Wallace taking fourth place.

Italian Open

GARCIA ON TOP AT HIS OWN EVENT SERGIO GARCIA outlasted Joost Luiten on a superb final day to win the Andalucia Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation. The victory was his first since his Masters triumph and his third of the year following his win at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. The Spaniard carded a 67 to finish on 12-under and win by one shot ahead of Luiten, who carded an excellent 66 around the famed Ryder Cup layout. Daniel Brooks finished third on 7-under with Jamie Donaldson in fourth place a shot further back.

Andalucia Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation.

A new season begins on the US PGA Tour with stops in America and Asia – WG takes a look at who's hot as their 2017-18 campaign begins. THERE wasn't much of an 'off season' as just one week after The Tour Championship at East Lake the 2017-18 US PGA Tour season began at the Safeway Classic in California. Successfully defending his title was Brendan Steele as he clinched a two-stroke win over Tony Finau with a 15-under-par total. Phil Mickelson, who missed the Tour Championship for the third time in four years, shared third place with Chesson Hadley and Graham DeLaet. From the West Coast the PGA Tour crossed the Pacific for the fifth staging of the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur as a sanctioned US Tour event. Pat Perez was the star of the show, cruising to a four-stroke win ahead of a resurgent Keegan Bradley, who posted his best finish since 2014.

Victory earned Perez a return to The Masters next year for what will be his fourth career start at Augusta. The Tour stayed in the Far East for the inaugural CJ Cup on Jeju Island in South Korea and Justin Thomas continued his fine form to win his first title of the new campaign. The PGA Champion defeated Mark Leishman in a play-off to win his fifth title of the 2017 calendar year and seventh title on the PGA Tour.

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Pat Perez wins his third PGA Tour title at the CIMB Classic.

"I officially have nothing left in the tank at this moment." – Justin Thomas reflects on a busy, and successful year.

TO M M Y

FLEETWOOD

Leader of

the Pack Tommy Fleetwood has had a breakthrough year in 2017 with victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the HNA Open de France and he holds all the aces as he heads towards the Race to Dubai finale at the DP World Tour Championship on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. TODD STASZKO talks to the likeable Englishman about becoming a father, leading the Race to Dubai, his dramatic turnaround after a confidence-hit 2016 and his high hopes for the future. “IT definitely changes things,” smiles Tommy Fleetwood, reflecting on the birth of his son, Frankie, in late September. Becoming a parent usually does change everything, but Fleetwood will not let it get in the way of his continued success. Winning the Race to Dubai to be the best player on the European Tour throughout the season would put him in the exalted company of the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Sir Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson – a veritable Who’s Who of golf. He’s certainly going to pull out all the stops to get it done. “We’ve had better sleeps recently,” he says wryly, after a few days at home with fiancé Clare and Frankie, following his sixth place finish at the Italian Open last month. “I was a little bit worried about how I might play coming into the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship because I’d had a lot of time off in the run-up to the birth. During

Photo ÂŠpcooperphoto.com

'Being a dad definitely changes things'

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TO M M Y

FLEETWOOD the week of Frankie’s arrival we were pretty much in the hospital the whole time. It felt like I’d had a year off after that! “But I was pleasantly surprised in Scotland and then in Italy. After a poor first round it came good following a really long practice session. You have to keep your expectations at bay a little bit and stay level-headed. Looking back, they were good weeks, considering what had gone on before it.” Fleetwood has led the Race to Dubai since March when a final round 66 propelled him into second place behind Dustin Johnson at the WGC-Mexico Championship, just a couple of months after Fleetwood had won by one stroke ahead of Johnson in Abu Dhabi. His blistering start to 2017 came after some huge changes he made last year which came about after a period of poor play. He went back to his old coach, put one of his oldest friends on the bag and got seriously into meditation. “Everything progressed after a twomonth period when I went back to ‘Thommo’ (Alan Thompson), in May, and then in June Ian Finnis came on the bag,” he says. “We moved into a new house in September and then I started playing better golf.”

What about the meditation? “Yeah, the meditation is something I first tried when I was younger but recently some apps have come out that guide you through it, which is great. Some people can fall into thinking that they’re no good at it because they can’t switch off straight away. “They don’t seem to get into what they think meditation should be, so they are often put off by it. But the apps have been very useful to me and moving into the new house, in a really quiet and calming environment in the countryside has gone hand in hand with it. “It’s not really golf-related meditation – like picturing golf shots or visualising how you want to play a particular hole. It’s more life related. It’s meditation on how to get to a better place and be in a better frame of mind. I enjoy it a lot.” The meditation has certainly helped Fleetwood stay in the present and be totally focussed, but what effect did moving back under Thompson’s watchful eye have? “There are a number of things that go into coaching,” says Fleetwood. “For a start, Thommo has known me and my swing since I was 12 or 13 years old,” he says, “and both are just as important as each other. “Knowing the person and understanding the tendencies in their golf swing is allimportant. What you’re going to be fighting against, no matter how much you try and change a swing or how much better you get,

“I’ve had a couple of poor weeks at Jumeirah Golf Estates and a couple of decent ones but the Earth course suits me."

are guys who have just turned pro and are young and really hungry, like I was. Then you’ve got guys who could have just lost their playing card and are desperate to get back on the European Tour. “So, you have both ends of the spectrum trying to get into the top 15 spots to qualify for the European Tour. It’s tough. I was lucky that I managed to make it in my first year on the Challenge Tour. "You don’t want to be on it too long because it will just get harder and harder. Personally, I believe it’s the best way of gaining your card and for preparing yourself for European Tour golf.” Fleetwood won the Kazakhstan Open in 2011, which came with the richest prize money on the Challenge Tour that year and it helped him become the youngest player to top the Challenge Tour rankings at the age of 20.

Flying high at Gleneagles is tough. He has a model for a golf swing that works really well for me. I understand it and I understand the way he teaches it. “Throughout the practise sessions our lines of communication are good, and that’s not something that everybody always gets right. It’s not a simple process to put across the actual feeling of what needs to be happening in the golf swing. Thommo and I have a very good chemistry when we’re working together and we certainly get the most out of it.”

What's the Caddie connection? Asked about his caddie, Ian, with whom he made a comical botched high-five after draining a huge putt to clinch second place in Mexico, he explained: “I’ve known Ian for about 17 years,” says Fleetwood. “He worked at Formby Hall Golf Club when I was a junior there. Being a regular at a golf club means a few of you will always hang out together and play golf together. Ian caddied for me at a few amateur events and again when I was on the Challenge Tour in my first year as a professional. We always said that if the opportunity were to arise, we’d give it a shot. The chance came up and we stuck to it.” Fleetwood’s rise through the English Golf Union ranks to Walker Cup player (2009), European Challenge Tour winner (2011) and European Tour winner (2013) almost seemed to be the copybook route to the top.

Challenge Tour breeds success Fleetwood is adamant that the Challenge Tour is the ideal springboard to success. “I think It’s the best thing you can do,” he says, “it's the best way to move up the ladder. It’s such a competitive tour because you’ve got both worlds competing. There

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He found his feet on the European Tour in 2012, finishing 109th in the Race to Dubai to narrowly retain his card. But a first win was just around the corner and in August 2013 he clinched the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles with a play-off victory over Stephen Gallacher and Ricardo Gonzalez. In 2014 he was runner-up three times on Tour as he finished 19th on the Race to Dubai and he consolidated his status with a 24th place finish in 2015 with four top tens.

DP World Tour Championship The following year his confidence dipped but he found it again towards the end of the year and finished the season on a positive note with a ninth place finish at the DP World Tour Championship. “Last year, I had a great chance of winning it with nine holes to play but clearly I wasn’t ready,” he reflects. “It was at the point when I’d got my game back, but my confidence was still being rebuilt as I hadn’t really been in contention often enough. “I’ve had a couple of poor weeks at Jumeirah Golf Estates and a couple of decent ones but the Earth course suits me. I feel comfortable around there and it always helps that I’ve played it a few times now – or at least it should do. “I’m looking forward to playing. It’s always a lovely week being here in Dubai, but as the last event of the year there’ll be a lot of pressure because there’s so much to play for. “It’s a great tournament to end the season and the big name winners of both the tournament and the Race to Dubai itself speak for themselves. It’s always a huge occasion and I think it’s the perfect climax to the year. When you start each

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TO M M Y

FLEETWOOD

campaign, getting into the top 60 to play the event is a goal that everyone aims for. "The 18th is a brilliant finishing hole as well. "You’re almost guaranteed a bit of drama on that last hole - so it fits well.”

Abu Dhabi kick start With the 2016 season over and Fleetwood finding his form in Dubai, he hit the ground running two months later at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, clinching a one-stroke win. It certainly came as a pleasant surprise. “That was a funny one because I always felt like I played quite well in Abu Dhabi and when I had missed the cut it was always by just one shot,” smiles Fleetwood. “It’s always that first event of the year and I think I just didn’t have a lot of confidence around the course. But this year, turning up with no expectations and then playing well, just worked in my favour. “I hooked the second shot of my first hole of the tournament into a bush and made bogey on a par-5, and ended up winning. "It was a bad start but when I got down to the back nine on Sunday, with about five or six holes to play, I actually expected to win. The switch around was pretty quick.”

New balls please! Another quick switch that took place in Abu Dhabi was a change of golf ball, which came about purely by chance. “That was a stroke of luck really,” explains Fleetwood. “I happened to try a Titleist ProV1x for a practise round, and I really liked it. I played the week with it and won with it.” With Nike exiting the golf equipment market Fleetwood knows he’ll have to change clubs soon, but he’s happy with the ProV1x and how that has performed for him in 2017. “The ball is the main one,” he says. “You ask any player to do a blind test on the green and they would all be able to tell the difference between each ball. When courses are as tough as they are and the margins for error are so slight, the ball is imperative to success. Being able to change that quickly was great. I was lucky because the ProV1x was very similar to the Nike ball I was using – maybe a couple of yards longer into the wind. It’s one less thing to worry about.”

Major foothold and Ryder Cup boost From Abu Dhabi, Fleetwood quickly became one of the success stories of the year. His performance in Mexico in March brought him worldwide attention. He followed that by getting into contention at the US Open at Erin Hills in June, finishing fourth. His one-stroke victory in the Rolex Series HNA Open de France in July solidified his status at the top of the Race

“I happened to try a Titleist ProV1x for a practise round, and I really liked it. I played the week with it and won with it. When courses are as tough as they are and the margins for error are so slight, the ball is imperative to success." to Dubai ranking and he’s determined to keep progressing steadily, taking things one step at a time. Next year being a Ryder Cup year – at the venue where he won this year’s Open de France - isn’t lost on him.

Ryder Cup goal “I’d be lying if I said getting into The Ryder Cup side isn’t a goal,” he says. “But I’ve set goals before when I really wanted something and then not played well, so it can be frustrating. I’ve got plenty going on as it is without worrying about The Ryder Cup but

"I’d be lying if I said getting into the Ryder Cup side isn’t a goal. But I’ve set goals before when I really wanted something and then not played well, so it can be frustrating." Worldwide GOLF 43

it will certainly be one of my biggest goals of the year. I’m just going to keep playing the best golf I can, week in week out, and at the end of it, hopefully, I’ll be in that team. “I can’t speak for anyone else, but it’s got to be a dream goal because it’s one of the biggest sporting events in the world and we have the chance to play in it every two years.”

Challenge of the PGA Tour Asked about testing himself more regularly on the PGA Tour against the likes of young American Major Champions in Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka, Fleetwood replied: “The plan is to add more US PGA Tour events into my schedule,” he admits. “This year was my first opportunity to play a few events in the USA and I enjoyed it. It’s a different style of golf, but there’s no denying that a lot of the best players in the world play over there. “Having the opportunity to play in the States, whether it goes well or badly, it can only improve my game. But three of the four Majors and two of the four WGCs are in America, with another in Mexico, so the more chances you get to play there the better it is in terms of preparing for the big events.”

Focus to win the Race to Dubai For now, the focus for Fleetwood is on ending the season strongly and winning the Race to Dubai. He concludes. “With the position I’m in I’ve got to give myself the best possible chance of winning the Race to Dubai so I’m playing the WGC-HSBC Champions, Turkish Airlines Open, the NedBank Challenge and then the DP World Tour Championship. It’s a nice long stretch of big events and we’ll see what I can do.” ■

PLAYER S P OTL I GHT

“I managed to win the inaugural tournament back in 2009 and since then several great players have added their names to the trophy, including Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson.

LEE

WESTWOOD The former World No.1 missed out on becoming a dual winner of the British Masters last month but the inaugural winner of the DP World Tour Championship has got his sights set on doing the double on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates later this month.

Worldwide GOLF 45

LEE WESTWOOD may not have fulfilled his ambition of winning a second British Masters title at Close House Golf Club last month but he certainly won a lot of friends along the way. Tournament host Westwood, who redesigned the Close House layout and has been attached to the golf club since 2011, lives within 20 minutes’ drive from the Newcastle course, where he finished in a share of 15th place on 10 under par, commented: “I played all right but struggled to make any putts, really. I just didn’t quite hit it close enough. “Being the host of the event gave me another view of the tournament and an appreciation of what goes on leading up to and during a tournament like this. I’m glad I did it and, hopefully, everybody had a good time. To have nearly 70,000 spectators over the tournament week was brilliant. "It’s the best attendance since we’ve brought the British Masters back. I’m delighted with that but I had a funny feeling people in the North East would support it well. “Now I’m looking forward to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai and, hopefully, pulling off a notable double. Making it into the top 60 at the end of the season to play at the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates is every player’s goal. It’s good to have a climax to the year and the DP World Tour Championship is the perfect ending. "Dubai and the Middle East also provide the ideal way to start the season with the Desert Swing and it’s great news that the NBO Oman Golf Classic has joined the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters as a full European Tour event,” says the former World No.1.

IN THE

BAG with Westwood

FAIRWAY Ping G400 (14.5 degrees) Shaft: Aldila RIP Phenom 70TX Length: 43 inches (tipped 1 inch) Swing Weight: D3

DRIVER Ping G400 LST (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Aldila X-Torsion Black 60X Length: 45.25 inches Swing Weight: D4

HYBRID Ping G (19 degrees) Shaft: Aldila Tour Green 85H TX-Flex Length: 42.50 inches Swing Weight: D2+

IRONS Ping i200 (4-PW) Shafts: Ping JZ w/ Cushion (S-Flex) Length: +0.25 inches

WEDGES Ping i200 (50 and 53 degrees), Ping Glide 2.0 (60 TS) Shafts: Ping JZ w/ Cushion (S-Flex) Swing Weight: D5+

PUTTER Ping Vault Bergen Platinum Length: 35 Inches Loft 4degrees Cadence Black PP58 Midsize

Worldwide GOLF 46

Strike it like Westwood

SWING SEQUENCE by PETE COWEN

Westwood’s long standing coach and Master PGA Professional Pete Cowen explains why Lee is not only an exceptional ball striker but also one of the straightest.

Lee’s shoulder angle and left arm match with a good wrist set.

With the right hip going up and loading I would like to see the right arm a little more vertical at this point in the swing just to support the left arm.

Competition WIN A PING G400 FAIRWAY WOOD What year did Lee Westwood win the DP World Tour Championship? Email your answer to: G400@worldwide.golf

Good posture with the shaft plane matching Lee’s hip angle to encourage the correct movement up and around the body.

4 A good squat into the delivery with a good left arm position and the shaft on plane to the ball.

5 6 Lee has stayed in the shot but still turns to stablise impact.

Worldwide GOLF 47

Lee’s trademark bent left elbow with a good body turn supports his fade.

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PLAYER S P OTL IGHT

SERGIO

GARCIA

Sergio Garcia is is heading into the grand finale of the Race to Dubai in second place behind Tommy Fleetwood and in fine form following his victory at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation.

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SERGIO GARCIA heads a trio of Spanish contenders into the DP World Tour Championship this month behind the Race to Dubai’s runaway leader Tommy Fleetwood. Despite winning last month’s Andalucia Valderrama Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation for his sixth win on Spanish soil, the reigning Masters Champion is unlikely to catch Fleetwood. The 14 times winner on the European Tour received an Honourary Life Member of the Euroepean Tour award from Chief Executive Keith Pelley at Valderrama. Garcia went on win, cutting down Fleetwood’s lead, to currently stand in second place, with his fellow countrymen Jon Rahm in third and the Dubai-based Rafa Cabrera Bello in fourth place. Garcia has been a frequent visitor to Dubai and the Middle East for many years and he’d like nothing more than to end his 2017 campaign at the top of the European Tour by winning the end of season climax. He shared 19th place on the Earth course last year but he started the 2017 season with a win at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. He won the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in 2014, having finished second the previous year and fifth in 2012. “It’s good to start the season in the sunshine of the Middle East,” says Garcia. “I’ve played the European Tour for nearly 20 years now and I’ve always enjoyed playing on the Tour - and I’ll keep doing that as long as my body allows. “The Rolex Series is great for the Tour and I think it’s helping all of us. Keith Pelley and his group are doing a good job. They are working hard. It’s not easy to introduce new ideas but they are starting to get some good results, so we’re all excited about it."

PLAYER S P OTL I GHT

“Nobody will ever be like Seve, but we can try to pick and choose things from Seve. Not his driving…! But things like his short game, his character, the way he brought people together, the way he transformed golf in Europe and worldwide." JON RAHM

JON

RAHM

Jon Rahm has the Race to Dubai in his sights and is looking to become the first Spaniard to be crowned European Tour No.1 since Seve Ballesteros back in 1991.

FOL LOW I N G

SEVE'S L EA D

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“IT became a goal of mine after Ireland,” said the Spaniard, who turns 23 this month. “Before that, I wasn’t really anywhere in the Race to Dubai. I was up there after Mexico but following my victory in Ireland, I really became conscious of the fact that I could win it and it became even more of a goal of mine, especially once I learned that nobody since Seve (Ballesteros) from Spain has won it!” Rahm’s rapid rise to one of the top players in the game has taken people from both sides of the Atlantic by surprise. He clinched a debut title at Torrey Pines on the PGA Tour and then followed a third-place finish at the WGC-Mexico Championship with a runner-up at the WGCDell Technologies Match Play. Those performances made him a serious contender in the Race to Dubai and he cemented his place with a runaway victory at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation. With emulating Seve high on his agenda, Rahm has recently sought the help of another Spanish legend – Jose Maria Olazábal – to iron out some small kinks in his short game. “Statistically, playing from ten to 30 yards out on the PGA Tour I have not been up to the same standard as the rest of my game. I was just asking Ollie (Olazábal) what he does. I hit a couple shots and he gave me a couple tips and also told me a couple things Seve used to do. I have a few things to work on. “Seve is the reason why I’m sitting here today. If it wasn’t for the ‘97 Ryder Cup in Spain, my father would have never started to play golf. If he had never started, I would have never picked it up. "Nobody in my family took up the game until Seve put golf on the map in Spain with that Ryder Cup."

KEITH WATERS, Chief Operating Officer, the European Tour, talks to Worldwide Golf about the ongoing success of the DP World Tour Championship and the expansion of the Tour in the region with the NBO Oman Golf Classic being elevated from the Grand Final of the Challenge Tour to a significant spot on the 2018 European Tour International Schedule:

THE European Tour’s relationship with Dubai, the UAE, and the Middle East region has grown steadily over the past 28 years. Has this been a particular strategy for the Tour? It goes without saying that the Middle East has played a significant part in the development of the European Tour for the past 28 years. The Omega Dubai Desert Classic dates back to 1989 and, since then, our ties with Dubai have strengthened significantly with the introduction of the Race to Dubai in 2009. We have a mutually beneficial relationship and one that continues to strengthen, not only in Dubai but in Abu Dhabi, Oman and Qatar. We fully appreciate the importance of the Middle East as a destination for us, and there is no doubt that our relationship with those countries will only continue to grow as we see golf grow in these areas as well. With the addition of Oman to our schedule next year, we now have five European Tour events being played in the Middle East in 2018, which again highlights the importance of the region for the Tour and for golf in general. It has a superb climate, fantastic

Planning the

Global

golf courses, great hotels, and we are able to travel there when it’s difficult to play golf in Europe due to the weather. It has really been a great addition to the Tour and contributed considerably to our ongoing success. By adding Oman to the 2018 schedule, do you regard this a prime example of how a Challenge Tour event can gradually grow into a European Tour event? The Challenge Tour has hosted its finale in Oman for three years now, as well as playing the penultimate event in Ras Al Khaimah, with both of these tournaments proving enjoyable for our players. We have built a great relationship over the years and it’s exciting to now see the NBO Oman Golf Classic as a new event on our schedule in 2018, ultimately providing vital playing opportunities for our members and providing a world-class event for some of the best golfers in the world. Of course, it is great to see a venue we used for a

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Challenge Tour tournament stepping up to the plate to deliver another great event on the European Tour. We know the course is well designed and will prove a good test for the players, so we are very much looking forward to working with the team in Oman to help deliver an amazing tournament in the coming months.

Is the strategy of grouping together certain events like the Open de France, Irish Open, Scottish Open and then The Open in succession, aimed at enticing the European-based players to stay in Europe? The Rolex Series brings together eight premium tournaments on the season-long Race to Dubai and these events provide a truly different experience for the players and for the fans, both at home and at the venue. Grouping the tournaments together in the lead-up to The Open is certainly a way of attracting the best players in the world of golf – regardless of whether they are from Europe or not – and the other factor at play here is the history and prestige of these tournaments for the players. Not

EXCLUSIVE

Game

only are they played on some of the best golf courses in the world, our players enjoy playing in these events and now, with the additional Race to Dubai and Ryder Cup points on offer, it holds a crucial place on the European Tour calendar. All eyes turn to Europe in June and July as we deliver some of the biggest tournaments of the year for the best players in the world.

With the emergence of young players like: Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Thomas Pieters, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton, do you think we are seeing the beginning of a changing of the guard on the Tour? The depth of our stars on the European Tour is impressive right now and the majority of names mentioned above are products of the European Challenge Tour. We are seeing now, more than ever, our younger players beginning to flourish on the world stage and winning some of the big events on the European Tour, like Tommy at the HNA Open de France and Tyrrell at the Italian Open. Both came through

the Challenge Tour pathway – Fleetwood actually winning the Rankings in 2011 – and were conditioned ready to take the next step. Getting used to that lifestyle of playing week-in, week-out, 72 holes, is incredibly important and it definitely has its benefits for those players when they move onto the European Tour. The British Masters supported by Sky Sports has been an overwhelming success over the three editions so far – does this highlight the fact that having a leading player as host or ambassador, those events attract bigger crowds and stronger fields. McIlroy, Garcia and Stenson have also shown that it makes a difference at their respective events. We have seen in the past how much the support and backing of our leading European Tour players benefits the overall success of our tournaments and there is no better case in point right now than Lee Westwood hosting the British Masters supported by Sky Sports in Newcastle. We had record crowds in the

Worldwide GOLF 53

"We are very fortunate to conclude the Race to Dubai at Jumeirah Golf Estates for the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. The facilities are absolutely worldclass, it has a superb new clubhouse and the players love the course, so it is always a fantastic week for the Tour. It is a premier location and we are very proud of how well the event has been received in Dubai and its growth every year." - Keith Waters

looks forward to the climax of the Race to Dubai

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PLANNING THE

GLOBAL GAME

"Our relationship with golf in the Middle East has strengthened significantly over the years and we will continue to monitor the growth of the game in this region." - Keith Waters

north east and raised more than £450,000 for charity, so you can imagine how excited we are that this event is continuing to gather momentum among golf fans. Along with the likes of Rory hosting the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, now a Rolex Series event and major fixture on the sporting calendar in Ireland, and Sergio at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters – our players' support of these events is vital for us. We are also looking forward to working with Thomas Pieters, one of our most exciting young players on the European Tour, at the Belgian Knockout next year. We are always looking for new avenues in which we can appeal to a new generation of golf fans and this event, with a star like Thomas backing it, will certainly get people talking. With the US PGA Championship moving to an earlier date in the 2019 schedule will this enhance the relevance of the DP World Tour Championship and the Rolex Series events? The shift of the BMW PGA Championship from its traditional May date into September will be central to a strong and robust end of season schedule on the European Tour. With the changes to the global golfing calendar providing us with the opportunity to move the tournament to a more favourable date from 2019 onwards, it will be a new chapter for the event, and we still expect similar interest in the autumn, as was shown historically by the World Match Play Championship when it was played at

Wentworth Club at that time of the year. It is an iconic location in the realm of British sport and the BMW PGA Championship is always hugely popular with the public as was seen earlier this year when it launched our Rolex Series with 110,000 spectators in attendance over the course of the week. We anticipate the move to September, along with our other Rolex Series events coming into play towards the end of the season – the DP World Tour Championship Dubai being one of those – to further enhance the narrative of crowing the European Tour Number One and winner of the Race to Dubai. With the opening of Ayla in Jordan and Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Saudi Arabia are these areas of the Middle East the European Tour would look to expand in strengthening its ties with the region? Golf in the Middle East is continuing to rise and with the opening of these golf courses in countries like Jordan and Saudi Arabia, it is clear there is an appetite there for the game. Next year the European Tour will travel to 30 different countries –working in different cultures and dealing with different types of business practices to grow the game – which means there are many new avenues for our consideration. As I have said before, our relationship with golf in the Middle East has strengthened significantly over the years and we will continue to monitor the growth of the game in this region.

Worldwide GOLF 55

We’ve seen the Tour develop new formats for 2018, with events such as the Belgian Knockout and the European Golf Team Championships, is this a move to make the game more engaging with the younger audiences and are there other initiatives on the cards? The Belgian Knockout and the European Golf Team Championships are another opportunity for the European Tour to continue to lead the way in innovative approaches to tournament golf. Earlier this year we debuted the GolfSixes concept in England, we have delivered the Hero Challenge at multiple events, and we introduced the inaugural ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth, which featured a mixture of stroke-play and match play, similar to what we will see in Belgium next year. We are in the entertainment content business where golf is our platform, and if we can showcase our game in a very entertaining light, then that is the best commercial we can produce to grow our game and keep it successful in what has always been a crowded sports market. We understand we need to adapt in order to generate new fans of our game so we are always looking at new ways in which we can achieve this goal. We are very experienced in running golf tournaments and we will continue to do that as we look to showcase the game in the best possible fashion. ■

DUBAI DUTY FREE

TOPPING THE LEADERBOARD C

OLM McLOUGHLIN has played a vital role in the Dubai success story. He was an integral part of the Aer Rianta team, based at Shannon Airport on the West coast of Ireland, who had earned a global reputation as the most successful Airport Duty Free operation worldwide. In 1983 Colm and his colleagues were invited to set up a duty free facility at Dubai Airport on a six-month contract. “I was impressed with the attitude of the people we were introduced to in Dubai and the fact that they were committed to making Dubai Duty Free the best in the world, so I resigned from Aer Rianta and took up a two-year contract with Dubai Duty Free,” says Colm. “I’ve been here on the same two-year contract ever since, 34 years later.” The Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free, who last month was presented with the prestigious Frontier Airport Retailer of the Year Award, tells Mike Gallemore how DDF has reached the pinnacle of the worldwide airport duty free industry. He also talks about the relationship between Dubai and Rory McIlroy that has taken the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation to one of the most popular and successful events on the European Tour International Schedule.

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Picture: THAMEEM RAYYAN

EXCLUSIVE

Worldwide GOLF 57

TO P P I N G T H E

LEADERBOARD

Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Colm McLoughlin, (third from right) holds the Frontier Award for 'Airport Retailer of the Year' as he celebrates DDF's success with Chief Operating Officer Ramesh Cidambi (centre), Senior Vice President-Marketing Sinead El Sibai (third from left) and Senior Vice President-Purchasing Saba Tahir (second from left) together with the Frontier Awards officials. Worldwide Golf: With so much global uncertainty it was a remarkable achievement for DDF to receive the Frontier Airport Retailer of the Year Award. How did that feel? Colm McLoughlin: The number of passengers travelling through Dubai International Airport increased 6.6% to 8.23 million, compared to the same month a year ago and are expected to reach close to 90 million this year, which is great news for Dubai Duty Free, obviously. We were delighted to receive the Frontier Award for Airport Retailer of the Year. It’s the eighth time we have won this award, which is an enormous achievement for our operation. The fact that the judges acknowledged our continuing sales growth and expansion of our retail offer and brand partnerships with key suppliers, was particularly rewarding for us to hear. WG: You were presented with the 1986 Duty Free Person of the Year Award, and in 2004 you received a special ‘Lifetime Achievement Award.’ What has been the secret of your success for DDF? CM: These awards are regarded as the ‘Oscars’ of the travel retail industry and the judges are our peers, so it’s very nice to be recognised by the industry. When I receive any personal recognition, I am mindful of the fact that both my Chairman, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, and our 6,000 staff are to thank for any recognition that I may receive. WG: In a difficult trading year how do the DDF figures compare for 2017? CM: We are having a good year. Our sales

are up almost 3% on last year, which is a positive. We implemented a number of procedures in the past year, including negotiating prices with our suppliers as we wanted to retain our competitive pricing policy, which has been successful. We have also partnered with a number of entities, including joining Emirates Skywards on a miles redemption programme that has been very well received. We have also run a year-long campaign with C-Trip, which is the largest travel operator in the world with more than 300 million members, so that we can reach the important Chinese travelers when they are planning their trip to or through Dubai. All these initiatives have helped us return to positive sales growth and that will continue in the year ahead. WG: You have harnessed the power of international sport to promote DDF globally – how well has that worked? CM: We began sponsoring sporting events back in the mid-1980s as part of our brief was to promote Dubai as a sports and leisure destination. We have always seen sport as a positive way to reach a wide global audience. We were champions of Snooker back then, when it was a huge sport in the UK, and we ran the Dubai Duty Free Snooker Classic for many years. We turned our attention to tennis with the inaugural Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships back in 1993 and that event has grown to world class status. The return on investment for the two-week tournament in terms of TV coverage is calculated at US$920 million, which is invaluable exposure for Dubai and for our brand. The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Golf Championship is our most recent

Worldwide GOLF 59

title sponsorship and we believe that the tournament works very well and it ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to our evaluation list. WG: You are involved in and sponsor many sporting events, large and small, around the world but how do you calculate the value of your support on a global scale? CM: We calculate it in a number of ways, including the important media exposure which covers TV, print and now social media. We also assess our sponsorships in terms of spectator turnout, player participation and the overall fan experience, all of which reflects on our brand. WG: You have been a keen golfer from the days when you played at Shannon Airport GC, Lahinch and Dromoland Castle on the west coast of Ireland and you still play regularly at Dubai Creek. What is it about golf that you love so much and what do you think of Dubai as a golfing destination? CM: I enjoy all sports but I do enjoy my golf. I enjoy the friendships that I have around golf and I particularly enjoy my weekly game of golf, when we are all in Dubai, with good friends George Horan (former President of DDF), Ara Nakhnikian, and many others. Each November, we host the Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup in Dubai which brings together over 120 people from the duty free industry and it's a great couple of days of friendly competition which everyone looks forward to. I also enjoy the social gathering around the main golf tournaments here, including the DP World Championship, the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters and the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, which we have

TO P P I N G T H E

LEADERBOARD supported through sponsorship from the very first event in 1989. WG: It was a great occasion when Rory McIlroy won last year’s DDF Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation at the K Club – that must have given you great pleasure. CM: Rory is a great young man. He does a great deal of work for his Rory Foundation, which we have seen at first-hand in Ireland, so it was a real thrill to see him win the tournament last year at the K Club. He has such a huge following around the world, but the Irish fans were delighted for him to win, and to seal it in such style was great to witness. WG: By sponsoring the Irish Open since 2015, DDF has elevated the tournament to one of the most significant events on the European Tour International Schedule – has the success of the event also helped promote DDF to a worldwide audience? CM: Our decision to sponsor the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open came at a good time, with the Rory Foundation stepping in as host. With our involvement, the prize money increased initially from 2million euros to 4million euros within a couple of years. So there was a real concerted effort from ourselves, the Rory Foundation and the European Tour to bring the tournament back to its former glory. Then, with the tournament becoming part of the Rolex Series, with prize money of US$7 million, the tournament really elevated its position as one of the key events on the European Tour calendar. We are very happy with its progression. WG: Dubai Duty Free has a long tradition of supporting charities through its Dubai Duty Free Foundation, can you elaborate on what charities you support? CM: We are very proud of the Dubai Duty Free Foundation, and through it we have continued with our core work of overseeing several projects and raising funds for worthy causes, specifically those aimed at benefiting women and children. One of the notable charitable initiatives we have supported was the Dhs3 million donation towards the Ramadan “Reading Nation” Campaign, launched by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, last year. The Ramadan campaign is aimed at providing five million books for children in refugee camps and students in under-privileged schools across the world. Other initiatives that we undertake, as a company, includes the annual Blood Donation Campaign, Earth Hour, Dubai Cares Walk for Education, and the annual Car Free Day. To date, the Dubai

"I’ve got to know Colm very well over the years, mainly through playing in the tournaments, and I’ve got a good relationship with him. I went to the Irish Derby, which Dubai Duty Free were sponsoring. It was a good opportunity to talk to Colm and I knew what Dubai Duty Free were doing with their charitable Foundation. It just seemed like a good ﬁt." – Rory McIlroy Duty Free Foundation has supported 39 local and 52 overseas charities since 2004. WG: Your remit from H.H. Sheikh Mohammed was to make Dubai Duty Free the best duty free in the world. Having achieved that goal, how proud are you of taking the company to the top of the industry and staying there? CM: H.H. Sheikh Mohammed did indeed ask me to ensure that Dubai Duty Free would become the best in the world, and that it is the biggest, so when we were named the No. 1 Airport duty free in the world, for many years, that was most rewarding. I am very proud of everyone who has worked so hard to make Dubai Duty Free a success. We look after our staff, they have a chance to rise through the ranks as a result of our internal promotion policy, they are well trained, our staff turnover is very low at 4.81%. I think that all of these things combined ensure that our operation is such a success. WG: What do you think of the increasing popularity of the DP World Tour Championship, the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and the further expansion of the European Tour in the Middle East with

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another tournament in Oman? CM: I think that it’s terrific that there are so many world class golf events in the UAE and the GCC and long may it continue. The standard of golf courses here in Dubai is fantastic and I have played on all of them, including the recently-opened Trump International course. WG: Who is the most entertaining golfer you have met or maybe played with in a Pro-Am? CM: Generally speaking, all of the golfers I have met over the years have been extremely friendly and courteous. We know the Irish golfers very well and are good friends with Paul McGinley in particular. For the Pro-Ams in Dubai, we usually request an Irish player. When it comes to the Pro-Am in Ireland, I usually ask to play with Søren Kjeldsen as he won our first Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in 2015 at Royal County Down. WG: What is the funniest thing you have seen on a golf course? CM: When George Horan, my former Deputy, accidentally drove his golf buggy into the lake at the Creek Golf Course a few years ago. ■

Changer GAME

P.64

Learn to feel the pressure throughout the swing like Jordan Spieth.

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Eliminate an early extension to improve your ball striking.

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Build a solid base to hit longer, straighter drives.

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Develop consistent clubhead release with Pete Cowen's tennis ball drill.

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Use the two-club drill to perfect your body movement.

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Understand lag to create more swing speed.

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Feel the

Pressu re Martin Robinson, Head Professional at The Address, Montgomerie Dubai

You cannot achieve a strong and effective golf swing without good movement patterns in your lower body. Although the torso, arms and hands are crucial to a good golf swing, they are rendered useless without the correct shifting of pressure through the backswing and into the follow-through. SAM Balance Lab pressure sensors built into the ground in our Troon Golf Academy give us real-time bio feedback and is a fantastic tool to measure and improve body motion, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take a look at how it relates to some of the key stages in the swing.

Top of the backswing

As you get to the top of the backswing you should aim to have more weight going through your right foot, ideally between 60 - 80%. Swinging with an iron should see the balance remain closer to 60% whilst moving through the bag up to driver we should see the distribution stretch to around 80% as you load fully into your right side. A common error in this position is to sway too much weight off to the right, resulting in the weight rolling off to the outside of the foot and losing torque and balance. Notice in the heat map that more of the pressure in my right foot is situated towards the inside edge rather than the outside edge. The extra torque and elastic energy generated offers a stable platform from which to unwind during the downswing.

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INSTRUCTION Impact

By the very short time it takes to get from the top of the backswing to the moment of impact with the ball, we should see a dynamic shift in pressure across to the left foot. Again, a bandwidth of between 60–80% now onto the left foot should help to achieve the best possible impact with the ball, increasing power and consistency. This should be achieved through lateral and rotational motion through the hips. Look at any tour player’s hips at impact and you will see how they are opening hard towards the target. Jordan Spieth is a fine example of this movement. This rotation of the hips is represented in the heat map by the majority of the weight moving towards the left heel at impact.

Jordan Spieth

Post Impact Drill

Halfway to the follow-through is a great position to recognise how well you have moved your weight through to your left side. If you can hit shots with a clean hip turn and full weight shift to the left without swinging the arms too hard or too far into the followthrough, it will allow you to focus on letting your big muscles and good body motion do most of the work and should feel efficient and easy. Try hitting punch shots with a 7 iron between 50–100 yards, finishing in the position shown above to get control of your body.

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Early extension is an extremely common issue that can manifest due to a number of different causes. It is by far one of the most destructive ‘moves’ that can be produced during the golf swing and can be the route cause of many issues including the below:

Eliminate early extension to improve ball striking With PGA Professional Michael Bolt, Trump International Golf Club, DUBAI

•

Inconsistent contact on face of the club.

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Inconsistent attack angle into the golf ball.

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Inconsistent club path/inability to swing the club through impact with any kind of proper arc.

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Loss of ability to create downforce and utilise the ground.

When we look at the initial posture, the aim is to hold the angles created the best we can during the impact position. Although these angles will change during the swing, early extension is when these angles break down too early, resulting in a ‘weak’ and unrepeatable impact position.

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Best strikers

As we can see from these images, the hips have ‘thrusted’ toward the ball, resulting in the top half of the body moving away, and the spine angle completely breaking down. As a result, the hips have not driven towards the target and there is very little space for the golf club to exit in a square or neutral position. At this point golfers will often have to react and make adjustments resulting in an impact position, which is unsustainable.

Drive the hips

INSTRUCTION

The best ball strikers will maintain these angles on every swing, using the trail leg to utilise the ground, creating downforce. The key to this is to bump the front hip forward, thus creating space to work the club into. Hopefully, the right leg will then not ‘kick’ towards the ball, making it easier to retain the angles created in the posture.

Below are two simple drills that can help you with the feeling of using the lower half of the body better and therefore developing more awareness of how to keep posture during impact.

DRILL #

lace an alignment rod in the ground, parallel to your feet. Ensure it is pointing low enough to allow the club to move freely beside it. When hitting shots try to get the feeling of the left hip ‘bumping’ forward and preventing the right leg moving towards the golf ball.

DRILL #

nce feeling comfortable with this, now try to concentrate more on the trail leg/foot. Here we want the right leg to work the weight to the inside of the foot. Often players who early extend, struggle with the weight shifting onto the toes, forcing the early extension into the ball. Place a towel or headcover under the right foot, feeling the weight in the heel. Aim to keep the weight working down into the ground through impact, whilst working the hips inside the alignment rod. This will encourage the hips to ‘squat’ into the ball again, aiding the process of maintaining posture.

Try these drills to eliminate early extension in your swing and, hopefully, you’ll see some gains in consistency in both quality of strike and your ability to control ball flight.

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Lon Follow this guide for the basic characteristics in the set up:

Build a solid base to hit

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When working on your setup position it is important to establish a ball position forward in your stance to create an upward attack angle. A really good reference point is just inside your lead heel. This will allow you to have the club bottoming out before the golf ball, therefore the clubhead will travel upwards. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t guess your ball position when you are practicing, place an alignment stick or a golf club in line with your lead heel and the golf ball, or start your stance with your feet close together. Take a small step with your lead leg to open your foot towards the target and, finally, set your trail leg just wider than your shoulder width apart.

Far too often when my students are struggling off the tee I commonly notice two incorrect characteristics. These occur at the point of impact when his/ her centre of gravity shifts beyond the ball. This is known as a lateral movement and happens when the body slides towards the target. This encourages fault number two which is a steep attack angle and this leads to numerous shot shapes and mishits.

INSTRUCTION

nger

Alex Nicholson Teaching Professional The Track, Meydan

Straighter Drives Follow this simple guide to build that solid base.

Preset yourself ready to hit the ball on the way up. By doing this, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feel that your trail shoulder is lower than your lead shoulder and your shirt buttons are behind the golf ball at address. Check point before pulling the trigger is that your shoulders are aligned in a square position. A very common mistake is that your shoulder line will get open to target and this has a tremendous influence on your swing direction being incorrect. Use your toe line as a reference point to match your shoulders!

From a strong set-up position you will be able to deliver the club in a much more neutral path and angle of attack, leading to a more consistent start and finish line. Ensure the sequence of the golf swing is efficient and powerful for the best results.

Good luck with your golf and I look forward to welcoming you to The Meydan Academy by Troon.

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Tennis Ball Drill Last month we discussed Pete Cowen’s signature ‘Spiral Staircase’ drill which focussed on developing the correct body motion. This month we’ll recap on his signature ‘Tennis Ball’ drill which is extremely effective for developing a consistent clubhead release and adding pressure on the ball.

Ladies Group Lessons with The Dubai Golf Academy at Emirates Golf Club Worldwide GOLF 70

INSTRUCTION

1 3

As always, we start from a good posture, tipping from the hip line and engaging the hamstrings and glutes before pushing our knees down into position and feeling that solid connection. As shown in picture 1 and described within the attached video, we stand around two metres away from a wall with the tennis ball positioned directly under our sternum and our left hand underneath the right tricep. The hand under the tricep just encourages better hand and arm movement and helps you to feel the folding of the right elbow as you work the ball up as shown in picture 1.

2 From the top, we simply throw the ball back down underneath the sternum whilst trying to hit an imaginary golf ball on the surface below (picture 2).

If you release the ball correctly it will bounce once on the surface and bounce back off the wall directly in front. You’ll easily be able to catch it as the body spirals around into its finish position. If you release too early it will go way right and if you release too late it will go way right or left, depending on how good you’ve spiralled into your finish position. In other words, there’s lots of running around after the ball if you get it wrong! This is a fantastic drill used by many of Pete Cowen’s students and a fantastic way to perfect the correct release and desired pressure on the ball. With regular practice you’ll be fizzing your shots off the clubface like Henrik Stenson and Thomas Pieters!

For more information please come along to The Academy and we’ll be delighted to help you with your game.

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• 50 minute weekly lessons spread over 10 weeks • Suitable for all abilities in maximum group size of six • Equipment provided if required • Use of Academy driving range facilities included • From AED 1,400 T +971 4 417 9999 E emiratesacademy@dubaigolf.com www.dubaigolf.com

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INSTRUCTION

TwoClub body drill

Nick Cork

Senior PGA Teaching Professional at Abu Dhabi Golf Club

to hit

purer shots Correct body movement in your golf swing will help achieve a consistent attack angle, swing path and clubface positioning. This two-club body drill will give you the correct feeling of body movement for your golf swing which, in turn, will lead to greater consistency.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needed?

Two golf clubs will be needed for this drill. One golf club will be placed on the ground, perpendicular to your target line, resting against the inside of your trail foot. The second golf club will be placed against your shoulders once you have got into your address position.

Drill

Your upper body will rotate more than your lower body by the time the golf club across your shoulders matches the golf club on the ground. Doing this correctly will lead to resistance building on the inside of your trail leg. Common errors in the backswing would be swaying the lower body or loss of posture. If the body movement is incorrect while trying this drill, the golf club across your shoulders would not match the golf club on the ground or no resistance would be felt in the trail leg. Slowly repeat this drill until you achieve a sensation that you can trust to repeat with a golf club in hand. Now start trying to hit golf balls achieving this body motion.

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TA KE DE A D A IM. NEW 818 HYBRIDS. DRIVER TECHNOLOGY PACKED INTO TWO DISTINCT HYBRID PROFILES. FIND THE PERFECT FIT FOR YOUR GAME AT TITLEIST.CO.UK/818

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INSTRUCTION

Swing Lag Many golfers have heard about ‘lag’ in the golf swing but not many golfers know what lag actually is or how to implement lag successfully during their own swing.

Jaco Stander

Teaching Professional at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club

So what is lag and why is it so important?

Lag is basically the trailing of the golf club during the downswing. Lag comes from maintaining the angle between the lead arm and the clubshaft while starting the downswing with the movement and turn in your lower body. Lag creates more swing speed by allowing the clubhead to reach the bottom of the swing arc at the right moment and helps with consistent ball striking, which will result in more distance and consistency.

Drill

There are many drills you can do for more lag but I’m going to give you a very simple and easy drill which you can try during your next practice session.

Place your left hand (right-handed golfers) on the grip as you would with a normal iron shot. Then place your right hand just below the grip on the shaft.

It's pivotal that your lower body leads as you start the downswing. This encourages the ‘pull’ feeling in your leading arm down to the golf ball.

2 4

Use your right hand as a mechanism to keep the shaft pointing skywards for as long as possible. You’ll feel a lot of resistance in the leading side of your body, which is great because that means your lower body is now doing most of the work and allowing the club to lag.

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Take your posture and bring the club to the top of your backswing. What you want to see at this stage is roughly a 90-degree angle between your leading arm and the shaft.

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Once your left hand has reached your back leg, the shaft should still be fixed at a 90-degree angle away from your leading arm. The more explosive the turn in your lower body is, the easier the lag will happen. So try this drill next time you’re on the range to experience better results in your game.

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Gear WG

TITLEIST 818 HYBRIDS p.80

PAT PEREZ ON PXG p.82

PXG 0811XF DRIVER p.84

TAYLORMADE M CGB IRONS p.87

Grouping my hybrid like a short iron! Alex Gallemore tests the latest 818 Hybrids from Titleist

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BY ALEX GALLEMORE

Eﬀortless Distance Active Recoil Channel™ 2.0 generates faster ball speeds through its improved channel and flexing polymer insert, producing a significant advantage in carry distance and making these our longest, most consistent hybrids ever.

don’t know about many of you but I’m coming across too many shots these days where I’m needing 215+ yards and having to hold the green. Long gone are those enticing par-3s of 160 yards and I’m struggling to force an iron anywhere close to 215 yards. Recently, I’ve been playing that distance with a hybrid but the problem I’m getting with the courses in the UAE is runoffs. It’s easy to make the distance but the trajectory is too low and they just fire off the back of the green. Take 17 at the Faldo Course at Emirates Golf Club - 218 yards off the blue tee with a slight gradient. With my draw and a low flighted hybrid there’s no chance I could knock it close to a pin on this hole that was cut at the front or even centre. So Titleist’s new 818 Hybrid’s marketing campaign caught my eye with the slogan: ‘When was the last time you were thinking up and down from 215 yards out?’ The answer was simple – NEVER! But I had to call the guys at Titleist out on this one. The brief was to get me knocking it tight from 215 yards with minimal roll out. The problem they faced was my low draw. Great for runout on a dry links fairway. Not so great on a dry green in Dubai surrounded by bunkers and the odd lake.

With a 10% average increase in MOI from its predecessor, 818 hybrids offer more forgiveness and stability through an optimally positioned, deep centre of gravity.

Adjustability SureFit Hosel provides 16 independent loft and lie settings to optimise consistent centre-face contact, complemented by the shot-shaping accuracy of SureFit CG.

Considering I’m fortunate enough to get test clubs, this is the first I’ve openly gone out and bought in a while. Worldwide GOLF 80

Lofts

GEAR

Lofts

19°, 21°, 23°, 25°, 27° (RH/LH

17° (RH only), 19°, 21°, 23° (RH/LH)

Head to Head

Having the H1 dialled in, it was time to see how it stood up to the H2. The H2 has a smaller head and feels like a cross over between a hybrid and muscle-backed long iron. The toe is much squarer than the H1, which visually helped me square the club up at address and before I hit a ball I felt more confident. The smash factor was more consistent compared to the H1 and the grouping was even tighter.

Shaft

I’m Pete Cowen’s worst nightmare. I’m a manipulator, ‘handsy’ player through impact. That’s why it’s essential for me to feel where the clubhead/ face is in relation to my hands throughout the swing. Starting off we tried the 89 gram MCA Tensei PRO WHITE high tick point stiff shaft. My club speed was just over 100mph and carry was 203 yards with 14 yards of run. Strong numbers, but the dispersion wasn’t great as the heavy shaft meant I’d lost the feeling of the clubhead at impact. Switching to the lighter ProjectX Even Flow Blue 85 HY stiff shaft with a mid kick point brought the feeling back but dispersion and drop angle were not consisent. Time to play around with the heads.

Ditching the hook and tightening the dispersion The 818 Hybrids come with Titleist’s SureFit Hosel and give the fitter 16 independent loft and lie settings plus the SureFit CG technology weights the club to shape the shot. I’d seen this technology in the 917 driver but it was interesting to see the benefit in a hybrid. By giving the Titleist fitter feedback and being honest about my game, it took him no time to dial me. Moving more weight to the toe using the SureFit CG, 12grams to be accurate, it prevented the toe from closing in as fast at impact. Paired with the SureFit Hosel position of B1 for a slightly reduced loft and open-face angle to drop the spin a fraction and keep the toe open to fight the draw.

Verdict

EvenFlow’s revolutionary “even” bend profile transfers shaft load more efficiently throughout the swing to create maximum energy release at impact.

Head: 818 H2 Loft: 21 degrees SureFit Hosel: B-1 SureFit CG: 12g Fade weight Shaft: Project X Evenflow Blue 85 Stiff

Well, I’ve ordered an H2. Considering I’m fortunate enough to get test clubs this is the first I’ve openly gone out and bought in a while. This is where new technology is helping the weekend golfer, as we don’t want to get slammed for distance when we fail to strike the sweet spot. The H1 with the heavier shaft gave slightly more distance but the added feel and confidence of the H2 was more consistent for my game. There is no self-doubt now of what to hit when I need to carry just over 200 yards and with a run-out of a further 10. I could hit the club all day close to those numbers. I just need to sort the rest of my bag out!

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PXG AMBASSADOR

WHAT’S IN PAT’S BAG? ■ PXG 0341X 3 Wood with Tensei White 70-x Shaft; Tipped 1 1/2” ■ PXG 0317X 19° Hybrid with Rogue 85-x Shaft ■ PXG 0311XF 3 and 4 Iron with KBS S-Taper 130 Black ■ PXG 0311 Xtreme Dark 5-9PW with KBS S-Taper 130 Black ■ PXG 0311T Milled 54° Sugar Daddy Wedge with KBS 120 Tour Black ■ PXG 0311T Milled 60° Zulu Wedge with KBS 120 Tour Black ■ PXG Gunboat; 35” Putter

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GEAR

Pat Perez TALKS ABOUT PXG, AIR JORDANS AND THE HEIGHT APPEAL OF DUBAI

Is it true as a kid you outdrove your idol John Daly with his own club? Pat Perez: It’s true yeah, but he was on a different tee. He hit it from his tee and I hit it from an amateur tee so… technically…probably not…but maybe? I was caddying for someone in his group when one of the guys said that I was a good player and had a swing like John and he suddenly responded ‘OK go ahead and hit it’. He loved it. My swing was long, it was great, it was awesome. An amazing experience.

You’ve managed to win events all your life regardless of the clubs in the bag but how have you found things since you switched to PXG? The main thing is the owner. I love Bob (Parsons), he’s awesome. Everybody in the PXG building is incredible to work with. I just adore the equipment and I also love the fact that it’s black. They feel incredible. Bob is so passionate about everything that he does and I think it’s awesome that he’s taken such a liking to golf and that’s he’s running his own company. He treats me so well and we hang out a lot together. He’s just one of those guys. He’s different but people say I’m different so...you know, we mix well together.

What attracted you to playing in the 2018 Omega Dubai Desert Classic? I’ve always wanted to see the city because of how much it’s grown over the years. I’ve just always wanted to see what it looks like. And I’ve always wanted to play the tournament. It looks incredible and I’ve heard it’s run amazingly well. So I’m really looking forward to getting there and checking it out. I like the look of that tall building, the Burj Khalifa, but I’m not going up there. I’m afraid of heights so it’s not for me. I just want to see it from the floor!

How do the PXGs suit your game compared to your old clubs? They’re the best clubs I’ve ever hit. They’re like the club that I grew up playing - like the Pings that I had. It’s just the feel of them. The feel is the best. I love the way that it looks and that gives me confidence before I even hit the ball. The ball flies true and I hit them further.

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You’ve grafted hard from the early days working at Golf Mart but what’s the best lesson you could give anyone who’s struggling with their luck as a pro? Work harder. All the top players work as hard as anybody in any other business. It is a business now and everyone works hard and gives it their best. Some make it and some don’t but that’s the way it is. What got you into collecting Air Jordan trainers and why do you play in them instead of regular golf shoes? Have you ever played with Michael Jordan and what’s the most you’ve ever paid for a pair? I haven’t played with him, but I’ve been around him out on the golf course for a few days. The shoes themselves, I dunno, I’m just attracted to them. Obviously, Michael Jordan was an icon of the basketball world in the 80s and 90s and everyone grew up watching him, in a similar way to how everyone watched Tiger play golf. There’s just something about the Jordan brand. It’s unmatched and everybody knows his symbol. I love being kind of different anyway! The most I’ve paid – and I hate to even say it – is $1,500 for a pair.

Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG) has added a new draw-biased driver to their cavalry which is the largest and most forgiving club they have produced. Although the public knows that PXG are aiming towards the high-end market, the 0811XF is a driver that would be extremely beneficial for a higher handicapper that is struggling with their launch and not often finding the fairways.

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GEAR

Driven for greatness PXG 0811XF Driver

eGolf Megastore’s newly-appointed senior custom-fit specialist, Regardt van Rooyen, tested out the new PXG driver at the Al Quoz store and was delighted with its performance. “The 0811XF is a thing of beauty. It has a high tech design with a matte black finish but the sheer size of the head gives you an unbelievable amount of confidence with your drives. “The driver is incredibly easy to square up and hit straight, which is something most average golfers seek when investing in a new driver. You’ll definitely be impressed with this forgiving beast that makes it difficult to miss the fairway.”

Regardt van Rooyen

TECHNOLOGY

Forged for Forgiveness – Smashing your drives just got a whole lot easier with this larger head profile face area for extreme forgiveness. The club features a CG location that helps golfers dynamically square up the face at impact for straighter and longer drives.

Carbon class - The 0811XF driver incorporates an ultra-strong, ultralightweight carbon fibre crown. At close to 8 grams, the carbon fibre crown saves nearly 14 grams of mass from the top of the clubhead that can be redistributed in the sole, helping to lower the CG position and optimise ball flight.

Max Moment of Inertia – The 0811XF driver has a low CG position and low spin rates to enhance distance whilst being designed to maximise MOI. Your driver will perform even when your swing doesn’t. The high MOI design reduces twisting on mishits, so your club will perform even when your swing doesn’t.

Face it - The innovative variable face design helps to reduce mass in the face to improve both CG and MOI.

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Awesome Sound and Feel – The driver is designed with a honeycomb TPE insert which is a highperformance vibration-dampening polymer that provides unbelievable sound and feel.

Variable - PXG’s adjustable hosel can change the loft (+/-) 1½ degrees to optimise the trajectory for each golfer’s unique swing.

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Available to book online now on the Ghaya Grand Hotel website.

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GEAR

TaylorMade

M CGB

TaylorMade claim to have produced their most forgiving and powerful model of irons with the new M CGB set. If you’re struggling to reach the greens in regulation, these irons should be ideal for you as TaylorMade likens them to possessing ‘a full set of drivers’ by pushing the boundaries of ball speed to maximise your distance. eGolf Megastore’s custom-fit specialist Jason Ashley tests out and reviews the TaylorMade set for Worldwide Golf this month to see if they actually are as formidable and forgiving as it says on the tin.

What does CGB stand for? CGB stands for Centre of Gravity Back and it has been nearly a decade since TaylorMade last used this name with the R7 CGB irons. Now they are part of the M family, sitting above the M2 2017 irons in the range.

“These TaylorMade irons don’t only look incredible but they are also extremely easy to hit and will help you develop your yardage.”

Jason Ashley

Jason’s first impressions ●

Thick, generous top line and fairly big head which inspires confidence over the ball.

●

Light-weighted club so if you need to add clubhead speed this will help out.

●

Averaging 171 yards with a 7-iron so distances are very impressive.

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Tech it out “The M CGB irons contain all the technology and concepts that TaylorMade has come out with, and released over the last 10 years to help maximise forgiveness and ball speeds. Golfers will discover the signature technologies that made both the M1 and M2 irons so successful – Speed Pocket, Face Slots, 360° undercut, Inverted Cone – in addition to new technologies that launch M CGB to the next level of performance.” Milled Tungsten Micro Weights –moves weight further back and towards the perimeter, improving forgiveness through higher moment of inertia. Face Slot Technology – improves performance on off-centre hits. Usually, in the past they only used this and the Speed Pocket down to a 7-iron but now even the wedges have them. Ultra-low CG Placement – this will help launch the ball far higher.

360° Fluted Hosel – we saw this in the Taylormade M2 irons which saves weight in the hosel. That saved weight is then repositioned in the head , to create a lower and further back CG to improve launch and forgiveness.

How is it different to the TaylorMade M2?

What sort of golfer would these irons suit the best?

Mid to high handicappers who struggle generating powerful swing speeds would benefit the most from the stylish TaylorMade M CGB irons but they will also certainly catch the eye of the techno-golf-lovers because of their high-tech and futuristic design.

The new M CGB irons launch higher because of the deeper centre of gravity and slightly added loft. It also has a longer and thicker top line than the M2 which is more suited to golfers seeking more forgiveness.

SPECIFICATION

Large, Stiff 3-D Sound Badge – helps create a fine-tuned sound and feel. 360° Undercut –behind the face is a 360° undercut, coupled with the 2mm thick face to increase ball speed. Max-COR Face – clubs are restricted to how fast the ball can come off the face and these irons are right on the USGA limits. Off-Centre ICT – the inverted cone technology will help you hit the ball far and straight, even if you don’t strike it out of the middle. Speed Pocket Technology – one of the latest TaylorMade technologies that increases ball speeds throughout the face. The Speed Pocket is longer and thinner than previous models due to the new design.

SHAFTS

Hybrar Dual-Cavity Damper - reduces unwanted vibrations and produces superior sound.

Steel - Nippon N.S. PRO 840 (S,R) Graphite - UST Recoil 460 ES (F4-Stiff), 460 ES (F3-Regular, F2-Senior)

M CGB

You should head down to eGolf Megastore to get custom-fitted and try out this new TaylorMade M CGB iron set which is packed with technology for yourself and experience what it’s like to blend both forgiveness and power into an iron set.

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Raise Your Game! New EGF Member

AED 200* Couples Rate AED 350*

EGF Website

EGF Benefits

www.egfgolf.com info@egfgolf.com

• USGA handicap • Discounted Green Fees • Golfers Insurance • Membership Benefits Program • Ability to play and win club events * Discounted rate offered to New Direct Individual & Direct Couple membership. Membership validity until 31 December 2017.

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THE MIDDLE EASTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CLUBHOUSE NEWS

Arabian Golf

DARREN CLARKE JOINED THE LEADING GOLFERS ON THE MENA TOUR IN JORDAN AS AYLA GOLF CLUB IN AQABA STAGED ITS FIRST PROFESSIONAL EVENT ON THE GREG NORMAN-DESIGNED COURSE.

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AYLA GOLF CLUB IS HERE!

Ayla Golf Club in Aqaba, Jordan has arrived on the professional golf scene in a big way. Barely a year after the club opened its doors, the stunning Greg Norman-designed seafront layout has successfully hosted the country’s first ever professional golf event - the Ayla Golf Championship. BY

LOSE to 60 players from the MENA Tour descended on Ayla Golf Club on the Gulf of Aqaba in the first week of October for the inaugural Ayla Golf Championship. In a tense sudden-death play-off Jamie Elson emerged victorious over fellow Englishman Luke Joy on the second extra hole. The final round also saw Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre fire a sizzling 9-under 64 to set a new course record, eclipsing the 67 that Sweden’s Henric Sturehed carded earlier in the week. Chris White, Director of Operations at Ayla, couldn’t be happier with how the club’s big week unfolded, both on and off the course. “It was always Ayla’s intent to deliver something as close to a full week Tour event as possible and we certainly didn’t disappoint,” he says. “It was a resounding success all the way from getting the players on board a chartered aircraft from Dubai to Aqaba Airport to helping them experience the best hospitality Jordan has to offer.” Mohamed Juma Buamaim, Chairman of

MOHAMED SULEMAN

the MENA Tour, believes the decision to grant Ayla Golf Club an event barely a year after it opened to the public was well and truly justified. “The newest MENA Tour destination in Jordan delivered another glowing example of the wind of change blowing across the region where new courses and new stars are hovering on the horizon,” Buamaim says. “Golf as a sport has immense potential for growth in the region and Jordan’s – Chris inaugural Ayla Golf Championship was a major step forward in raising the Jordanian golf bar, while giving an extra boost to tourism in a country rich in culture and steeped in history. “With fantastic players, superb organisation, warm Jordanian hospitality and a first-class golf facility, it was an exciting week for many reasons and it surpassed all

of our expectations,” adds Buamaim. The Championship was headlined by several big names but none bigger than 2011 British Open Championship winner and 2016 Ryder Cup Captain Darren Clarke, who is also a patron of the MENA Tour. The Irishman is of the opinion that hosting such a well-run event at a fabulous new venue bodes extremely well for the future of golf in Jordan. “I was absolutely delighted to visit and play in Jordan,” said Clarke, who opted to miss the White Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland in favour of teeing it up in the Ayla Golf Championship. “It was a great week and I have no doubt that events like this will provide a massive boost for golf in Jordan, not just for tourism and business, but also for the development of junior and amateur golfers in the country. Golf in the region certainly has the potential to grow

“It was an exciting week for many reasons and it surpassed all of our expectations.”

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FEATURE

The stunning Ayla Golf Club made a big splash as Jordan hosted its ﬁrst professional golf event.

Jamie Elson prevailed in the play-oﬀ to claim the inaugural Ayla Golf Championship title.

even bigger.” Clarke stated his belief that the Ayla Golf Club can compete with any major golfing destination around the world. “The course is just magnificent,” he said. “It’s easily one of the best I have played in recent years and a large part of that is because it presented a fair test to the players all week.” With the club’s debut in to the world of professional golf done and dusted, White and his team are already setting their sights on even bigger and better things going forward. “Ayla Golf Club has big ambitions for an

active events calendar in the future and this is just the first step towards achieving that goal. “The MENA Tour is the perfect event to ‘test the water’. We have received some wonderful support from private sector sponsorship who also want to engage in this growth. “The European Tour, the Ladies European Tour, the European Senior Tour and exhibitions are all on the table being discussed. I don’t doubt that it will happen at some point – ‘The Middle East Quartet’ of Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Dubai and Jordan would make a nice winter series!”

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Darren Clarke believes that the Ayla Golf Championship could herald the start of something special for Jordan.

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ARABIAN GOLF J U M EIR A H GO L F E STA T ES

Debora Chang claims Junior Open Deborah Chang came out on top to become the overall champion of the 2017 Junior Open at Jumeirah Golf Estates following a play-off with Sasha Sparacino on hole 1 of the Fire course with both players tying on one-under 71. Kieran Cobley was the net winner with 68 net, followed by runner-up Jay Pangarkar who carded 69 net.

Gallant win in Summer Open Blane Gallant was crowned the 2017 Summer Open Champion with a score of 41 Stableford points, followed by runner-up Alan Salem, who carded 40 Stableford points, while Drew Foxcroft finished in third place with 39 points.

T H E TR A C K , ME Y D A N GOLF

Ghazi Aurangzeb gets “Lucky” at Meydan Golf Wildcard Open It was Ghazi Aurangzeb’s ‘lucky’ day at the AGMC Dubai Wildcard Open at The Track, Meydan Golf, after qualifying for the Luckiest Ball on Earth Grand Final by the narrowest of margins from Sidney De Souza. Andrew Hatcher claimed third place to finish on the podium. D U B A I C R E E K G O LF & YACHT CLUB

Barry McGettigan flies high in Members Medal with gross 69 Barry McGettigan (scratch handicapper) won the overall Members Medal competition at Jumeirah Golf Estates with a sensational gross 69. Shankar Majrekar came in first in Division A with a net 68 and Ehtasham Uddin was runner-up with a net 70. Andrew Shaw claimed the Division B title with 43 points, Giorgio Parigi was runner-up with 36 points and Murray Davidson claimed third place with 34 points. In the Ladies Division Gabriela Greipel won the title with 36 points, while Ornella Parigi came in second with 33 Points. E MIRAT E S GOL F C LU B

Xavier dazzles at OMA Emirates Medal Glory Xavier was the standout performer in the OMA EMIRATES Medal Championship at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, after carding a terrific net score of 67. David Gowans claimed top honours in Division A after his fine net 68, whilst Ashok Kumar was just a single stroke behind Gowans after shooting a superb net 69. Similar to Division A, Division B was also decided by a single shot. After a stunning back 9 performance, Pushpraj Nadar was awarded the main prize whilst Flemming Dalgaard took the runner-up spot.

Gowans claims prestigious Porsche Open David Gowans won the Porsche Dubai Creek Seniors Open at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club after a two-round total of 154. Saeed Malik was just one point behind Gowans to claim the runnerup spot, while Gena Cha sealed third place with his two-round total of 157. Mohammed Al Musharrekh carded a wonderful net 63 in his final round for a two-day today of 135 to become the net division winner. Coming in second was Garry Taylor with two solid rounds of net 71 and 68 whilst Roddy McFarlane finished in third place after two fine scores of 71.

Mills and Way lead the way at Dubai Creek UAE PGA Pro-Am Cennydd Mills and Joe Way led the way at the Dubai Creek UAE PGA Pro-Am at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club after firing rounds of 68 each. Three shots back with scores of level par 71 and finishing in a tie for third for third place were Stephen Munro, of the UAE PGA; Stefan WearsTaylor, of Al Zorah Golf Club; and Callum Nicoll, of Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

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Nitin Kripalani wins OMA Emirates September Medal in style Nitin Kripalani scored a net 68 on the Majlis course to get the 2017/18 winter season off to a flying start, winning the OMA Emirates September Medal at Emirates Golf Club with a better back nine. Kripalani’s fabulous score also saw him top A Division ahead of Tony Azoulay and Sushant Malik, who shot net 68 and 69 respectively. Mike Tracey claimed victory in the B Division with his net 68, ahead of Anil Kumar Parimoo, who shot a net 70 and whose better back 6 holes saw him beat Guarav Verma in a close countback playoff. The C division was won by Kuttan Malattiri who shot a net 74. In the Junior Medal, Jay Pangarkar emerged as the Boys’ Division Champion, with a score of 73 net, while in the Girls Division Hannah Alan was the champion with a great score of 69 net.

E M I R A TE S G O LF F E D E RATI ON

EGF Order of Merit returns to action With the new season underway, the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) Order of Merit schedule is up and running. Providing a tour-like experience, the EGF Order of Merit gives the UAE golfer an opportunity to play most UAE golf courses in a competitive atmosphere. The eight-month long season takes in 14 different golf clubs (in the Men’s Division) within the UAE. Each event, across the three divisions (Men’s, Ladies and Juniors) will be played under A B U DHA B I C ITY GO L F CLUB

SHARJ AH GOL F & S H OOT ING C LU B

Tremendous Tirtha Poudel takes Midweek Centro Stableford Introducing Abu Dhabi City Golf Club Academy Head Pro – Dave Taylor Dave Taylor has been promoted to the position of Academy Head Pro at Abu Dhabi City Golf Club. He has been an integral part of the teaching team at Abu Dhabi City Golf Club for just over three years and brings with him a wealth of experience from working in the: UAE, Oman, Russia, Ukraine, Austria and England. Taylor has specialised in growing the game of golf across all levels with a key focus on junior golf. He was also a nominated finalist for the Middle East Golf Awards last year – best teacher of the year.

the stroke-play format for at least 18-holes for Ladies and Juniors, with the men’s events lasting 36-holes. In the Ladies and Juniors’ Divisions, there will be a Gross and Net Score winner. The top 20 players in each event will receive Order of Merit points from 1st Place winners receiving 30 points to 20th place receiving 4 points. The Order of Merit Leaderboard will be updated after each event and can be viewed on the EGF website: egfgolf.com

A quality round of 19 Stableford points gave Tirtha Poudel victory over the evening’s field in the Midweek Centro Stableford. Trailing by two points was Shaheen Butt, who took home second prize. Shaheen narrowly beat off a stiff challenge from Purna Sharma, who had to settle for third place after a scorecard playoff.

Namir Al Naimi nips ahead in the Midweek Centro Stableford A round of 15 Stableford points earned club member Namir Al Naimi victory over the evening’s field in the Midweek Centro Stableford. Salim Shaik was just one point adrift from Al Naimi to take home second prize, while third place was a dramatic scorecard playoff between Faizeen Bhyat, Tim Craig and David Murphy, with Bhyat rising to the occasion to claim third place.

Faizeen Bhyat victorious in Captain’s Season Opener Faizeen Bhyat shot a great score of 44 Stableford points to take the Captain’s Season Opener title at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club. Y.D. Kim clinched second place after carding 40 Stableford points while third place went to Muhammad Shafiq, who scored 38 Stableford points. The winning team on

the day were: Salim Shaikh, Muhammad Shafiq, Faizeen Bhyat and David Murphy who put together an impressive score of 95 points. The Guest Division went to Haridas Kondath with a solid score of 31 points which will please his good friend Mukti Rai.

Chavan and Co-claim Captains’ Drive-In title New Club Captains Yaslam Al Ameri (Men’s) and Hyun Ju Park (Ladies) were welcomed into their new role with the annual Captains’ Drive In at Abu Dhabi City Golf Club. The winning team, consisting of Pallav Chavan, Pallash Chavan, Advay Mohindra and Naresh Khurana scored net 54.29 to claim the Texas Scramble title.

Namir Al Naimi triumphant in NMT International Open Namir Al Naimi clinched the NMT International Open Golf Championship at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club with a single point lead over the rest of the field, scoring 35 Stableford points.

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Hanief Sallie won the Africa & Middle East Division while Sajid Tanwir was successful in the European Division, taking first place, narrowly beating off stiff competition from Mel Stewart who was runner-up.

ARABIAN GOLF S HA RJA H GO L F & SHO OTI NG CLUB

Thomson returns to form in the R Hotels Midweek Stableford Rory Thomson was back on form to carry off the R Hotels Midweek Stableford title with a winning haul of 17 points at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club. Sunny Ramadas, Rashed Al Jarwan and Ramli Sulaiman were all fighting for second spot, but it was Ramadas who claimed the runner-up position, while Al Jarwan had to settle for third place.

Conares Golf Society League returns better than ever

Mulvaney snatches Unitechnik title Ben Mulvaney claimed the Unitechick title at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club in a one-point playoff victory after initially tying with Namir Al Naimi on 36 Stableford points. Nevertheless, with this impressive score Al Naimi claimed the Division 1 title with ease. In Division 2 Rory Thomson was victorious after carding 31 points. A Y L A GO L F C LUB

Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club are set to welcome back a strong contingent of golf society teams, all vying to become the 2017-2018 Conares Golf Society League Champions. All teams competing in round one recorded one loss and one win, leaving the scores all tied on three points with the exception of the Rising Etihad Golfers. The BMW League witnessed some great debut performances from the Angry Birdies as they recorded one win and one draw against their opposition, Filipino Golfers in Middle East, to top the BMW League. The Happy Hookers and another GSL debutant team, The British Dads, shared the points in their opening matches with one win and one loss for the society teams. The GTI Golf Society start their season against

the table-topping Angry Birdies. As well as the well-established Match prizes being up for grabs, a new 2017-18 season addition is the GSL on-the-day prizes. This also enables other registered GSL teams to sign up and play alongside the GSL match fixtures for first and second place in a Betterball Stableford. In the opening fixture Namir Al Naimi and Oliver Crisostomo topped the field of 20 plus pairs to win the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prizes on a score of 44 Stableford points, winning a 300 AED Pro-shop voucher each for their efforts. Second place was sealed by Rene Sarmiento and Charlie Azucena, giving them both a 200 AED Proshop voucher. There will also be on-the-day prizes up for grabs for the teams on a rest week and the Conares and BMW Leagues to get involved in.

AL HAMRA GOL F C LU B

Elsamid takes Norman Cup glory

Cuddihy claims Crans Sur Sierre

Changâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 66 seals Luckiest Medal

Jamal Abu Elsamid was crowned the Norman Cup Champion at Ayla Golf Club, winning with a better back nine after tying with Javier Canseco and Doug Haas with a score of 37 points. Canseco claimed the runner-up spot with a better back nine while Haas had to settled for third place.

Richard Cuddihy kicked off his golfing season in style with a solid 38 points earned from his victory in the Crans Sur Sierre Trophy at Al Hamra Golf Club. He finished one point ahead of runnerup Dave Faulkner, while third place went to Tim Bird with a score 36 points.

Grace Chang became the Luckiest Medal winner at Al Hamra Golf Club after carding a spectacular score of 66. Her steady one under back nine saw her finish a massive eight shots ahead of the following pack comprising of: Mike Dunn, Maggie Neil and Simon Dunn.

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DAILY PACKAGES Thursday 16 November

AED 2,250

Friday 17 November

AED 2,750

Saturday 18 November

AED 2,750

Sunday 19 November

AED 3,250

CORPORATE PACKAGE Thursday and Sunday

AED 5,250

SEASON PACKAGE Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday

AED 10,250

Overlooking the 18th green of the magnificent Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, the exclusive Hospitality Pavilion offers an unrivalled setting to watch the action unfold. Guests enjoy first-class catering in a relaxed environment in the comfort of the Pavilion or outside on the shaded viewing terrace. Breakfast, Lunch, Afternoon Tea and standard house beverages are available as well as a ‘Grab & Go’ option to take refreshments onto the course.

For hospitality enquiries call +971 (0) 567 359 852 or email JLetherby@europeantour.com Worldwide GOLF 98

ARABIAN GOLF D O HA G O LF C LUB

Tyrer and Al Muhannadi set for the Olazábal & Nadal Invitational Doha Golf Club held an open tournament allowing two golfers to qualify for The Olazábal & Nadal Invitational in Spain, alongside some of the world’s best golfers and athletes. Doha Golf Club’s qualifying event offered two spots in the tournament, with one going to the lowest scoring expat golfer and another to the top Qatari player in the field. In the expat category, Englishman Michael Tyrer scored a stunning net 68 to take victory and secure his spot on the flight to Spain. Abdulaziz Al-Muhannadi qualified as the winner in the Qatari competition with a score of net 76.

European Team defeat USA and Rest of the World to take Infiniti Open title Europe defeated the USA & Rest of the World team at the Infiniti Open at Doha Golf Club, Qatar, after scoring 724 points over the two days of

the tournament. Sharon Hollinsworth and Marc Bourland stood out for Team Europe after they scored 80 points and 79 points respectively.

Simon Davies sparkles at Primepower Men’s Division One was won by Simon Davies at Doha Golf Club’s Monthly Medal sponsored by Primepower after scoring a net 69 off a handicap of five, while Ali Mohammed secured second place three shots behind. . Zaid Mosawy claimed the Men’s Divison Two title scoring a superb net 67 off a handicap of 18 to finish

three shots clear of Anthony Nemeth in second. Marc Jean Marie Bourland scored a one-under-par net 71 to sneak past Omar El-Khatib with a one-shot margin in the Men’s Division. The Ladies division was won by Uzma Mir who scored a one-under-par net 72 for a one-shot victory over Cherezade Boocha Pedder.

A L AI N E Q UE STR IA N , S HOOTI NG & GOLF CLUB

Justin Jones shines in October Handicap Day Justin Jones’ excellent 74 gross saw him claim a three-shot victory over second-placed Mick Garbutt, at the Al Ain Equesterian, Shooting & Golf Club’s October Handicap Day. Jose Miguel Santos took third place with a net 69. In Division B new member Tom Eade scored a net 65 for a five shot victory over Neville Bakker and Albert Scheepers who both scored a net 70. Bakker’s better inward half saw him pip Scheepers for second place with Scheepers settling for third. A superb net 63 from Lewis Chaffin earned him first place in Division C, Shaoib Farooqui carded a net 65 to grab second place, while Mike Lessard’s better inward half earned him third place.

Miguel snatches Al Ain’s Monthly Medal

Bashir and Muzaffar lead the way for October Thursday Social

Jose Miguel Santos scored a net 64 to claim the Division A title at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club’s Monthly Medal. The runnerup spot went to Tom Baines after carding net 68, while David Purcell secured third place with a better back nine. In Division B, Wayne Turner took the top spot with a net score of 68, one shot ahead of Albert Scheepers who secured second place, while Tiann Labuschagne carded a net 71 to finish third. Harry Baines carded a net score of 66 to finish top of Division C, while Charmaine Bakker was runner-up, three shots adrift and Shaoib Farooqui took third place with a net 73.

In Division A Stuart Bell claimed top spot at the Thursday Social at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club, courtesy of a level-par 18 point total. Second and third place was decided between four players who all posted scores of 17 points. Tom Baines had the better final six holes followed by Anton Van Schalkwyk. In Division B, Ibtisam Muzaffar and Naveed Bashir both posted superb scores of 22 points. Naveed’s better final six holes saw him take first spot leaving Ibtisam with second place. Third spot was again decided by a countback as Joe Coppinger edged out Tiann Labuschagne for the last prize in Division B, both players returning scores of 20 points. In Division C Harry Baines found himself top of the pile with a 20 point total, Shaoib Farooqui posted 18 points for a runner-up finish while Dave Steel came through a countback of three players to grab third place with 17 points.

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TROIA RESORT TRÓIA, PORTUGAL

BLACK MOUNTAIN GOLF CLUB & RESORT HUA HIN, THAILAND

LE GOLF NATIONAL PARIS, FRANCE

LONDON GOLF CLUB LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

MOUNT JULIET ESTATE COUNTY KILKENNY, IRELAND

DIAMOND COUNTRY CLUB VIENNA, AUSTRIA

KUNGSÄNGEN GOLF CLUB STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

GOLF CLUB ST. LEON-ROT HEIDELBERG, GERMANY

TERRE BLANCHE HOTEL SPA GOLF RESORT***** PROVENCE, FRANCE

LINNA GOLF HAMEENLINNA, FINLAND

THE DUTCH ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

ALBATROSS GOLF RESORT PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

SAUJANA GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

MARCO SIMONE GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB ROME, ITALY

MAXX ROYAL BELEK GOLF RESORT BELEK, TURKEY

CONSTANCE BELLE MARE PLAGE MAURITIUS

LIGHTHOUSE GOLF & SPA RESORT CAPE KALIAKRA, BULGARIA

BOM SUCESSO ÓBIDOS, PORTUGAL

ESTONIAN GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB TALLINN, ESTONIA

QUINTA DO LAGO ALGARVE, PORTUGAL

PGA CATALUNYA RESORT GIRONA, SPAIN

VERDURA RESORT SICILY, ITALY

ROSSINGTON HALL DONCASTER, UNITED KINGDOM

FINCA CORTESIN HOTEL GOLF & SPA MARBELLA, SPAIN

E X P L O R E

O U R

WO R L D C L A S S V E N U E S V I S I T

E U RO P E A N TO U R P RO P E RT I E S. C O M / D E S T I NAT I O N S

TRAVEL WORLDWIDE GOLF

Tróia Resort has two environmental certifications. It was the first in Portugal to obtain EMAS recognition, renovated since 2008, it joined the ISO 14001 certification obtained in 2005.

TRÓIA RESORT Located on the Tróia Peninsula on the Atlantic coast, less than an hour south of the Portuguese capital Lisbon, the Tróia Resort combines a stunning championship 18-hole golf course with the beauty of its outstanding natural surroundings.

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W W W. E U R O P E A N T O U R . C O M / D E S T I N A T I O N S

esigned by renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Snr, the championship course at Tróia Resort offers spectacular sea views and is regarded as one of the finest in Portugal. Built around the historic Roman Ruins of Tróia, the resort protects the integrity of the indigenous natural environment while providing an exceptional golfing oasis. Opened in 1980, the 18-hole championship course is considered to be one of Portugal’s most fascinating and challenging layouts. Located at

The resort is served by 5* and 4* hotels, as well as a range of modern apartments, villas and beach houses, with restaurants, beautiful beaches and a casino among the many other on-site attractions and amenities.

the very tip of the Tróia Peninsula, on a long, sandy stretch of land, the course has a distinct ‘links’ feel as it seamlessly blends with its natural sea-front landscape. Boasting magnificent sea views, the par-72 course, which measures 6,908 yards, winds its way through a combination of pine trees and wild plants featuring Trent Jones Snr’s trademark small, narrow greens and bold bunkering. The famed designer cited the par-4 third as one of the best he ever designed and includes it in his ideal 18-hole layout. The hole hugs the coastline to the left with breath-

taking views across the Atlantic ocean, while the closing par-5 hole is also a memorable walk with an approach to an elevated green protected by three bunkers. The clubhouse, built while the course was being refurbished in 2008, is a two-storey structure with floorto-ceiling windows, set alongside the rolling fairways. The practice facilities are designed to encourage learning in a relaxed environment. Players can fine-tune their game on the full length grass driving range, two practice putting greens and chipping area, plus two 80-yard long Academy holes to hone your wedge play.

In addition to the course at Tróia Resort, Robert Trent Jones Snr designed courses in neighbouring Spain, including the world renowned Valderrama and famous United States courses Hazeltine National, Spyglass Hill and the South Course at Firestone CC among hundreds more.

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DESTINATIONS LE GOLF NATIONAL FRANCE

I N V I TAT I O N A L

This year the Tróia Resort plays host to the annual European Tour Properties Invitational on November 7-10. First staged in 2002, this edition sees around 18 teams from across the European Tour Properties network competing, along with representatives of partners, Club Car, Toro and Landmark Golf Marketing & Communications.

MAXX ROYAL BELEK GOLF RESORT TURKEY DIAMOND COUNTRY CLUB AUSTRIA PGA CATALUNYA RESORT SPAIN JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES UNITED ARAB EMIRATES LIGHTHOUSE GOLF & SPA RESORT BULGARIA SAUJANA GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB MALAYSIA LONDON GOLF CLUB UNITED KINGDOM TERRE BLANCHE HOTEL SPA GOLF RESORT***** FRANCE GOLF CLUB ST.LEON-ROT GERMANY THE DUTCH THE NETHERLANDS BLACK MOUNTAIN GOLF CLUB & RESORT THAILAND MOUNT JULIET ESTATE IRELAND ALBATROSS GOLF RESORT CZECH REPUBLIC BOM SUCESSO PORTUGAL TRÓIA RESORT PORTUGAL CONSTANCE BELLE MARE PLAGE MAURITIUS MARCO SIMONE GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB ITALY VERDURA RESORT ITALY FINCA CORTESIN HOTEL GOLF & SPA SPAIN

COURSES LINNA GOLF FINLAND

QUINTA DO LAGO PORTUGAL ESTONIAN GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB ESTONIA KUNGSÄNGEN GOLF CLUB SWEDEN

DESTINATION UNDER DEVELOPMENT

ROSSINGTON HALL UNITED KINGDOM

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BY MIKE GALLEMORE

Jersey

La Moye Golf Club, St. Brelade, is an 18-hole links course located in a stunning position overlooking St. Ouen’s Bay in the south west of the island. Facilities include a golf shop, clubhouse, restaurant, driving range and putting green. Tel: +44 (0)1534 747166. Website: www.lamoyegolfclub.co.uk

EVER having visited Jersey before now, I can appreciate what I’ve been missing. For such a small island it seemed that a short stay would provide more than enough time to see all that was to see. How wrong can you be? In three days my wife and I did little more than scratch the surface of this fascinating gem. The first thing that struck us both was the peaceful pace of life, wherever we went. The people were polite, courteous and friendly. Just driving around the island was pure pleasure. Motorists were pleased to give way and we didn’t hear the sound of a horn once. Starting from St Helier, we headed for Gorey along the scenic coastal A4 with The Long Beach non-stop Royal Bay of Grouville all the way, to find out whether the pictures of the majestic Mont Orgueil Castle really are as spectacular as they look. Having made the climb to the highest ramparts I can testify that it’s a memorable experience. We continued north, where the coast became more rugged, taking in Jersey Zoo and the magnificent water wheel at the Moulin de Lecq, then down the west coast with its continuous 5-mile St Ouen’s Bay. Our next stop was St Brelade’s Bay and the adjacent Ouaisne Bay, then on to St Aubin’s Harbour and back to St Helier. We simply ran out of time in visiting the numerous attractions we had heard so much about. We thoroughly enjoyed our short sample of Jersey and we would recommend this unique island that has so much to offer to so many people.

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The Royal Jersey Golf Club, Grouville. The Royal Jersey is a par70, 18-hole links course on the east coast, close to Gorey Village overlooking Royal Grouville Bay. The course is open to visitors who are members of a recognised club. Facilities include a golf shop, clubhouse, restaurant and putting green. Tel: +44 (0)1534 854416. Website: www.royaljersey.com St. Clement’s Golf and Sports Centre, St. Clement. Located in the parish of St. Clement nearby to the island’s capital of St. Helier, this sports centre boasts a testing 9-hole parkland course. Other facilities include12 outdoor tennis courts, a putting green, restaurant and bar. Tel: +44 (0)1534 721938. Website: www.stclementgolfandsportscentre.co.uk Les Mielles Golf & Country Club, St. Peter. Situated in the heart of Jersey’s picturesque conservation area in St. Ouen’s Bay. The challenging 18-hole course is open to visitors. Facilities include pro shop, bar, restaurant , putting green. Tel: +44 (0)1534 482787. Website: www.lesmielles.com Les Ormes Golf Club & Holiday Village, St. Brelade. Les Ormes is a fantastic 9-hole parkland course suitable for all ages and abilities overlooking St. Ouen’s Bay, with self-catering cottages and a large sports centre and tennis courts. Tel: +44 (0)1534 497000. Website: www.lesormesjersey.co.uk Wheatlands Golf Club & Hotel, St. Peter. Wheatlands Golf Course is a challenging 9-hole course set in 30 acres of parkland. There is also a two-star hotel, bar and restaurant on the site. Tel: +44 (0)1534 888877 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION VISIT: www.jersey.com

TRAVEL

T’S very rare that I have ever taken a short break away from it all and everything has gone like clockwork. But our 3-day visit to Jersey surpassed all expectations. The Flybe flight from Manchester was on time and comfortable, the flight attendants were courteous and efficient, the airport staff were helpful and the taxi driver threw in a guided tour of the island en route to our outstanding hotel, The Club Hotel & Spa in St Helier. The Club is tucked away in a peaceful corner of the heart of the capital, with a myriad of bars and restaurants within a few minutes’ walk, yet the unpretentious, luxurious hotel and spa is home to one of the most famous and lauded restaurants in Great Britain.

Michelin Star Bohemia The Michelin-starred Bohemia and its Head Chef Steve Smith had the honour of receiving the highest accolade of five AA rosettes at an awards ceremony in London in September. Bohemia was recently ranked the 11th best restaurant in the UK and added the prestigious two-star rating in the ‘2017 World’s Best Wine Lists Awards.’ I can only testify that those making the ultimate judgement got it right. Since its inception 13 years ago Bohemia Bar and Restaurant has been Jersey’s finest dining destination. The Bar on the ground floor of The Club is all dark wood paneling with leather seating and subdued lighting, creating an ambience of sheer luxury and offering a varied menu of excellent dishes and a wide selection of beers, cocktails and an award-winning wine list. The Dining Room beyond the end of the Bar continues the luxurious theme and presents a pleasurable atmosphere of high expectations. Since coming to Bohemia Restaurant in 2013 Steve Smith, formerly at the famed Burlington Restaurant at The Devonshire Arms at Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire, makes the most of local fresh produce

and seasonal fruits. My wife and I opted for one of the four Tasting Menus, which were a sight to behold. The presentation equaled the taste of each dish and it was almost a crime to disturb the design. But my wife’s choice of Sea Bass was an inspiration and my lamb loin and braised neck was out of this world. The dinner was something of an adventure which created a surprise with every dish, each of which was exceptional. There are various Tasting Menus, plus set lunches on Saturdays and weekdays, all very reasonably priced. The following day we indulged in Bohemian Afternoon Tea, which was so

The Club Hotel & Spa St Helier, Jersey

beautifully presented it was a shame to take it off the plate. The artistry was the work of Steve Smith’s wife Ellen de Jager, the Head Pastry Chef (who are both pictured together, left) and we have to say it tasted every bit as good as it looked. Adjacent to the reception area is the breakfast room where a wide selection is available. Culinary perfection aside, there is so much more to The Club, in particular its renowned Spa. It has four indulgent treatment rooms and a Rasul Mud Chamber. It also has an indoor salt water pool and thermal suite comprising salt cabin, herbal steam room, sauna, experience shower, relaxation sanctuary with four reclining beds with integrated headphones playing calming music, plus fruit, herbal teas and magazines. There is an ivy-clad roof terrace Champagne bar where you can enjoy a meal and drinks, and on the ground floor there is a heated outdoor pool with sun loungers. alongside is an honesty bar with a small library.

Deluxe Rooms & Suites There are 38 deluxe double rooms and eight suites with floor-to-ceiling windows creating natural light; LCD flat screen TVs; DVD players; portable telephones; en suite bathrooms with Elemis toiletries. For business guests there is a large meeting and banqueting room with a conference table seating up to 34 guests. WIFI is also available, plus free car parking. The Club certainly has every facility imaginable but its most important asset is its staff. From the moment you walk into the reception area guests are greeted with a friendly smile from the staff who genuinely want to make your stay as enjoyable as they can. For further information contact: The Club Hotel & Spa, Green Street, St Helier, Jersey JE2 4UH, Channel Islands. For reservations please call: 01534 876 500 or visit www.theclubjersey.com

Worldwide GOLF 105

LIFESTYLE

Great golf deal at

Ghaya Grand

f you’re looking for a stylish, modern hotel with easy access to Jumeirah Golf Estates then Ghaya Grand Hotel is the perfect fit for a stay during the DP World Tour Championship. The hotel is a local gem, offering unparalleled service with individually designed apartments as well as beautiful guest rooms and suites with all the modern touches. The hotel’s ideal location in one of Dubai’s most up-and-coming areas makes it a great modern hideaway within walking the distance of the newly-opened Meaisem City Center Mall which is perfect for a bite to eat or a shopping trip. Motor City, Sports City, The Els Club and the world-famous Miracle Gardens are close by, making the Ghaya Grand a top-class destination for anyone visiting Dubai for work or pleasure. The hotel offers 765 air conditioned rooms, suites and serviced apartments with each one offering a luxurious setting for each individual guest. Goose down foam pillows, duvets and

42 inch Led TVs come as standard, with bath robes, slippers and daily housekeeping all included in the price of your stay. There’s a gorgeous outdoor pool for guests and with the Spa, Sauna and Steam Room it really is the ideal spot in which to kick back and relax. The Ghaya Grand also boasts plenty of great restaurant options with the excellent Fusion restaurant, with its themed nights six days of the week ranging from Indian to seafood as well as a top-class brunch on Fridays. Or you could try Red Diamond which boasts an all-day buffet that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner while the Lobby Lounge is the place to go for a relaxing drink when winding down in the evening. The attention to detail in the hotel is second to none, while the warm and genuine service really makes you feel at home for a stress-free trip. Best of all, the Ghaya Grand is offering a wonderful deal for all golf fans during the DP World Tour Championship, which takes place at Jumeirah Golf Estates from November 16-19.

Worldwide GOLF 107

WITH prices starting from AED 350 you can enjoy: • Complimentary dry cleaning of 2 pieces of laundry daily per person • Buffet Breakfast included • 30% off all Spa Treatments • 20% off all F&B outlets • Guaranteed early check in at 8.0am • Late check out until 4.0pm free of charge • Booking can be made on a 6.0pm free cancellation policy • Free Wi-Fi internet access in the rooms Deluxe room single occupancy AED 350/ double occupancy AED 399 Deluxe room half board – single occupancy AED 425/ double occupancy AED 500 Available to book online now on the Ghaya Grand Hotel website. IMPZ (Tecom), Dubai, UAE marketing@ghayagrandhotel.com www.ghayagrandhotel.com

FIVE THINGS

5 THINGS YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME… THOMAS DETRY AGE:

24 | FROM: Brussels, Belgium | TURNED PROFESSIONAL: 2016 | PROFESSIONAL TOUR WINS: 1

DISH OF CHOICE

LINGUIST

I speak four languages fluently – Dutch, Spanish, English and French.

My favourite meal is a big steak with veggies and potatoes. I could eat that every night!

FRUIT LOVER I eat at least two apples a day out on the golf course.

BALLER

Thomas Pieters and my mates in the USA used to make fun of my basketball skills. I have to admit that I’m not great but I grind it out!

FEELING FIT

If I wasn’t a professional golfer, I’d love to train up and be a professional CrossFitter.

Worldwide GOLF 108

TO BREAK THE RULES, YOU MUST FIRST MASTER THEM. THE VALLÃ&#x2030;E DE JOUX. FOR MILLENNIA A HARSH, UNYIELDING ENVIRONMENT; AND SINCE 1875 THE HOME OF AUDEMARS PIGUET, IN THE VILLAGE OF LE BRASSUS. THE EARLY WATCHMAKERS WERE SHAPED HERE, IN AWE OF THE FORCE OF NATURE YET DRIVEN TO MASTER ITS MYSTERIES THROUGH THE COMPLEX MECHANICS OF THEIR CRAFT. STILL TODAY THIS PIONEERING SPIRIT INSPIRES US TO CONSTANTLY CHALLENGE THE CONVENTIONS OF FINE WATCHMAKING.

ROYAL OAK PERPETUAL CALENDAR AUDEMARSPIGUET.COM

IN STAINLESS STEEL