The 5th hole at Arabian Ranches Golf Club is a great long par 4. It’s actually not the longest par 4 on the course but given it is played into the predominant wind, you’ll soon discover why it is our stroke 1 hole. It always feels like it plays a little longer than the yardage and it definitely requires accurate placement off both the tee and with your approach shot. 

Off the tee: Although it’s a fairly straight hole, your tee shot demands accuracy. Ideally, you want to try and hit it as far up the fairway as possible in order to leave yourself a shorter shot in. However, the longer you hit it, the tighter the landing area. Hit it left and you will find yourself in the waste area, while a miss right will see you in the trees and most likely requiring a chip out. 

Approach & closing out: With severe drop offs both left and right of the green, your approach requires yet more accuracy or you’ll be faced with a challenging recovery shot. Indeed, any up and down here is to be celebrated. 

Although the green is fairly large, the better player will be mindful of leaving themselves on the correct side of the pin to give the best shot at birdie. The green is home to numerous subtle breaks so take care with your putter. Par here, be it off the stick or with the assistance of any handicap allowance, is always a good score. Enjoy. –with Kent Gray

BE AT 1 SERIES:
Tame ‘Sea View’, stroke index 1 at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
Tame the 15th, stroke index 1, at The Els Club Dubai
Tame the 5th, stroke index 1, at Tower Links Golf Club
Tame the 15th, stroke index 1, at Yas Links Abu Dhabi
Tame the 7th, stroke index 1, at Dubai Hills Golf Club
Tame the 12th, stroke index 1, at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club
Tame the 13th, stroke index 1, at Al Zorah Golf Club
Tame the 10th, stroke index 1, at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club
Tame the 5th, stroke index 1, at Abu Dhabi Golf Club

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Ahmad Skaik, the first Emirati captain in the 22 year history of the Dubai Golf Trophy, shares the inside story of last month’s historic 18½-13½ victory over the UAE PGA Tour pros as the EGF amateurs made it six successive wins in the UAE’s answer to the Ryder Cup.

With Kent Gray

• • •
I’m very, very proud of my team for this achievement and I couldn’t have asked for a better team to be the captain of. I think this was the youngest team in the history of this trophy and we had seven new players so I am very proud of each and every one of them as they all contributed.

• • •
This event means so much to me. I love team events and it’s one of the rare tournaments where I have to think of the team, give my all to the team before thinking about myself. 

• • •
To be the first Emirati captain is a very big achievement for me and I gave it my all and tried to make everyone confident and comfortable. Basically, I tried to be the best captain I can possibly be and the win is a big bonus for sure. It was a tough and stressful season as I wanted everything to be perfect so we could win. I think that just shows how much it means to me.

• • •
I felt a lot of pressure going into it because you obviously don’t want to be a losing captain in general let alone being the first captain to lose in the last six years.

• • •
I got a lot of positive feedback from the Emirati golf community and a lot of them told me that they want to follow in my footsteps. This drives me and motivates me to work harder and harder. The best was from my team telling me that I was a very good captain.

• • •
They are a group of young players so they were already pumped going into it but I reminded the new players of how good they are and that no one deserves to be in the team more than them. All that was left was to go out and show everyone what you’re made of. After a great result on day one [the EGF lead 11-5 after the foursomes and fourballs], I had to remind the players that it still was far from over and that showed on day two as it was much closer [the EGF edged the singles 8½ -7½] than I would have liked but it makes the win feel much better.

• • •
I was worried for sure [after the opening foursomes were shared 4-4] but I was also confident that we had a strong team and I thought I did the round two fourballs pairings very well and we saw that with the score of 7-1. I made sure to match the players well together and change a few pairings from the morning match and I was very happy that it worked out the way it did.

• • •
To be honest, when I checked the leaderboard in the [afternoon] fourballs matches, it was still very close and myself and Khalid [Yousuf] had a tough match against Ryan Smith and Malcolm Young so me and Khalid decided not to look at it and just focus on winning our point for the team. 

• • •
Josh Hill [EGF No.1] has shown that he is levels ahead of the rest this season and that is a good thing for us to push ourselves to get to that level. I was very confident that he would get all three points and he gave me a hard time telling me he can’t play then yes, then no, then yes. He ended up changing his math test and flight dates [to the UK] to play which I really appreciate.

• • •
The guy that impressed me the most was Niklas Korjonen because it was his first time playing this event and he went 3-0. That doesn’t usually happen. Usually, the ones that play for the first time barely contribute.

• • •
Me and Steve Kelbrick have a very special bond together and I look up to him a lot as he inspires me. He chose me to be his vice-captain so we worked a lot together in the last two years and we did our practice rounds together leading up to this one. After I won my singles and saw how close it was, I went to support the players and I saw that Steve was 4 down at one point and got it to 1 up and I watched his last 3 holes and when he won on 17 to put our team in a very good position, we had a very special moment together. I think we hugged for like one minute. I will remember this moment for the rest of my life.

• • •
It was very exciting to see the ladies play an exhibition match for the first time. I mean they weren’t fully part of it this time as their points didn’t count but I hope that they enjoyed it and I’m sure that next season will be very special for them as they will actually be part of the teams. I hope the ladies in the UAE national team set that as a goal for them in the future.

• • •
Khalid [Yousuf] was my vice-captain and also my partner. It was special for us to be together in the UAE team for all these years and then become the captain and vice-captain in the same year. I am sure that he will be a great captain because he is the captain of the UAE national team so he has experience with that. I think he will bring his experience into play as he played many of these and I will be there to help him with anything that he wants.

• • •
We have a lot of players in the EGF amateur team that want to make it on tour and we have a lot of almost full-time golfers in the team which will always be a factor and the difference when the pressure is on, even though the pros always give us a big fight.

• • •
Yes, I think that we can make it seven in a row for sure. If everything goes well and we get the right players in the team, then I don’t see why not.

RELATED:
Skaik leads EGF to sixth successive Dubai Golf Trophy
Bolt, Skaik name teams as EGF amateurs chase Dubai Golf Trophy six-peat

The post Sweet 6: Ahmad Skaik on leading the Emirates Golf Federation appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Ryan Smith’s last round of competitive golf was at the Dubai Golf Trophy in May, not that he wants reminding.

The South African only made it as far as the 12th hole at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club before being forced to shake hands with Mike Mezei, a 7&6 loser in their singles match as the EGF Amateurs made it an unprecedented hat-trick of wins in the annual Ryder Cup style matches.

It wasn’t exactly how the UAE PGA team captain had envisaged his season ending and to be fair, it was a blip in an otherwise memorable campaign that saw the 37-year-old finish second in the regional circuit’s order of merit and win the UAE Matchplay title, the most significant win of his eight seasons in the region.

RELATED:  Captain Smith captures UAE PGA Matchplay title, eyes ‘tough’ Dubai Trophy

Smith proved it was a blip by picking up at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club on Monday where he had left off at the matchplay final in late April, winning the first event of the 2018-19 UAE PGA Tour season.

The Address Montgomerie Dubai Tournament Co-ordinator carded a one-under 69 at Al Ain to edge Purna Sharma (Pro Sports) and Tom Henderson (Jumeirah Golf Estates) by two strokes.

As well as making up for the disappointment of the Dubai Trophy, it also avenged a playoff loss to Trump Dubai’s Mike Bolt at the corresponding event last season. Bolt, for the record, carded a 75 on Monday while Smith’s successor as Dubai Trophy captain, home club legend Tom Buchanan, could muster only a 76.

“I’m really happy to get the season underway with a win,” Smith said. “I felt a bit rusty early on as I haven’t played competitive golf all summer but I managed to play consistently and not get myself into too much trouble.

“I hit it great on the range which gave me confidence. I really like Al Ain and have always played pretty well there, lost to Mike Bolt in a playoff last season there so nice to win this time.

“The goals for the season? Most importantly make the Dubai Golf Trophy team and just try and play as many events I can. After finishing second in the order of merit I’m looking forward to another good season and hopefully going one better.”

RELATED:  Dubai Hills added to 2018-19 UAE PGA Tour schedule, new venue for Tour Championship

With reigning champion Stefan Wears-Taylor and 2016-17 moneylist winner Cen Mills now back in their native South Africa and Wales respectively, Smith has made a great start to that ambition.

Al Hamra Golf Club will host the second event of the UAE PGA season on October 8.

The post Smith erases Dubai Trophy disappointment with season-opening UAE PGA win in Al Ain appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
The Emirates Golf Federation amateurs are seven points away from an historic Dubai Trophy hat-trick after dominating the opening day of the annual Ryder Cup-style matches against the UAE PGA’s finest.

Max Burrow’s EGF team lead Ryan Smith’s pros 10-6 heading into Sunday’s singles matches after capturing Saturday’s morning foursomes and the afternoon fourballs on the Faldo course at Emirates G.C. by identical 5-3 margins.

It means the amateurs need to win just six of today’s 16 singles matches at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club to guarantee a halved match and retention of the trophy as defending champions. But they’ll want to do it in style with seven or more points and Smith’s team are up against it in more ways than one; not only do they need to win the singles 11-5 or better, they will have to overcome a confident team and a suffocating sandstorm that has swept across Dubai.

World amateur No.17 Rayhan Thomas and experienced Bayhaan Lakdawala combined for two wins for the amateurs on Saturday, easing past Jack Woods and Jordan Gallagher 4&3 in the foursomes and David Gray and Mikael Gartner 3&1 in the foursomes.

Newly minted EGF OOM Championship winner Nathan Fisher and Mike Mezei, the latter a captain’s pick like Lakdawala, are also unbeaten after 3&2 and 2up victories over Malcolm Young and Jonathan Craddock in the foursome and fourball matches respectively.

Tough conditions for Day 2 of the Dubai Golf trophy @DubaiCreekGolf | For live scoring: https://t.co/GUeQhE6cxT or download the Golf Genius Software Application and log in using the code DUBAIGOLFTROPHY pic.twitter.com/rEel5NUVFu

— Dubai Creek Golf (@DubaiCreekGolf) May 13, 2018

Teens Josh Hill and Arjun Gupta are also unbeaten (as were Lawry Cook and Bradley Mogire), coasting past Trump Dubai’s Luke Plumb and Mike Bolt 3&2 in the foursomes before an epic halved fourball match against the same opposition.

“We were rubbish in the morning but in the afternoon we were seven under better ball to halve,” said Plumb. “We played out of our skin to halve with them,” the UAE PGA chief executive continued before admitting he was pleased to avoid Hill in today’s singles. “Arjun was good too to be fair.”

Shane Peacock has drawn the short Hill straw for the singles which began at 11.30am. The Al Ain pro will fancy his chances; he was unbeaten alongside club mate Tom Buchanan on Saturday.

Also recording a pair of wins for the pros were Joe Way and Mike Major who will enjoy home course advantage on Sunday.

For those wanting to follow the scores you can download Golfgenius app and can log in with the GGID code DUBAIGOLFTROPHY

— UAE PGA (@uaepga) May 12, 2018

The post EGF amateurs on brink of Dubai Golf Trophy treble as UAE PGA pros left with it all to do in Sunday singles appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
By being good at their day jobs, the UAE PGA’s finest have inadvertently done themselves few favours as they look to avert a hat-trick of Dubai Trophy losses this weekend.

The pros will be confronted by one of the youngest, and certainly one of the most in-form, Emirates Golf Federation amateur teams in the 19-year history of the Ryder Cup-style matches. For context, know that EGF captain Max Burrow has the luxury of selecting world amateur No.17 Rayhan Thomas as one of his four picks – Bayhaan Lakdawala, Mike Mezei and Craig Vance are the others – for the showdown at Emirates G.C. and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club.

But it’s the boy wonders in Burrow’s 16-man line-up – red-hot Josh Hill, Arjun Gupta, Toby Bishop and Bradley Mogire – that pose perhaps the biggest potential banana skins for captain Ryan Smith and his pros.

Related: Fisher chalks one up for the ‘old guys’ at EGF Championship

The talented teens are all products of the increasingly prolific junior development production lines at the various clubs the UAE PGA pros teach out of it. It’s really a win-win scenario, unless of course you’re been charged with beating the confident, treble-seeking whippersnappers, no cinch for teaching professionals who do far more coaching than playing, as Burrow acknowledged.

“We play in events across the region and you now have to score under-par, or significantly under-par to even have a chance of winning,” said Burrow, pointing to the noticeable lift in intensity during amateur tournaments this season.

“This shows how much the amateur game in the region has developed in recent years and it has certainly been a contributing factor to our recent successes in the Dubai Golf Trophy. I am confident the amateur team can continue our vein of form in this competition due to the strength-in-depth…we have a youthful team on exceptional form…”

Related: Thomas thrilled by India call-up for 18th Asian Games

No kidding. In Hill and 51-year-old Steven Kelbrick, the amateurs have the past two EGF Order-of-Merit champions while the performance of Emirati national squad member Ahmad Skaik will also be watched closely.

While the amateur team is made up of the top-12 players in the 2017-18 EGF OOM plus four picks, the pro team features the top-14 players from the UAE PGA Tour plus two picks – Al Ain’s Shane Peacock and The Monty’s Martin Robinson.

Steven Kelbrick

Cen Mills is a noticeable absentee from the pro line-up, the former UAE PGA champion having left the Creek to return home to Wales. But Smith’s team still oozes class, headed by 2017-18 OOM champion Stefan Wears-Taylor and Al Ain’s Tom Buchanan who teed it up in the European Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January.

The Dubai Trophy will be Wears-Taylor’s Middle East swan-song before he pursues a fulltime playing career back home in South Africa. The 21-year-old will partner Smith (Monty) in Saturday morning’s opening foursomes (alternate shot) matches against Mogire and Lawry Cook. Jack Woods and Jordan Gallacher also face a tough opener against amateurs Thomas and Bayhaan Lakdawala but the standout clash pits UAE PGA chief executive Luke Plumb and his Trump Dubai colleague Mike Bolt against Hill and Gupta.

Related: Wears-Taylor sets sights on Sunshine Tour after defending UAE PGA’s flagship title to seal regional OOM race

Emirates G.C. will also host a round of afternoon fourball matches on Saturday before the singles matches and prize-giving dinner at DCGYC on Sunday. The pros lead the overall series 14 wins to four but Smith knows his UAE PGA brethren are in for a tough weekend.

“This will be my 8th Dubai Golf Trophy and I feel honoured to be the captain of the professional team this year. Based on the previous two years we are definitely coming into the event as the underdogs, but are more determined than ever to regain the trophy this year.”

It’s not quite the Ryder Cup but it’s as close as it gets in the UAE. And all the pressure is on the UAE PGA pros who won’t want to turn up to work on Monday having to explain a third successive loss.

The post The Dubai Golf Trophy teams have been unveiled and there are some juicy opening day match-ups appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Actually, make that good start a great one. The young Al Zorah professional opened the UAE PGA’s flagship event with a five under 67 at Arabian Ranches on Monday. It earned the tournament’s defending champion a four-stroke halfway lead over the trio of Jack Woods (Dubai Creek), Joe Marshall (Butch Harmon School of Golf) and Shane Peacock (Al Ain).

More importantly, Wears-Taylor enjoys a six-stroke buffer over Smith (The Address Montgomerie) heading into Tuesday’s final round after the newly minted UAE PGA Matchplay champion signed for a one-over 73.

It means Smith has it all to do on Tuesday although the way Wears-Taylor is playing, a fourth 2017-18 UAE PGA title looks his to lose. The real excitement could yet be lower down the leaderboard as players jockey for the last spots in the UAE PGA team for the May 12-13 Dubai Trophy.

As captain, Smith has two picks in his 14-man team for the matches at Emirates G.C. and Dubai Creek where the pros will be out to avoid a hat-trick of losses to the Emirates Golf Federation’s leading amateurs.

With defending OOM champion Cen Mills (Dubai Creek), currently third in this season’s points race, unavailable, there are spots up for grabs and Creek colleague Woods (17th) and the Monty’s Martin Robinson (18th) are well positioned after the first round to make a last gasp bid. Robinson was T-10 overnight after an opening 74.

Meanwhile, Jumeirah Golf Estates hosts the 36-hole EGF OOM Championship on May 4-5 to finalise the amateur team for the Dubai Trophy. One name guaranteed for the youngsters is JGE 14-year-old Josh Hill who has won seven EGF titles this summer, including six in an incredible three month spell.

The post Wears-Taylor makes fast start to UAE PGA Championship defence appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 36-year-old South African captured the biggest win of his eight years in the region Sunday when he beat former UAE PGA chief executive Steven Munro 4&3 in the final of the tour’s matchplay championship at The Els Club.

Smith took advantage of some unlucky breaks for Munro to take the final by the scruff of the neck at 3up by the turn and never relinquished his stranglehold, all after edging David Laing 1up in an altogether more intense semifinal earlier on Sunday.

The win earned the Address Montgomery Dubai tournament co-ordinator 300 points and saw him close the gap on UAE PGA Order of Merit (OOM) leader Stefan Wears-Taylor (Al Zorah) to 80 points ahead of the season-deciding UAE PGA (Strokeplay) Championship at Arabian Ranches on April 30-May 1. It means Smith has given himself a shot at overhauling Wears-Taylor, the UAE PGA Championship’s defending champion, for the circuit’s year-long title.

“It’s was a big win, a great day and now we’ve got the two-day [36-hole] tour championship next week so hopefully I might be able to do the double,” said Smith.

“That would be great and I’m captaining the Dubai Trophy team so it’s quite nice to go there in some form. It’s going to be tough again with all those youngsters coming through… [including runaway EGF OOM leader] Josh Hill…amazing!”

The UAE PGA Matchplay semi finalists (L to R) Steven Munro, Mike Bolt, Ryan Smith and David Laing.

Smith didn’t know much about Hill when they met him in a foursomes match at last year’s Dubai Trophy. But the now 14-year-old teen’s magical run of form, including course records at Trump and The Track Meydan Golf and a runaway victory in the Faldo Series Middle East Championship, has turned Hill into the hottest golfer in the land.

Related: Hill sets Track course record, waltzes to sensational sixth EGF title

“I remember playing him and Arjun [Gupta] in a foursomes match and thinking we can’t get beaten by two 12 year olds. Luckily we won but the juniors are just incredible now, fearless.”

Smith thought his matchplay run was over with Laing playing nicely in their semifinal as he ‘scrapped for pars”. But a couple of late birdies got Smith to the 18th all square and he pounced when Laing found a tough desert lie on the right of the closing hole and proceeded to thin his approach through the back, and then thin his chip shot.

Munro progressed to the final with a 2&1 victory of Mike Bolt (Trump Dubai).

Meanwhile, Shane Peacock recently claimed his his maiden UAE PGA victory at Jumeirah Golf Estates with a fine score of 71.

Peacock, right, receives the spoils from UAE PGA CEO Luke Plumb.

The post Captain Smith captures UAE PGA Matchplay title, eyes ‘tough’ Dubai Trophy appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 21-year-old Al Zorah pro looped the testing The Track, Meydan Golf in two-under 70 on Sunday to back up his win in the season-opening Yas Links Pro-Am.

Related: Wears-Taylor wins Yas Links Pro-Am to pick up where he left off last season

Wears-Taylor finished four strokes clear of host-club pro Alex Nicholson and the in-form duo of Ryan Smith (The Address Montgomerie, Dubai) and Michael Bolt (Trump International G.C., Dubai).

The win sees Wear-Taylor atop the OOM standings with 661.60 points, 155.8 points clear of Bolt who secured his second UAE PGA title at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club a fortnight ago after beating Smith in a playoff after both had posted 68s.

Great to be out on the @alzorahgolfclub fairways again! @taylormadegolf #golfislife #taylormade #whywelovethisgame @beautifulgolfcourses

A post shared by Stefan Wears-Taylor (@stefwt1) on Sep 10, 2017 at 8:06pm PDT

The OOM top 5 after the Track is: Wears-Taylor (661.60 pts), Bolt (505.80 pts), Smith (413.10 pts), newly appointed UAE PGA CEO Luke Plumb (Trump Dubai/377.50 pts) and Mikael Gartner (CV Sports Group/343 pts).

After a short break with the industry focused on the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates, the UAE PGA Tour resumes at Arabian Ranches on Nov. 27. There are also events scheduled for Trump Dubai (Dec. 4) and Saadiyat Beach (Dec. 12).

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