The club’s Golf Operations Manager, Rory Young, took to social media on Saturday with the surprise news that the UAE’s only 18-hole desert sand golf is to close from August 1 “until further notice”.

***Important***

Dear Friends,

It is with great sadness that I write this post. As of August 1st 2017 Al Ghazal… https://t.co/lWA3YSExZO

— Al Ghazal Abu Dhabi (@AlGhazalAD) July 29, 2017

Young revealed the “landowners” of the club, which is adjacent to Abu Dhabi International Airport, were to take up to a month to evaluate interest in the property from developers and that he was “unsure of any further details”.

Here’s the full post:

“Dear Friends,
It is with great sadness that I write this post. As of August 1st, 2017 Al Ghazal GC will be closed until further notice. This decision has been made by the landowners as they evaluate interested parties and appoint a new company. I am informed this may take 3-4 weeks but I am unsure of any further details.
On behalf of the staff and myself I wish to extend a huge thank you to all those who have made my two years at the club very memorable and to those members who have created 20 years of history.If you wish to contact me: roryyoung.pga@gmail.com and I will try and facilitate you with any needs you may have.

Thank you again,
Rory Young.”

The news was greeted with dismay on social media with David Parkinson, Associate Director at De Leeuw Middle East, echoing the early comments with: “It’s a sad day for the club and all those involved”.

Al Ghazal GC opened in 1997 and, according to the club website, measures 6711 yards with a par of 71. Instead of greens, golfers putt on “browns” which are created by compacting rolled and treated sand. “As the players quickly discover, they give an extremely true putting surface,” the website says.

The front nine holes (par 35) are based around an archaeological site which was once an old coast line.

“The golf course has gone through many changes over the years and has turned into one of the best sand courses in the world. It’s an experience that should not be missed by anyone visiting Abu Dhabi or living in this vibrant city,” the website continues.

Al Ghazal prides itself as one of the friendliest golf clubs in the UAE but offers more than a sandy take on the royal and ancient game. The facility also has a sports field, home to the Abu Dhabi Football Academy, and a health club equipped with gym, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi. There are also three tennis courts and two multi-courts where basketball, five a side football and volleyball are played.

The post Blue day with the browns of Al Ghazal GC to be closed indefinitely appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 2^nd annual International Women’s Golf Day (WGD) has grown its global reach by 68 percent thanks to the help of clubs such as the UAE nine which have lined up various activations for beginners and experienced players.

Globally, events will be held at more than 691 locations across 46 countries with clubs encouraged to offer a two-hour golf clinic and/or offer a nine-hole round of golf, culminating with a two- hour “social affair…where women can network and socialise”.

Check out what the participating UAE clubs are offering here:

Abu Dhabi Golf Club
Time: 8am   Entry fee: AED 130
What: 9 and 18 hole fun competition followed by Lunch in Cafe28.
                                                                                                                                  
Address Montgomerie Dubai
Time: 9.30am and 5pm 
What: 9.30am – Par 3 Texas Scramble. 5pm – 1 hour Free introductory clinic for girls

Al Ghazal Golf Club
Time: 4pm, 6pm and 7pm        
What: 4pm – 6-hole Texas Scramble (open to all). 6pm – Short game clinic. 7pm – 1 hour introductory golf lesson.

Al Zorah Golf Club
Time: 10am and 4pm      Entry fee: FREE
What: 10am – 1 hour free clinic followed by Par 3 challenge; 4pm 1 hour short game clinic followed by 5 hole short course

Arabian Ranches Golf Club
Time: 8am and 6.30pm Entry fee: From AED 50
What: 8am – 9-hole team Texas Scramble (for experienced golfers/AED 200). 6.30pm – Par 3 event plus various activations on the driving range/putting green/tuition

Emirates Golf Club
Time: Various        
What: 4pm to 5pm – Short game (beginners)/Golf Fundamentals (advanced). 4pm to 6pm – Putting challenge and play the Par 3 course. 5.15pm – 6pm – Golf Fundamentals (beginners) and short game (advanced)

The Els Club Dubai
Time: 6pm  
What: Six hole par 3 course competition and short game challenges with prizes. Followed by ladies night promotion in The Big Easy.

The Track, Meydan Golf
Time: 8am and 9am                   
What: 2 x 1 hour coaching clinics

Yas Links Golf Club
Time: 5pm  
What: 5pm to 6.30pm – Long and short game introduction. 6.30pm to 7pm – Tour of hole 1 on the Par 3 course

WGD founder Elisa Gaudet has worked tirelessly to grow the initiative from last year’s inaugural #Women’sGolfDay. Gaudet has appointed well-known Arabian Golf TV founder Marlon Weir as WGD’s official UAE ambassador.

“It’s important that women have a positive experience when playing golf, regardless of their level of experience and Women’s Golf Day caters to all levels and imparts camaraderie,” she said.

Gaudet is thrilled at the rapid expansion but not surprised by the worldwide interest.

“For a while the industry was looking at ways to engage women, I am elated and proud that this one day international event has introduced thousands of new female golfers to the sport and impassioned existing golfers while transcending language, culture, religion, and race to celebrate golf, women, and community, Gaudet said.

“It is also important for the golf industry to understand women make up 85% of all consumer purchases and the important role they play as economic influencers for the family. The big-ticket items for the golf industry are home purchases in golf communities, country club memberships, and golf vacations where women have a definitive say in the making of those decisions.

It is said the best business is done on the golf course and Gaudet says there is no reason why busy businesswomen shouldn’t also cash in by learning the “game for a lifetime”.

“We’ve discovered that female business professionals who take up the game of golf soon recognise the value it brings when it comes to customer engagement and future business development,” said

Visit womensgolfday.com for more information.

The post UAE unites for International Women’s Golf Day on Tuesday appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

But the Trump International Golf Club Dubai Senior Golf Instructor was shocked to find his signature on the three-over effort was good enough to earn a playoff at the Abu Dhabi PGA Open Monday.

The 28-year-old Englishman didn’t need a second invitation, a regulation par on Yas Links’ 1^st hole edging Rory Young in overtime after the Al Ghazal pro (clearly not unfamiliar with sand) tangled with both a fairway and greenside trap en-route to a bogey five.

“’I’m delighted to get off the mark,” Bolt told Golf Digest Middle East of the win. “I came second last week with a three-under 69 at Arabian Ranches so the game is starting to come together after some work on the range over the last few months.

“The goal has been to make the Dubai Trophy team [an end-of-season, Ryder Cup-style event against a team of Emirates GC and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club amateurs] and that looks likely now which is nice.”

Bolt, who hails from Bournemouth and joined Trump Dubai in December after a three-year stint at London’s Royal Wimbledon GC, wasn’t the only one to struggle with some tight pins at Yas Links despite the relatively benign conditions.

“My iron play was pretty solid but I couldn’t get my putter going…I had five straight birdie chances inside 10 feet [from 9-14] and only holed one of them,” he said.

“Then I dropped four shots in my last five holes including a double on 15 when I left it in a fairway bunker. I made what I’d call a ‘regulation bogey’ on 16, birdied 17 to get it back to two over but then three-putted 18 after I spun my approach off the green.

“I walked off the 18th green a little bit disappointed but when I spoke with [UAE PGA chief executive] Steven Munro and found out I’d made it into the playoff, it was a nice little surprise.”

Young, who had been in one of the first groups out and could never have imagined a 75 would get him into a playoff, was unlucky in sudden-death.

“Rory hit his drive into a fairway bunker and had about 80 yards into the green. He hit it straight over the flag into a back trap and got unlucky with a tough downhill lie. He did well to get it too about 20 feet but unfortunately didn’t make it. “

There are two further order-of-merit events – at Trump Dubai (April 18) and Al Ain (April 24) – before the 2016-17 season closes with the UAE PGA’s two flagship events: the UAE PGA Matchplay Championship finals at Trump on April 25 and the UAE PGA Championship at Al Zorah on May 1-2.

Defending champion Callum Nicoll (Abu Dhabi GC) will face Young (Al Ghazal) in the first of the matchplay semifinals while Munro is set to meet either David Gray (DG Golf) or Tom Henderson (Jumeirah Golf Estates) in the other.

Munro then defends his UAE PGA Championship (strokeplay) title over 36-holes at Al Zorah, Ajman’s mint-condition Nicklaus Design course.

The top 12 professionals on the final UAE OOM and four “captain’s picks” will then look to avenge their loss to the amateurs in the annual Dubai Golf Trophy on May 20-21.

Abu Dhabi PGA Open – Leading scores
75 – *Mike Bolt (Trump), Rory Young (Al Ghazal)
76 – Callum Nicoll (Abu Dhabi GC), Alex Nicholson (The Track, Meydan), Pruna Sharman (Pro Sports), Jaco Stander (Saadiyat Beach GC)
* Bolt won at the first extra hole

The post Abu Dhabi PGA Open win a Bolt out of the blue for Trump Dubai pro appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.