Colm, your career has been one of many tales I’m sure. From growing up in Ballinasloe to here now in Dubai, it’s been quite a journey!
Indeed, it has been quite a voyage. My duty-free journey began in Ireland in 1969, at Shannon Duty Free, the birthplace of the industry. In July 1983, I moved to Dubai as part of the 10-man team from Aer Rianta (the Irish Airport Authority) at the request of the Dubai Government to set up the duty-free operation. I imagined it as a six-month project but here I am still, 40 years on. 

The face of Dubai must be a complete contrast from 40 years ago?
Dubai was a very different place back then. There was only a handful of buildings, a big roundabout, and not a great deal else. It was a tight-knit community revolving around boat trips on the Creek, piloting small planes to Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, and playing golf on sand at Dubai Country Club. Look at it all now! Now we have some of the world’s best golf courses here in the UAE.

How has the company evolved against the backdrop of a rapidly changing Dubai?
Dubai Duty Free is a success story that mirrors the trajectory of the emirate itself. From the early days we were tasked by the ruling family and in particular H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make it the biggest and the best in the world. To this day the core objectives have remained the same; to provide world class customer service, provide a wide range of quality products and offer value for money, all within a customer-focused environment.

What in your view have been the key ingredients?
Several factors have been led by the tremendous support and encouragement that we have received from the Government of Dubai and in particular from H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Duty Free. But the biggest ingredients for Dubai Duty Free is the dedication and effort of all our staff who I believe are the best in the world and of course our customers who are made up of travellers from all over the globe.

With your vast contribution into golf here in Dubai, what would some of those highlights be?
Firstly, I would say the privilege I was given to be captain of the Emirates Golf Club (1995/1996) and the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club (2007) I’m the only person to have held both captaincies. We are also extremely proud to be supporting major golf events in Dubai since their inception, the Dubai Desert Classic, the Dubai Moonlight Classic, the Race to Dubai and of course now into it’s 30th year, the Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup.

How special was it previously be to be title sponsor for the Irish Open on the then European Tour?
We are proud that our support as the title sponsor of the tournament for seven years has greatly helped restore the status of this major sporting event. And while it is currently under a new title sponsor, Horizon Irish Open, we are still here, continuing to support the event as an official partner.

There are the many other activities that Dubai Duty Free reach beyond the shops though.
The promotion of ‘Dubai Inc.’ was a core platform of our strategy from the beginning. One of the things we’ve done very well is support so many events at the highest level and all around the globe, Dubai Duty Free is effectively promoting Dubai’s sporting, leisure, and business facilities, which are second to none.

What has your time in Dubai with Dubai Duty Free taught you?
So far, I am most proud of the fact that Dubai Duty Free has developed a reputation for looking after its people. What is important in any work you do is to recognise the people who work for you. Wherever you are in life, do not lose touch with reality.

What will drive the next phase as the company moves into its fifth decade?
I’m very happy that Dubai Duty Free has grown to become the single biggest duty-free operation at an airport anywhere in the world. We are going to do in excess of US$2 billion this year in sales, which surpasses our pre-pandemic sales in 2019. So, if I were to forecast ten years ahead, I would be talking about US$3 billion in sales, with larger retail areas, more shops and boutiques, and around 7–8,000 staff members.

Main image: Supplied

The post Quick 9 with… Colm McLoughlin – celebrating 40 years of Dubai Duty Free appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Rickie Folwer delves deep, with his coach Butch Harmon, into how he found his swing again. Have a big rundown of everything that happened at the DP World Tour Championship where Rory McIlroy and Nicolai Højgaard both came away with silverware. We have prepped the ultimate golfers trip to Ireland, which includes three of the best championship golf courses on the Emerald Isle. If you are looking at getting fitted for a new set of golf clubs, Club Lab Golf in JLT is the newest state-of-the-art facility in Dubai. LIV Golf is landing in Abu Dhabi with some big names lined up and we grab an exclusive ‘Quick 9’ with The Godfather of Dubai Duty Free, Colm McLoughlin.

All this and much, much more in the December 2023 edition of Golf Digest Middle East.

The issue is again free to our loyal audience. You can scroll through the ISSUU link provided here or download to your favourite device for later. Alternatively, pick up a copy at your favourite club. Whatever option you take, we hope you enjoy the read.

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The invitation-only tournament has attracted over 50 overseas players in addition to those competing from the UAE and Gulf region and has grown into one of the most popular events on the duty free calendar.

The tournament follows hot on the heels of this week’s Middle East and Africa Duty Free Association (MEADFA) conference, which this year is taking place in Accra, Ghana.

For thirty years, the golfing tournament which started as a concept to bring together representatives of the duty free industry to Dubai for a few days of friendly competition, has turned out to be one of the most successful and popular golfing events on the industry calendar.

Commenting on the forthcoming tournament, Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO of Dubai Duty Free, said: “We are proud to have been running this tournament for three decades, and we are looking forward to welcoming our players and guests this year to enjoy the atmosphere of friendly competition. This milestone year, which also coincides with another milestone year for the operation as we celebrate our 40th anniversary, is a fitting celebration and a great meeting place for those involved in the duty fee industry for social interaction. We are also happy to welcome back Des Smyth as our golf pro for the tournament.”

The past champions of the Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup include Steve Flanagan (1993, 1996); Raimund Legnar (1994); Brendan O’Shea (1995); Noel Fox (1997- 2000); Jan Baljet (2001); Ulrik Moller (2002); Adel Zarooni (2003-2004); Art Miller (2005); John Kammerman (2006); Nayma Maya (2007); Mark Van Huesden (2008); James Kfouri (2009); Gurbax Singh (2010); Clark Francis (2011); Rabih Sfeila (2012); Dermot Davitt (2013, 2022); Denise Kennedy (2014), Bayer Khan (2015), Scott Campbell (2016), Clark Francis (2017), Cees van Dooren (2018), Richard Lombard-Chibnall (2019) and Marius Fouche (2021).

Image: Dubai Duty Free

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Mohammad Faraz Khan was the recipient of the keys to a BMW X6 M50i courtesy of the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise draw at Emirates Golf Club, with the world No. 1 McIlroy selecting the winning ticket just after his famous victory.

The Northern Irishman drew the winning ticket number 1211 in Finest Surprise Series 1828 and announced the winner as Khan, a 30-year-old Indian national based in Dubai.

McIlroy was accompanied by Dubai Duty Free’s Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Colm McLoughlin, Chief Operating Officer, Ramesh Cidambi, Sinead El Sibai, Senior Vice President — Marketing, and Michael Schmidt, Senior Vice President — Retail.

Born and raised in Dubai, Khan has been a regular participant in the Dubai Duty Free promotion since 2018, buying full sets of Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise tickets.

“Thank you very much Dubai Duty Free, and I hope to win again,” he said.

Khan, who runs his father’s hotel chain business in Dubai, purchased his lucky ticket on December 26 on his way to New York to celebrate the New Year.

Tickets for the Finest Surprise promotion were on sale at Dubai Duty Free counters at the Emirates Golf Club throughout the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

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Davitt, who first won the title back in 2013, claimed the bragging rights over nearly 100 competitors over the two days of the 29th edition of the tournament, with a total of 79 points.

The stableford event organised by Dubai Duty Free offered prizes up in each of the Men’s, Ladies’ and Senior’s Divisions.    

“Thanks to our team at Dubai Duty Free and to Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club and the Emirates Golf Club for the successful running of the 29th Golf World Cup,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO of Dubai Duty Free. “Congratulations to Dermot and to all our friends in the duty free industry for participating in this tournament and I hope to see you all next year as we celebrate our 30th anniversary.”

The local winners in the Men’s and Ladies Divisions were Ghurbax Singh and Smurthy Thomas. Steve Flanagan took the overall visitors prize in the Men’s division and Charmaine Bruwer in the Ladies. The Senior winners were Marius Fouche (50+), Brian King (65+) and Dennis Marnane (70+).

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The post Dermot Davitt Wins 29th Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
The Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup is all set for its 29th edition at Emirates Golf Club and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club this Thursday and Friday, where nearly 100 executives from the international duty free industry will compete in the event ahead of the Middle East & Africa Duty Free Association (MEADFA) conference which is taking place in Bahrain this year.

Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO of Dubai Duty Free expressed his delight that some of the players are returning having participated in the tournament almost every year since 1993. “The response to this year’s tournament has once again been very good and we are delighted to welcome these key industry figures back to Dubai,” he said. “We are also happy to welcome back Des Smyth, a well-respected Irish golfer, who is our golf pro for the tournament.”

The tournament is open to all male and female amateur players with a valid handicap of 28/36 or less. Three seniors categories has also been introduced for those over 50, 65 and 70.

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Lara El Chaib

El Chaib wins Abu Dhabi Ladies Open
Lara El Chaib claimed the Abu Dhabi Ladies’ Open at Abu Dhabi Golf Club with a gross 70 in the National Course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Runner-up was Jamie Camero of the The Els Club, Dubai. The Net Division was won by Kyungsook Kim.

Naima Maya and Martha Wong

EGC hosts Ladies Pairs Better Ball
22 pairs competed in the Ladies Pairs Better Ball, with Naima Maya and Martha Wong winning with 44 Stableford points, ahead of Genie Owiti and Nonita Chand. Yulia Golubeva and Deirdre Kemp were third.

Alameri triumphs at Montgomerie
Dileep Vala won the Division A Senior Champions Tour October event at the Montgomerie Golf Club in Dubai with 40 Stableford points. Salah Alameri shot 41 to win Division B and the overall title form a field of 48 players

Steven Munro

Munro climbs to the top at Lincoln Dubai Golf Pro-Am
Steven Munro shot even-par to win the latest edition of the Lincoln Dubai Golf Pro-Am Series at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, ahead of Purna Sharma. Matthew Rice, Olivia Jackson, Michael Major and Trisha Kumar were T3, in a field of 96 players including 23 pros.

Victor Kofod-Olsen and Anca Mirela

Viktor the victor at Junior Open
EGC hosted the Junior Open, with 71 youngsters fighting it out on the Faldo course. Viktor Kofod-Olsen took the boys title, while Anca Mirela Mateiu took the Girls crown

Rashid Al Emadi. EGF

Rashid Al Emadi all set for AAC
Rashid Al Emadi will be flying the flag for the UAE from October 27-30 in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), the premier amateur tournament in the region, when play begins at Amata Springs Golf Club in Thailand from Thursday. Al Emadi has been preparing on and off the course ahead of the famous competition, with former champions including twice-champion Hideki Matsuyama and his fellow Japanese golfer Keita Nakajime, who won in Dubai last year.

Ananad Rajagopal receving the Dubai Duty Free Seniors Cup trophy from Colm McLoughlin and Sinead El Sibai

Ananad Rajagopal wins 24th Dubai Duty Free Seniors Cup
Jumeirah Golf Estates played host to the 24th annual Dubai Duty Free Seniors Cup. Anand Rajagopal climed the title with 44 points, recording a personal best gross score of 76. In the 50+ Seniors Category, the ladies’ titles went to Yulia Golubeva, with Tauseef Khan securing the Senior Gent’s Category.

EGF’s General Alhashmi wins UAE National Monthly Medal

EGF’s General Alhashmi wins UAE National Monthly Medal
Emirates Golf Federation hosted the first UAE National Monthly Medal at Al Zorah Golf Club last week. Sponsored by eGolf Megastore, 41 UAE National Golfers lined up to compete across four different divisions. EGF Vice Chairman General Abdullah Alhashmi played a fantastic round of golf and collected the overall victory. After a countback, General Alhashmi claimed top spot with 35 Stableford points.

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The post The Gulf Club: Golf news from around the UAE and beyond for October appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
The 27th Dubai Duty Free UAE Nationals Cup was held at Emirates Golf Club on Saturday, with 42 golfers battling it out on the Faldo course. Sara Ali emerged as champion after a hard-fought competition.

The format for the day was a gross and Individual Stableford. Runner-up in the individual Stableford was Sohail Al Marzooqi with 31 points, followed by Hassan Al Musharrekh. The Ladies winner was Rabab Al Haj with 29 points.

Commenting on the UAE Nationals Cup, Salah Tahlak. Executive Vice President — Corporate Services of Dubai Duty Free, said: “This year marks the 27th running of Dubai Duty Free UAE Nationals Cup and the tournament has grown popular among UAE nationals including junior Emirati golfers. Congratulations to all the winners and special thanks to all our participants and to the Emirates Golf Club for their efforts in ensuring a great day was had by all.”

The overall winner in the Junior category was Abdulla Darwish with 28 points while the best gross prize went to Mohammed Skaik with 27 points.

The on-course prizes were won by Hassan Al Musharrekh for the Men’s Nearest the Pin, while Rashid Al Jassmy won the Men’s Longest Drive. Winning the Ladies Nearest the Pin was Alia Al Emadi, with Aliya Al Qubaisi winning the Ladies Longest Drive.

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The post Sara Ali Wins the 27th Dubai Duty Free UAE Nationals Cup appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Galgorm Castle Golf Club in Ballymena, Northern Ireland is a long way from Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, USA, but there is a connection created by the coronavirus pandemic. The fourth week in September was set aside for the now postponed Ryder Cup. We’ll have to wait 12 months for the matches in Wisconsin but the consolation prize is news that the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, postponed from May, has now slotted into the September 24-27 vacancy in the global calendar. There will be just €1.25 million prizemoney and therefore no Rolex Series status, no fans and a field unlikely to feature any of the field from the U.S. Open scheduled for Winged Foot the previous week. But given the state of the world, we’re simply grateful one of the European Tour’s premier events will be played in 2020 at all. The County Antrim course will be a slick host too; Galgorm Castle GC has hosted the Northern Ireland Open since 2013 and will get a dress rehearsal for the DDF Irish Open with the Challenge Tour event still a go for September 3-6. The European Tour hope to return to Mount Juliet, the original 2020 DDF Irish Open host venue, in 2021. galgormcastle.com

The post QUICKSHOT: Galgorm Castle Golf Club appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

With Kent Gray
I’m playing the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, the Scottish Open, then the Open Championship, then straight into the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, so four weeks in a row. Is that too much golf? You know, I haven’t found the winning formula, because I haven’t won a major yet, so for me it’s about balancing the whole season, making sure I’m comfortable with the schedule and just making sure I’m ready to go when it’s time to go. I’ve played where I had two weeks off before majors, I’ve done it where I’ve had two weeks’ on before majors. There’s no real right or wrong way of doing it.

I’ve not played the new Dubai Duty Free Irish Open venue, Lahinch Golf Club. Generally, when it comes to a situation like that, I feel particularly relaxed. I love when golf is relatively straightforward, in its natural form. Links golf, to me, is very, very enjoyable to play, so just to have that, to have the opportunity to play three weeks of links golf is great.

For me, it’s about getting used to the green complexes at Lahinch, the type of slopes, and feeling fresh and ready to go. It’s not something where I feel like I need to play 18 holes Tuesday, 18 holes Wednesday, to feel ready to on play. I’ll just play the Pro-Am and go for it.

Winning the Houston Open on the PGA Tour last year gave me a lot of confidence. When you put yourself in that situation and you ask yourself a question, it’s all about can you come up with the answer?  Being able to come up with the answer was a big step forward.

My golf game has become a lot more consistent in the last two years. I feel more comfortable in myself with how things have progressed. I had a run this year at Augusta National, put myself in contention on the back nine which is what you’re after. So you know, if I keep putting myself in good positions, hopefully we can get a couple more wins.

I’m well overdue in Europe, you’re right [Poulter hasn’t won a pure European Tour title since 2011]. It’s been a long time, it’s been too long. I think it’s been a crazy couple of years, there’s a lot going on obviously since the fall down the world ranking, spent some time out with injury, coming back from injury, contending at The Players, moving back up in the world ranking, it’s been a lot of golf played. I’m excited to get a few good weeks under my belt in Europe and trying to crack the winners circle again.

Getty Images

The Open Championship is one of those tournaments where I feel like I’ve got a chance. I’ve had a couple of close calls [including finishing second to Padraig Harrington in 2008], I’ve been in the mix. But they’re never easy. For starters, you’ve got to have the right side of the draw. Generally, there’s weather on one side of the draw and then, of course, you need to play exceptionally well.

You don’t have to be the longest off the tee at The Open but you do have to play smart golf and I do like what links golf offers us. Shot making ability, playing hold up shots, draws, playing cut shots. You’re always working towards a goal of ‘can I hit the right shot at the right time?’ I feel like my game is in a good enough form to be able to do that and the Scottish Open is a good week going into The Open to get enough good visuals and enough good shots where I can take that step further at the Open.

It’s a big thing to move The Open back to Northern Ireland and I think the fans at Royal Portrush are going to love it. They deserve it. They are very, very, very good fans, amazingly respectful, extremely knowledgeable and they come out in the masses. They love their golf, they are passionate about their golf and its fitting that we obviously go there and actually enjoy a good golf course.

Is that going to be a problem to me if I don’t win a major? No. Will I sleep at night? Yeah, I’m gonna sleep pretty well. I don’t look at it as some might look at it but it doesn’t stop the will to want to win one.

I think the [golf impersonator] Conor Moore is great. It’s always great to have the fun made out of you in all aspects. It’s a sign of flattery I guess that there’s a reason why he has taken the opportunity to impersonate you. So, I find it very, very funny and so do a lot of other people. Conor is a funny guy. I’ll leave that up to everyone else to judge [if he does a good impersonation of Poulter or not], rather than me to judge but it’s always good to laugh. Laughing is a great drug.

The conditions are really, really tough out there at Bethpage Black.

On the heels of their Masters Saturday pairing, @TigerWoods and @IanJamesPoulter are back in action at the #PGAChamp via our @ConorSketches. pic.twitter.com/lk05AQvPcG

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) May 15, 2019

I’ve played the DP World [Tour Championship] now for so many years, I’ve had what I would say is quite a lot of success in the event and obviously I love playing that tournament. So to be able to be a brand ambassador for an organisation who have very similar goals, ideas, philosophies when it comes to trying to grow the game, that sits very well with me, trying to grow the game to a wider audience, trying to grow it to the younger generation of kids. DP World wants to grow the game and being a father of four, I’m always trying to help my kids improve and enjoy the game of golf. I’d like to grow the game as much as possible and that’s just one aspect of where it sits very well with me working alongside DP World.

We’ve got a very fun social media campaign which should be coming out very soon, which I did with Luke, my son, at one of DP World’s ports in the UK. That was really, really enjoyable to do. We’ll also schedule in a lot of stuff with kids when I’m in Dubai. To me, it’s a great partnership and hopefully, it’s going to be a very long-standing partnership.

Yeah, the Race To Dubai is a huge goal. I think to win the Order of Merit is always something which would be another box checked, so being well placed after these three weeks [around The Open] are crucial to that and then obviously the BMW PGA Championship coming up in September, and then obviously you’ve got a couple of events at the end of the year. It’s quite exciting to be in a strong [OOM] position already. If I can have a very strong second half of the season then hopefully I can be in with a chance at the last event, at the DP World Tour Championship, and obviously try and win that tournament and take the R2D title.

It’s always difficult for The European Tour, week in and week out, to compete against the PGA Tour but to be able to make the DP World Tour Championship the biggest purse [US$3 million] in golf is a big thing. It’s obviously going to be a big draw so it’s definitely good for the game.

As strong as the PGA Tour season is, you can’t compete with them week in week out. For the European Tour to be able to put a number of very big events on, it’s good for them to be able to do that because we as players, if you’re a top 15 in the world player, if you’re a player that actually lives in America, for the most part, it is difficult to play two full seasons in one. I’ve done it now for 15 straight years and it hasn’t been easy and the last few years have been more difficult.

The European Tour has made it a lot easier for those global players. You need to play [just] four events outside of the majors and the WCGs, so with that in mind Keith [Pelley] and the European Tour has done a great job with being able to keep the European players coming back. The purses in the Rolex series of events has obviously grown and I think Keith and the team have done a good job with how the tour has continued to grow in a very difficult marketplace. It really isn’t very easy and I know it’s been a challenge for him and the business model so they have done a great job.

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