Golfnotes

DUBAI

The Dubai Creek Development boost DUBAI Golf's award-winning services

The announcement that Park Hyatt will operate the new 238-room luxury hotel at the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club is yet another massive boost for both golf and business in the Middle East's premier city for sport and commerce, according to Dubai Golf. By the start of 2005, Dubai - voted an award-winning golf destination just 15 years after opening its first all-grass championship course - will boast eight world-class golfing venues, including a re-designed course at the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club that adds yet even greater sparkle to an already stellar array of facilities.
"Dubai is firmly established as one of the world's premier golfing resorts mainly due to the quality and service offered in the UAE," says His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Golf.
"In just a few short years we have gone from small beginnings to one of ten destinations short listed for the prestigious Best Established Golf Destination award by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO), which everyone in the Dubai golf and leisure industry is fiercely proud of.
"Three years ago, Dubai was also voted Best Emerging Golf Destination of the Year 2001 in the same poll so the steps we have made are impressive, which, in many ways, is due to the ongoing development of our facilities. "I firmly believe that in the new Park Hyatt and with the development of the existing Dubai Creek golf course, it is almost like we are launching a completely new product that already possesses a great deal of brand loyalty."
The city-based club is one of four courses managed by Dubai Golf and has always been a popular venue for tourists and local residents alike. The distinctive and iconic clubhouse - which remains untouched by the developments around it - is a landmark in this bustling metropolis.
With the addition of the five star Park Hyatt-managed hotel and the re-development of the golf course itself by European Golf Design in association with Dubai-based Ryder Cup star Thomas Björn, the Creek - as it is affectionately known - will be raised to the resort status befitting such a luxurious sports and leisure property. Indeed, as the first 18-hole golf course hotel to open in the UAE, the Park Hyatt is expected to be the number one hotel of choice for visitors traveling to the emirates for a golfing holiday.
On average, golfing visitors to Dubai play five rounds with that figure tipped to reach seven by the end of the year. Certainly being able to base yourself in a five-star hotel situated two miles from the airport and just a three iron from the fairways of a world-class course appeals to those looking for a unique golfing experience in the Gulf.
With a completely new front nine and remodeled tees, greens and topography on the inward nine, the new-look Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club will feature a par-71 challenge over a course measuring around 6,800 yards.
The trademark immaculately groomed fairways lined with date and coconut palms, attractive water hazards and shrubbery will again be in place although the tests added by the careful eye of Thomas Björn will guarantee a more challenging experience even for those claiming 'local knowledge' of the Creek side venue.
It may have staged just two of the 15 Dubai Desert Classics so far in the UAE, but the Creek course is a 'must play' for anyone wishing to test their handicap on a Middle East championship-standard course. The addition of a five-star resort hotel will undoubtedly add even more to its international appeal.
As well as 238 guest rooms and suites, the new Park Hyatt will feature a range of al fresco food and beverage outlets set around a Mediterranean-themed square facing the water. A 500-seater ballroom ideal for conferences, weddings and product launches, will complement an array of banqueting facilities and a full-service dedicated spa facility operated by Hyatt International, one of the world leaders in the field.
"The game of golf has made enormous strides since we launched the Emirates Golf Club's Majlis Course in 1988 and staged the first Dubai Desert Classic just one year later" says Rod Bogg, Managing Director of Dubai Golf. The management company of the forerunners of golf in the emirates - namely the Emirates Golf Club and the Dubai Creek Golf &Yacht Club - and the popular Nad Al Sheba Club, Dubai Golf is a key figure in the global promotion of Dubai both as a tourism and business destination.
"Such growth helps us promote our products at international trade fairs, while in the local market we have introduced such facilities as a Central Reservation System, launched Dubai Golf Holidays + Events, and established a brand new management and consultancy service in International Golf and Leisure Services (IGLS)."
Dubai Golf in itself has certainly grown with the game and is, without question, a scratch player in what is a highly competitive market.
Central Reservations was established over six years ago to make booking golf as easy as possible for the international golf visitor to Dubai, whether it's at one of the four courses managed by the company itself, or the other international standard venues in Dubai or down the Arabian Gulf coastline in Abu Dhabi. But it's not all about just booking tee times.
"At Dubai Golf we are focused on providing a complete turnkey package," adds Dubai Golf Holidays + Events' General Manager, Michelle Chedotal. "We are effectively a one-stop shop for travel and tour operators wishing to offer golfing holidays in Dubai. We can arrange an entire golfing trip, from hotel booking, meet and assist, tee times, personalised tournament and even club and cart hire at each of the courses around the Emirates."
"There may be other venues or countries providing similar destination but we firmly believe that in Dubai we have service and quality that are unrivalled anywhere in the world. The hospitality of the Arab world is second to none and at Dubai Golf we are pleased to provide everything for the discerning golf traveller - from a shopping excursion or a desert safari, to a beach resort or spa facility.
"We want to give our clients quality choices and a personalised service. We focus our efforts on attracting loyal, repeat customers by working with selected industry partners who share the same values."
Like the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, its sister course just 30 minutes further up the highway, the Emirates Golf Club, is firmly established as one of the sport's truly great venues, another must for any visitor to the area, and the golfing catalyst for what has been an ongoing story for many years,
This year, American Mark O'Meara strode to victory over its majestic Majlis Course in the 15th Dubai Desert Classic with more than 40,000 spectators turning out to watch the champion in action alongside stars such as Tiger Woods and Ernie Els to underline the popularity and standing of the Royal and Ancient game in the Gulf, as if it were needed.
The signature clubhouse at the Emirates Golf Club - modeled like Bedouin tents - remains the most eye-catching in the region, while the original par-72 Majlis course has been complemented for almost a decade by a second par-72 challenge, the Wadi course. Both combine the natural rolling desert terrain for a serious test of golf.
Also managed by Dubai Golf and celebrating its 10th anniversary last year is the floodlit Nad Al Sheba Club. Boasting the ability to handle floodlit golf, Nad Al Sheba Club was designed along the lines of a traditional Scottish links with an emphasis on accuracy not length. The back nine is built inside the perimeter of Dubai's main race course, home of the Dubai World Cup - the world's richest horse race - while the front nine, opened in 1996, runs alongside the "home straight."
But it's not just the four Dubai Golf-managed venues that come under the remit of this vibrant management company. Dubai's ingredients of first-class facilities, an excellent climate, five-star dining and entertainment outlets and, of course, world-class courses also stretch to the Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa on the outskirts of the city, The Montgomerie Dubai, The Desert Course at Arabian Ranches, Al Badia Golf Resort at Dubai Festival City and Abu Dhabi Golf Club by Sheraton.
"The future of golf in Dubai continues to look extremely healthy and we are happy to play our part in its ongoing development," adds Bogg. "The opening of dramatic new courses as well as the progression of the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club shows that we are continuing to move positively in the right direction."

For more information : www.dubaigolf.com

Park Hyatt

Creek Golf Club

Emirates Golf Club

Robert-Jan Derksen receiving the Dubai Desert Classic Trophy 2003 from HH Sheikh Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Majlis golf course

Falcon's hunting in the desert

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