An article in the Canadian Press surveys the health of the golfing game in the Emirates. Here is an excerpt and the link!Getting a tee time in Dubai is difficult these days - especially on the weekends.
Golf has become so popular in this booming, skyscraper-studded city that courses are booked nearly every weekend, forcing tourists and others who aren't members at clubs to scramble for playing time on weekdays.
Though it may seem like an unlikely location - Dubai is located in the Arabian desert where grass isn't indigenous and temperatures soar above 30 degrees in the summer - the fast-growing city is quickly becoming one of the world's top golf destinations.
Developers are scrambling to keep up with demand as courses pop up alongside shopping malls and packed highways in the sprawling city. Few cities can boast of having luxury golf courses - many designed by famous pros - nestled among glitzy high rises and tournaments that attract the game's best players.
A city known for its superlatives, including the world's tallest building and the world's first seven-star hotel, Dubai will next year begin hosting the world's richest golf tournament, the European Tour's US$10-million Dubai World Championship.
Even Tiger Woods is impressed.
"What they are doing is frankly phenomenal," the world's No. 1 player said before winning his second Dubai Desert Classic title this month. "I haven't seen anything like this, and I don't think really anyone has anywhere around the world."
To read the entire article, follow this link:
‘Golf Courses Sprouting Up in the Desert’, Canadian Press, 24 February 2008.
Dr. Geoff Pound
Image: Tiger Woods in the Dubai Desert Classic.
