By Ryan Herrington
England’s David Howell is the chairman of the European Tour’s tournament committee, having replaced Thomas Bjorn earlier this year as he focused on his European Ryder Cup captain’s duties. But that doesn’t mean he’s “above the law,” if you will. Playing in the second round of the HNA Open de France, Howell mistakenly showed up late to his tee time at Le Golf National outside Paris.

“I thought I was off at 7:40, not 7:30,” Howell said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever missed a tee time.”

The other two members of his group, Marc Warren and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, teed off without him. Howell caught up, but was accessed a two-stroke penalty. He would wind up with a double-bogey 6 on the 10th hole (his first), the beginning of a long day that included making eight bogeys and a triple bogey en route to him signing for a 10-over 81 and miss the cut by seven strokes.

To make matters worse, Howell is staying at the Novotel Hotel adjacent to the Albatros course.

“I was staying only 300 yards from the first tee. It’s not as if I got stuck in traffic,” he said.

The post Euro Tour’s tournament committee chair David Howell embarrassingly misses tee time at French Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Here author Rodney J. Bogg, the Middle East’s foremost golf historian, charts the rise of the iconic Dubai landmark 

“Hey big spender”. Those immortal words were hammered out by Welsh singer Shirley Bassey to more than a thousand VIP guests, headlined by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and more than a thousand VIP guests, on a starry night in January 1993. It was a fitting climax to the opening party for the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, a party that has gone down in the annals of this remarkable city as “The Party of the Century”.

Related: 25 facts to celebrate the Creek’s 25th birthday

Two days earlier the golf course had been tested by four of the world’s leading golfers in an opening tournament – the Dubai Creek Challenge – which was a curtain raiser to the 1993 Dubai Desert Classic. Isao Aoki, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els, and Severiano Ballesteros competed over the back nine holes in front of a crowd of several thousand, many of whom were probably there to see the new course as much as the stars.

Is there a tougher, or more picturesque closing stretch in Middle East golf than the 17th (pictured) and 18th at DCGYC?

The course had been designed by the same course architect as the Majlis at Emirates Golf Club – Karl Litten – but on a very different site, with just a flat piece of land on the banks of the creek to work with. But work with it he did and the result was lauded by everyone who played it in the coming months.

From the outset the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club was far more than just a golf course. As the name suggests it housed the first inland marina in the region, with berthing for pleasure boats of all sizes, plus a workshop and the first chandlery in Dubai.

The Dubai Creek Golf Academy was the first of its kind – totally dedicated to teaching golf and bringing new people into the game –  a remit that continues to be fulfilled today, especially in the introduction of so many UAE Nationals – young and old – to golf.

The iconic clubhouse taking shape.

And then there was – and still is – the clubhouse.

Driving into the property today is like entering a hidden valley, with palm trees and bougainvillea lining the entrance road between half-hidden villas, bringing one to the lush fairways of the golf course, the richness of the Marina, the stone lined entrance to the hotel, all reflecting the amazing expansion that the club has seen over the past 25 years. But the highlight of it all is still the fabulous multi-tiered clubhouse which sits majestically overlooking the entire property.

Brian Johnson’s iconic building has received more awards, plaudits, and publicity than virtually any building in Dubai – the Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa apart. Voted Best of the Best by Golf World in 1997, it must surely be the only golf clubhouse to appear on its national currency, thanks to its unique – but classic – architectural style based on the design of the lateen sail of the traditional racing dhows that were such a thrill to watch sailing along the coast.

The island green on the 14th in build.

The first brochure published about the club was called “The Creek” (a name by which it is now affectionately referred) – with the tag line ‘More Than Just Golf’, which it certainly was even before the hotel and the 92 residential villas were added in 2005.

The hotel sits on a site that hosted some of the finest parties ever held in Dubai, including five Dubai Air Show Gala Dinners – headlined by such stars as Barry White, Stevie Wonder and Rod Stewart – Shopping Festival openings, and concerts featuring the likes of Roger Waters, Asha Bhosle and Sir Elton John.

Enjoying a prime location the envy of any sports resort in the world, the Creek took full advantage of its good fortune and created some of the most exciting restaurants in Dubai. Over at the Yacht Club – its design based, like the clubhouse, on a nautical theme, this time the prow of a luxury cruiser – the Aquarium with (at the time) the first floor-to-ceiling aquarium in Dubai drew seafood lovers to its location overlooking the marina, while the Boardwalk became one of the city’s ‘must do’ experiences in every travel brochure, often serving in excess of 1000 covers on its wooden decks overlooking the sparkling waters of the creek.

Boardwalk dining at DCGYC.

Despite all this, the Creek is still a golf club, and has over the years hosted numerous international tournaments. In 1994, following the success of the opening tournament, the European Tour held its pre-Desert Classic exhibition match at the Creek for the second year, this time as the Reebok Challenge, featuring Isao Aoki, Fred Couples, Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer, and Greg Norman, who, despite going straight onto the course after flying in from Tokyo, won by three shots over the back nine.

For three years between 1994 and 1996, the Creek played host to the Asian Tour, the US$500,000 events becoming he third ‘major’ on the rapidly developing tour. Despite the name of the tour, the Gadgil Western Dubai Creek Opens produced two winners from Australia – Robert Willis and Adrian Percey – and one from South Africa, Paul Friedlander.

But it was the 1999 and 2000 Dubai Desert Classics that really put Dubai Creek on the map internationally, when the tournament moved from its traditional home on the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club, to the tighter fairways of The Creek. Intended to demonstrate to the world that Dubai had more than one world class golf course, and to show off the ‘new’ Dubai skyline to the world, those Desert Classics were beamed to millions of household television sets around the world.

Enjoy a post round dip.

The two Desert Classics produced two first-time Tour winners in David Howell and Jose Coceres, but received most of its publicity for two other reasons – the USA-Open style rough which Course Superintendent Ken Glover produced in response to the Tour’s request to toughen up the course, and Director of Golf, Peter Downie, who nearly created the biggest upset in European Tour history when he led the field halfway through the third round, and actually threatened to win the 1999 Classic.

Argentina’s Jose Coceres won the 2000 Dubai Desert Classic at The Creek before the European Tour event returned to sister property Emirates G.C. where it remains.

After the Desert Classic moved back to its traditional home on the Majlis , the Chairman decided that the time had arrived to develop the hotel that had always been intended for the property. Although this took away the lucrative concert site, the advent of the Park Hyatt Hotel and the 92 residential villas – and the subsequent re-design of the golf course to accommodate them – changed the Creek from a golf and yacht club to a fully-fledged resort.

The Park Hyatt Dubai is regarded as the perfect luxury city centre retreat, with its stunning architecture, world-class cuisine, personalised service, and excellent facilities, including one of Dubai’s leading spas – the award winning Amara.

Opening fireworks.

The hotel and villas may have made the Creek the complete resort in physical terms, but it is still an abstract quality that continues to make Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club such a special place – something that has become known as the Creek Culture.

From the day it opened under the Chairmanship of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the Creek has gained a reputation for its warmth and welcoming feeling, excellent service, and its friendly staff, much of the credit for which must go to the early management team, and especially front man Downie, whose expression “This is not a practise round, the tournament’s today” became the motto that defined the entire Creek operation.

The Creek is a Middle East landmark for more than just the world class golf on offer.

Today, under the excellent stewardship of wasl, DCGYC continues to develop – always dynamic, always changing, but always charming – and always focussed on His Highness Sheikh Mohammed’s vision
of a world-class resort, which personifies Dubai and its cultural heritage.

While January’s celebrations may not equal those of the opening party, you can be certain that the celebrations will nonetheless be typical of this fabulous resort – classy, friendly, and a credit to Dubai.

The par-5 10th hole.

The post Creek chic – Celebrating a Middle East icon appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers

The European Tour will take a major step toward addressing slow play when it implements a shot clock during the 2018 Austrian Open. Players will have a 40-second time limit to hit a shot at the June event, as first reported by the Daily Mail.

Here’s how it will work: A referee will follow each group and keep time. The first offense earns a yellow card, but after that, players will be penalized a stroke for each time over 40 seconds.

We’ll see what happens when this is actually enforced, but for now, players seem to be in favor of the move.

“What a brilliant idea, and long overdue,” Lee Westwood told the Daily Mail.

“It underlines how long 40 seconds is to play a shot and how ridiculous it is that rounds take so long,” Andy Sullivan added. “The sooner it’s introduced on tour, the better.”

David Howell, a former Ryder Cupper who heads the European Tour’s tournament committee, told the Times of London this:

“We’ve discussed it and agreed it should take place. Among the committee, we think it’s worthwhile trialling that week in those specific circumstances. The field is not the strongest so it can be shortened without doing anyone too much harm. That allows the opportunity to get around quickly, so that’s why it is that week.”

However, Howell noted that certain recovery shots — like those made famous by Seve Ballesteros — wouldn’t happen under such a strict time restraint. As a result, he doesn’t sound sold on the idea.

“You won’t have time to work out shots like that if you’ve only got 40 seconds, which is a big negative,” Howell said. “We’re not suggesting this is how professional golf should be in the future.”

This isn’t the first time the European Tour has experimented with a shot clock to speed up play. In May, the GolfSixes team event also had a strict 40-second limit, which was enforced when Paul Peterson was hit with a one-shot penalty for taking too long to play a shot. That tournament actually featured a big clock counting down like the NBA does above its backboards.

It was at another team event, this year’s Zurich Classic, in which the PGA Tour handed out its first slow-play penalty since 1995. The pair of Miguel Angel Carballo and Brian Campbell were docked a shot after taking longer than 40 seconds to play a shot twice in their opening round.

Before that, Glen Day in the third round of the 1995 Honda Classic was the last player to get penalized for slow play on the PGA Tour. More recently, 14-year-old Tianlang Guan was penalized for taking too long to play a shot at the 2013 Masters, but that event is run by Augusta National Golf Club and not the PGA Tour.

We’ll have to wait and see what effect the European Tour’s decision for 2018 has — and whether the PGA Tour will do anything to follow suit.

“My dad has said it’s been talked about in player meetings since he was a rookie,” Bill Haas, whose dad, Jay, was a PGA Tour rookie in 1977, told the AP’s Doug Ferguson earlier this year. “What are we going to do about it?”

The post The European Tour will try out a shot clock in 2018 to address slow play appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

David Howell was having a nice round at the Old Course at St. Andrews — especially since it was his first competitive round after sitting out two months with a back injury — during the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. But after hitting his tee shot on No. 18, he realized he’d broken one of golf’s simplest rules. Or rather, his caddy noticed. After his round, the two-time Ryder Cup player and five-time European Tour winner explained the rarely seen — and embarrassing — penalty he incurred:

MyCaddy noticed I'd teed up in front of tee marker on 18 today, 2 shot penalty, 1st day with me, honest as the day is long, #Integrity

— David howell (@davidhowell530) October 5, 2017

Could he notice a bit earlier next time and let you know before the shot ?

— rushinthewind (@w1ndrush) October 5, 2017

https://twitter.com/PinMapping_golf/status/915976709819613185

Nope, I patted him on the back and told him he's just done a good honest thing, it's not easy doing that when it hurts your own pocket

— David howell (@davidhowell530) October 5, 2017

Instead of making par on the famed, short par 4, Howell signed for a double bogey that dropped him back to even par. Not his finest moment, but he’ll still have plenty of fond memories of St. Andrews. Howell’s last win on the European Tour came at this event four years ago when he beat Peter Uihlein in a playoff. Here’s the section of golf’s rules that addresses this situation:

Anyway, good for Howell’s caddy for standing up to his new boss. And good for Howell for handling the silly mistake so well. You don’t see the term “plonker” enough these days.

The post Former Ryder Cup player incurs embarrassing two-stroke penalty at St. Andrews — thanks to his caddy appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 38-year-old English fashion model and television personality will be joined by cricketers Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, former Springboks rugby legend Victor Matfield, Boyzlife pop stars Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden and Emirati comedian Ali Al Sayed at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club on February 6.

Nine-time major champion Player will again host the charity Pro-Am which aims to raise funds for the Zayed Higher Organisation for Humanitarian Care & Special Needs.

Former Open champion and European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke joins Chris Wood, Joost Luiten, Victor Dubuisson, Jason Scrivener, David Howell and South Africans Thomas Aiken and Trevor Immelman as confirmed European Tour starters.

Scotland-based U.S. Ladies European Tour pro Beth Allen, who won last year’s inaugural Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open at Saadiyat Beach GC headlines a strong female lineup including course record holder Georgia Hall, Caroline Martens, Emma Cabrera-Bello and Victoria Lovelady.

The United Arab Emirates’ ‘Year of Giving’ is set to get a significant boost with the announcement of the star-studded line-up.

Darren Clarke in action during the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship – Photographs by Getty Images

Held in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, under the Patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the 2017 Gary Player Invitational joins five other global events in a series that together has helped The Player Foundation raise more than $62 million for charities worldwide. Widely recognised as the world’s leading charity golf series, The Player Foundation is working towards its goal of raising $100 million by 2025.

“Abu Dhabi’s hosting of the second annual Gary Player Invitational highlights not only Abu Dhabi’s strong position as a world-class sporting destination, but also the spirit of generosity that the UAE is known for,” said His Excellency Aref Al Awani, General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.

“Bringing professional golfers, sporting legends and celebrities together with golfing legend Gary Player, and members of the business community, the Pro-Am event complements Abu Dhabi’s robust calendar of world-class events, as it also supports our growing sporting culture and importantly, the vital work of the Zayed Higher Organisation for Humanitarian Care & Special Needs.”

Player, the course designer at Saadiyat Beach GC, will host a pre Pro-Am skills clinic from 11am on February 6. The clinic and Pro-Am are open to the public.

“Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is one of the most engaging courses in the world and the ideal location to host the mix of professional golfers, sporting greats and special guests during this year’s event in Abu Dhabi.

“It is especially significant to host this event during the UAE’s Year of Giving and thanks to the support of the Abu Dhabi Sport Council, facility owner, TDIC and the wider UAE community, we are able to build upon the work of the inaugural event in 2016 and move even closer to reaching our goal of raising $100 million for children by 2025. I know that all participants will have great fun in support of an even greater cause.”

A gala dinner at the five-star Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi on February 5 will kick-start the Invitational while players can also look forward to a traditional South African Braai (BBQ) after play.

www.garyplayerinvitational.com

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