Golf: fun 'n' sand
Playing on sand dunes may pick up in the future
| Yet, the day after the main event (the Desert Classic) at the Emirates Golf Club, 32 of the pros ventured out to the desert for the inaugural World Sandgolf Championships earlier this month. But by the time they had gone through their round of 18 holes, they were gushing about it. |
| The field was not a bunch of amateurs or straggling pros, but the likes of Ireland's Padraig Harrington, Europe's highest world ranking player at No 12. Then there were six-times Major winner Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Jean Van de Velde, Brian Davis, Zhang Lian-Wei and Thongchai Jaidee. |
| But the man, who walked away with the honours was Briton Greg Owen, who understandably thought the tournament was a great idea. The 32-year-old Owen became the first desert golf champion with a course-record eight-under-par 64. His pickings included a World Sand Trophy and a golden ingot worth $10,000. |
| Harrington after his round of 67 at Abu Dhabi's Al Ghazal desert course, was quoted as saying, "I can 100 per cent see why people can get just as addicted to sand golf as the normal game." |
| He struggled a bit initially to come to grips with the concept, but by the back nine, he was at home, shooting four birdies on the return journey. |
| The par-71 Al Ghazal layout is 6,700 yards and like many hilly courses in India, has "browns" instead of greens. After the first shot, the players were allowed to hit the second shot off a small artificial turf mat. |
| The course had an added attraction in the form of the 17th, which is called "Off Road" probably after the infamous "Road Hole" at St Andrews. This was the only hole where the "brown" was situated well into the desert, and had to be reached by the players in a Land Rover. Faldo ran over his own ball as he powered up the hill in his Land Rover. He jokingly admitted, "I got so carried away in the 4x4 that I forgot about the ball." |
| Among the pros invited for the event was India's Jeev Milkha Singh, who said, "I never imagined something like this. Imagine playing golf in a desert. These guys have done a great job by promoting something like this and it could catch on in the next few years." |
| Though playing in sand was a first-time experience for all, the scores were quite good. Behind Owen's seven-under par 71, was Henrik Bjornstad at 65 and five others, Ian Poulter, Jean Van de Velde, Brian Davis, Stephen Scahill and Ricardo Gonzalez had rounds of five-under 66. India's Jeev Milkha went one over at 72, the same as Faldo, while Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand shot a two-under 69. |
| Right now sand golf may look like a gimmick, but so was golf on ice, and now it is a regular competition in Iceland. Maybe in years to come, like tennis has its Grand Slams on different courts, even golf might have its competitions once in a while in a true desert and on Iceland's ice slabs. Then like the Sharjah cricket stadium, Abu Dhabi's Al Ghazal will become a regular stop. |
| For the present, it will continue for sometime to be second fiddle and an added gimmick to the Desert Classic. But no one can deny that it is indeed fun, while giving you bunker practice and helping out in putting on the browns. |