By Kent Gray
Ahmad Skaik joked last week that his best chance of overhauling his good pal for the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) Order of Merit (OOM) title would be if Dan Byrne sat out the final two events of the season.

“I am 20 points behind Dan with two events to play and I always joke with him, tell him not to play the last two because he played two events more than me this season,” the 23-year-old Emirati international said in an interview featured in the September edition of Golf Digest Middle East.

“Dan is a solid golfer so I would say that the only way to do is for me to get two wins in the last two events because I don’t see him finishing outside the top 5. Dan is a very good friend of mine and I will be very happy for him if he wins it but I will try and take it away from him.”

As it turns out, Byrne won’t play the last two events scheduled for Yas Links and Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club, nor will +3 handicapper Skaik get a chance at last gasp glory. Indeed, no one will tee it up with the EGF announcing it has been forced to end the 2019-20 season prematurely due to the uncertainties created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ahmad Skaik. (Photo courtesy EGF)

The national body has also cancelled the end of season Order of Merit Championship, a double blow as the 54-hole (36 for juniors) event carried precious World Amateur Golf Ranking points.

“It’s always a tough decision to end a season early or cancel events but with the current environment and restrictions around the UAE we feel that this is the right and safe decision for the golfers,” said EGF Secretary-General, Khalid Mubarak al Shamsi.

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For the record, Byrne won what turned out to be a 12×36 hole-event season with 220.6 points. The Els Club youngster racked up six top-5 finishes in his 11 starts. Skaik, who won the Monty and Trump Dubai Opens, was second on 199.5 points with Dubai Hills Golf Club member Barry Pavic third on 147 points.

Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Hyeonji Kang won both the women’s gross and net season titles with three wins in her tally of 179 points from a possible 8, 18-hole events.

Trump Dubai’s Natalii Gupta also won three times to finish runner-up in the gross division with 159 points. Chantal El Chaib (Abu Dhabi Golf Club) was third with 135 points. For all the season OOM results, click here.

The EGF said in a media statement that it hoped to start the 2020-21 season next month.

“With the 2019 – 2020 UAE golf season officially over, the EGF will continue to monitor the Covid-19 situation and the closure of boarders in the country. The 2020 – 2021 season is expected to start in early October.”

The post Byrne, Kang crowned champions as EGF season cut short appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The cost of a membership is prohibitive to some, especially those new to the game or busy executives who can’t reconcile the expense versus time available for recreation equation. Thankfully, Al Hamra Golf Club has come up with a novel solution to a long term problem in the UAE.

The Troon International-managed club in Ras Al Khaimah is offering the region’s first flexible membership which offers busy golfers and new players a flexible and affordable membership option.

For just AED 12,000 annually, the membership affords players up to six rounds per month – made up of four full and two twilight rounds – along with all the usual benefits of being a member at the leading course in the Northern Emirates. You’re not limited to just six rounds with the applicable member guest rate to be applied for any other rounds you manage to squeeze in during any given month.

The new Flexi Membership at Al Hamra G.C. – which can be paid in monthly instalments – comes with other benefits in addition to the par-72 18-hole championship course, including a 10 percent discount in the Golf Shop and on food and beverage purchases.

Al Hamra Golf Club is part of Troon’s portfolio of daily-fee, resort and semi-private properties that deliver superior guest services, the finest playing surfaces, and outstanding amenities. With clubs located across the globe, Troon Golf facilities are synonymous with quality and consistency, with uncompromising attention to detail, and a pursuit for perfection in overall guest satisfaction.

For more details about Al Hamra Golf Club’s new Flexi Membership, please email golfdesk@alhamragolf.com, call +971 7244 7474 or visit alhamragolf.com

The post Al Hamra Golf Club launches the region’s first flexible golf membership appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

SPONSORED CONTENT – You’ll have seen perplexing patches of dead grass around areas of otherwise pristine green and have probably smelt the stench that lingers in some ponds that are dotted around most courses of the UAE.

Bryozoans are invertebrate that invade irrigation networks and block filters and nozzles leading to unsightly and seemingly unrepairable patches of dead grass. It’s a relatively new problem in Dubai with the first case seen in 2012.

Alpha Environmental Solutions is fighting back on behalf of several Dubai golf clubs already and hopes to raise awareness of a problem that is regularly misidentified by golf agronomy teams.

Bryozoans with masses of cells that are called Statoblasts which remain dormant and survive adverse conditions.

The blockages inside irrigation pipes appear like thick sand and are usually dismissed as sludge. It can look like algae but Bryozoans are filter-feeding organisms that flourish in freshwater reservoirs including those that are used for the temporary storage of irrigation water used to supply golf courses and other landscaped areas.

Bryozoans often grow attached to the inner surfaces of irrigation pipes and tubes. When they grow to high population densities they can significantly reduce flow through irrigation pipes and restrict the delivery of water to landscaped areas resulting in the death of grass and other vegetation. This is particularly a problem on golf courses which require high volumes of water, especially in arid regions such as the UAE.

Bryozoans and other filter-feeding organisms also flourish in lakes, particularly around the shallow margins where they can attach to rocks and other areas with a free-flowing source of organic matter and particulate food source.

“Physical cleaning does not solve the problem because the bryozoans live inside the pipes,” said Yasar Khalili, Managing Director of Alpha Environmental Solutions. “Also, treatment with normal disinfectants does not work because bryozoans have protective tubes that are resistant to normal disinfectants.”

Before and after treatment by Alpha Environmental Solutions.

Alpha Environmental Solutions specialises in treating these infestations with specialised chemical treatments. The chemicals are safe on plants but require special government license for application, for which Alpha Environmental Solutions is certified.

Depending on the length of the irrigation network and the volume of the irrigation reservoir, one-time treatment costs range between AED 8,000 to AED 30,000.

Visit alphasolutions.ae for more information. Alternatively, call 04 338 6660 or email info@alphasolutions.ae to arrange a site visit by the Alpha Environmental Solutions team.

The post Alpha Environmental Solutions fight back against an unseen UAE golf menace appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.