By Golf Digest Middle East
It’s one of the most iconic holes in the Middle East. It’s also one of the most daunting, particularly the tee shot from the tee floating in The Creek. 

But fret not if this hole leaves you with cold sweats, even at this steamy time of year. Joe Way, one of the team of PGA Professionals at the Peter Cowen Academy Dubai at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, has some handy tips to help you negotiate the 6th hole, a par-4 that rates among the very best anywhere in the Middle East.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

How’s your nerve for this tee shot???

A post shared by Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club (@dubaicreekgolf) on May 1, 2019 at 5:49am PDT

Play the 6th at Dubai Creek Joe’s Way…

“Standing on the ‘floating’ tee of the 6th at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, it is easy to be distracted by the calmness of The Creek or the stunning view across Downtown Dubai. With The Creek on the right, and water left off the tee some 240 yards away, the main goal with the tee shot is to stay dry. No matter your golfing ability, a shot of 200-240 yards down the left-hand side of the fairway is your safest option, reducing the risk of finding water.

Lower handicappers know the bailout area is to the right of the 6th green. Lower handicappers should lay up and leave an easy wedge into the hole.

From there you will be faced with an approach shot over water of about 170-190 yards – no cinch. Lower handicap players should play for the green with a mid-long iron, knowing that the bail out is long right. For the mid/higher handicap player, a second shot down the fairway to the right of the water of about 100 yards will leave a relatively simple wedge shot onto the green.

Play it tactically and a par – a net par for those on higher handicaps – is well within reach on one of the trickiest holes at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club.”

Creek PGA Professional Joe Way

Golf Central App for the best Dubai Creek rates
For the best rates to test Joe Way’s theory – and your mettle – on the 6th hole at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, simply download Dubai Golf’s “Golf Central App” for the best green fee rates.

You can download the Golf Central App from the Apple Play Store here or for Android users, from Google Play here.

Dubai Golf manage Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, Emirates Golf Club and now Jumeirah Golf Estates. Visit them online at dubaigolf.com

The post How to conquer Dubai Creek’s iconic 6th hole appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

A simple way to control the trajectory of your wedge game is via your tempo.

When the flag is located at the back of the green, a low running wedge shot will be useful. As well as moving the ball position back in your stance and having the hands forward, a shorter faster tempo will help to keep the trajectory down and have the ball release and run up to the flag.

For flags tucked away with little room to work with, a higher, softer landing shot is a must. By moving the ball position forward and performing a longer, smoother swing, the ball will fly high and drop out the sky.

Joe Way is a PGA Teaching Professional at DCGYC’s Peter Cowen Academy Dubai. For more information, visit dubaigolf.com

The post VIDEO: Control the tempo of your swing to knock those tricky short shots closer appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joe Way

It’s no coincidence that Jason Day’s recent success has coincided with the Australian missing just one putt from inside five feet –  from 233 attempts at last count! So how often do you practice short putts, the ones that turn bogeys into pars, to keep the momentum going during a round? It is vital on short putts that the ball comes off the centre of the face and this simple drill will help you achieve that more consistently and see your scoring plummet. Place two tees in the ground approximately five feet from the hole, just outside the heel and toe of the putter. If you find yourself hitting the inner tee you will have a toe strike, and the outer tee a heel strike. Both of these will be detrimental to your chances of consistently making these important putts. Start with the tees a little bit wider apart and hit 10 putts until you miss the tees every time. As you gain confidence to move them closer together and repeat. You’ll begin to not only have an improved strike, but also an improved conversion rate.

It’s vital on short putts that the ball comes off the centre of the face.

Money shot
If you’re feeling confident add a coin onto the back of your putter. Hit putts trying to keep the coin on until impact. This will help develop and maintain a smooth tempo.

[divider] [/divider]

Joe Way is a PGA Teaching Professional at DCGYC’s Peter Cowan Academy Dubai. For more information, visit dubaigolf.com

The post VIDEO: Putt with dough appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club head teaching pro overcame gusty winds at Abu Dhabi Golf Club to win the 15th event on the 2017-18 UAE PGA Tour on Monday with a two-over 74. It was his third victory in as many starts on the regional circuit after he notched back-to-back wins at Trump Dubai and Saadiyat Beach in December, the latter landing him a dream start in January’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

The 38-year-old Scot recorded rounds of  74-75 – and a lifetime of memories – in the European Tour event and has clearly picked up where he left off – Monday’s event in Abu Dhabi was his first since the Desert Swing opener and means he’s won three of the five UAE PGA events he’s entered this season.

Related: Tommy’s honour as Buchanan bows out of Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in style
Related: Buchanan living the dream at European Tour event

“I was a bit rusty out there today and had some new clubs in the bag as well and made a few errors. Having only played 36 holes since Abu Dhabi [January] certainly wasn’t ideal,” Buchanan told Golf Digest Middle East.

“But it was great to be back at Abu Dhabi, so many good memories. It’s always great to win and to beat your peers.”

Nice to win my 3rd @uaepga trophy today @ADGolfClub. New weapons from @Titleist were behaving beautifully On a very blustery day. Hope the form continues for the rest of the season. #uaepga pic.twitter.com/QLTSBKMd4i

— Tom Buchanan (@tompro66) March 12, 2018

Starting on the 10th, Buchanan got off to a heady start with birdie but doubled the 14th before a birdie on the par-5 18th saw him make the turn at even par. He then traded a bogey at the 3rd with a birdie at the 5th before a frustrating bogey-bogey finish.

“I bogeyed my last two holes and thought that would cost me but fortunately it was good enough,” he said. “I’ve only played five events this year and to win three is fantastic. Hopefully the form can continue and we [the pros] can’t wait for the Dubai Golf Trophy [matches against the best Emirates Golf Federation order of merit amateurs on May12-13].”

Buchanan’s 74 edged Jonathan Craddock (Emirates G.C.), former UAE PGA chief executive Steven Munro and Michael Major (Dubai Creek) into a share of second place after the trio signed for 76s on Monday.

It was Craddock’s second runner-up finish inside a week after he lost in a playoff (also involving current UAE PGA chief executive Luke Plumb) to Joe Way at Emirates Golf Club last week.

The next event on the UAE PGA Tour order of merit schedule is the Montgomerie Pro-Am on April 2.

Related: Creek pro Joe Way wins second UAE PGA title at The Faldo

The post Buchanan returns to scene of dream European Tour debut, wins third UAE PGA title on the trot appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Dubai Creek teaching pro survived a high-scoring playoff to edge UAE PGA chief executive Luke Plumb (Trump Dubai) and Jonathan Craddock (Emirates G.C.) after the trio had reached overtime with one-over 73s on The Faldo course.

Related: Let UAE PGA winner Joe Way show you how to escape fairway bunkers

Plumb was the first casualty in extra time, a double-bogey on the Faldo’s par-4 1st not enough to match Way and Craddock’s bogeys. The survivors then bogeyed the par-3 2nd before Way finally got the job done with a par on the par-5 3rd.

@joeway_ Joe Way was victorious @emiratesgc winning a 3 hole playoff after tieing on 73 with @golfcoachjc and Luke Plumb. #emiratesgolfclub #faldocourse #uaepga #dubaigolftrophy #orderofmerit

A post shared by UAE PGA (@uaepga) on Mar 7, 2018 at 10:26am PST

Way isn’t in the field for the next event on the PGA schedule at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on Monday but is well placed in the season-long order of merit in fifth place after 14 of 19 events. Stefan Wears-Taylor, Mills, Mike Bolt (Trump Dubai) and Ryan Smith (The Address Montgomerie) make up the top four heading into the Abu Dhabi, the Montgomerie Pro-Am (April 2), Jumeirah Golf Estates (April 16) and UAE PGA Strokeplay Championship at Arabian Ranches on April 30-May 1.

The UAE PGA Matchplay Championship, which also counts towards the final OOM standings, is on-going with the semifinals and final to be held at Trump International Golf Club Dubai in the week before the strokeplay championship.

Related: What a Way to finish the UAE PGA Pro Am

The top 14 players in the OOM standings, plus two picks, qualify for the UAE PGA team hoping to regain the Dubai Trophy against the Emirates Golf Federation’s leading amateurs at Emirates G.C. and Dubai Creek on May 12-13.

The post Way wins second UAE PGA title on The Faldo after tough playoff appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joe Way
With water guarding the front of the 18th green here at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, the approach is tricky enough. Throw sand into the equation and it becomes positively frightening to most club golfers. It needn’t be.

When faced with a fairway bunker shot it is vital to understand the required technique is different to that of a greenside bunker shot. As opposed to a greenside shot, the key focus is ball first, then sand. Anything less than a clean strike and you’ll invariably end up in the drink.

There are a few simple rules to follow in your set up to the golf ball to help achieve the desired result. Firstly ‘wiggle’ your feet into the sand to help achieve a nice firm, solid base to swing from. A must after this is to grip down (right) on your club closer to the bottom of the grip. This balances out the ‘wiggling’ of your feet into the sand and helps to encourage a ball first strike. The final important aspect to remember is to lean your weight onto your lead leg (roughly five percent extra) to help promote a steeper angle of attack into the ball.

From here keep your swing thoughts simple. Swing it easy, perhaps taking an extra club, and remember – hit the ball before the sand!

Practice these simple steps and soon you’ll be hitting those tricky fairway bunker shots onto the green to save par – and perhaps that lucky Titleist Pro V1.

Photo by Masam Ali

The post VIDEO: Fairway Bunker Shots appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Joe Way has holed a slippery downhill chip for birdie on his final hole to earn a share of the professional spoils at the Dubai Creek UAE PGA Pro-Am.

The 24-year-old Londoner found the cup with his 68th and final shot of the day from beyond the green on the tough par 4 second hole (he had started on the third in the shot-gun format) to tie fellow Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club teaching pro and serial UAE PGA Tour winner Cennydd Mills.

Way, who has graduated to the academy teaching team after joining the Creek 18 months ago in a operations role, started Monday’s tournament birdie-birdie and added further gains on the 13th and 2nd to buff over his only dropped shot on the par 5 3rd.

Mills, the reigning UAE PGA order-of-merit champion, went one better than his runner-up finish at the Al Hamra European Challenge Tour qualifier last week with a three-under card that also included four birdies and a solitary dropped shot at the par 3 8th.

Related: Montgomerie pro David Laing earns Al Hamra return for dream European Challenge Tour start

Meanwhile, Emirates Golf Club professional Dong Lee led his team of Hyo Choong Kim, Kyung Soon Kang and Jung Rye Kim to the Pro-Am title with a -15 total of 127. The best two of four scores counted on each hole and the Emirates GC team’s total included a sizzling 13 under run on the back nine.

The winning team with UAE PGA CEO Luke Plumb (left).

Stefan Wears-Taylor (Al Zorah GC) teamed with Geoff Oswald, Adrian Valvona and John Fahy on to claim second place in the teams event with a -14 aggregate of 128 while Abu Dhabi GC pro Callum Nicoll guided Stathis Stathis and Gurbax and Sandeep Singh to third, a shot further back.

Related: Al Zorah’s Wears-Taylor captures fifth title in fast start to UAE PGA season

The UAE PGA Tour’s next stop is the Al Ain PGA Open on Oct. 30.

Gurbax Singh lets one rip on the 1st tee at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club.

The post What a Way to finish the Dubai Creek UAE PGA Pro-Am appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.