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Why golf in the Gulf is above par
Golf courses in the desert are a clear defiance of the natural order. Nonetheless, twenty-five lush expanses of grass course are now flourishing across the Middle East, serving the region's steadily growing community of 11,000-13,000 golfers, according to the latest figures from the recently-published 2006 Golf Benchmark Survey by researchers KPMG.
And plans for even more golf course developments are already on drawing boards across the region.
Indeed, the UAE alone has already invested more than US $550 million in golf projects that are currently in the planning and construction phases in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah, according to Driving Force, the organisers of last month's GolfEx Dubai conference.
"Add to this an additional $450 million that is currently invested regionally, in countries such as Saudi, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, India and Pakistan, and it becomes clear that business really is booming," the organisation rightly points out.
There cannot be any doubt, however, that it is Dubai and Abu Dhabi that are leading the field in terms of golf course development and future plans.
Dubai alone is home to seven of the UAE's 13 grass courses, and is aggressively attempting to position itself as one of the top emerging golf destinations worldwide.
With multi-million dollar golfing facilities, year-round course availability and an excellent golfing climate between October and May, Dubai certainly offers certain competitive advantages. The abundance of five-star hotels, a lively social scene and exotic surroundings also make the emirate attractive, not just to fans of the sport, but also to the golfing pros.
Many of Dubai's existing and planned developments have big name designers, such as the Montgomerie, which was named for its creator, celebrated British golfer, Colin Montgomerie.
"Ernie Els, Greg Norman and Vijay Singh [are] also busy developing golf courses in Dubai," says His Excellency Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of the Golf in Dubai Association. "The dynamic portfolio of world-class courses will go a long way in further boosting the city's image as one of the most exciting golfing destinations in the world."
The recent announcement that the legendary Tiger Woods is also to build his first course in Dubai will no doubt also enhance this reputation.
Al Ruwaya, as the course will be named, is being backed by Tatweer and designed by the Tiger Woods Design company.
The par-72 championship course, to be part of the Dubailand development, is scheduled for completion late 2009. The course will include dramatic elevation changes, lush landscaping and water features, according to the designers.
"I am excited about the challenge of transforming a desert terrain into a world-class golf course," says Woods. "I finally feel that I have the experience, understanding and knowledge to design a course that will always be remembered here in Dubai."
Also part of the Al Ruwaya project will be a 5500m² clubhouse, a golf academy, 320 luxury villas, 20 mansions and a community retail area.
"There are so many landmarks in Dubai. I hope that one day people will come to consider this golf course on that scale," Woods adds.
Although Dubai may be seeking to corner the golfing market, however, the UAE capital has also been targeting golf development in a big way since the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) identified golf as a key area for tourism growth.
Aiming to attract up to three million visitors a year to Abu Dhabi by 2015 - a three-fold increase from the current annual average - the organisation plans to tap into golf developments in the emirate to increase visitor numbers.
The development of new courses, such as the two planned for the landmark Saadiyat Island project, which is being developed in three phases between 2006 and 2018, will help to further enhance the emirate's appeal to golfers worldwide, according to Ian Ferguson-Brown, former head of brand management and communications at Etihad Airlines.
"We've noticed that golfers come to experience a variety of courses. The more variety and more quality, the better served our golfing guests will be," he says.
Golf tourists - a categorisation that includes travellers who go on holiday primarily to play golf, those who play golf as a secondary activity on a business trip, and those who attend tournaments as spectators - are well known for generating significantly above-average per capita revenues in destinations, according to the ADTA.
"The global market for golf tourism is worth more than US $17.5 billion," says ADTA chairman His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan.
"As an international destination with a major European Tour event and world-class facilities and infrastructure, Abu Dhabi is perfectly placed to capitalise on this global trend and enlarge its share of the billions of dollars spent on golf tourism worldwide," he continues.
Indeed, the ADTA is confident that airlines, hotels, restaurants, car rental firms and taxi companies all stand to gain from increased visitor numbers during the annual Abu Dhabi Golf Championship (ADGC), which draws a large number of tourists from overseas.
"Following the success of the 2006 ADGC, there has been considerable international demand from guests looking to spend a few days relaxing at the tournament," confirms Nick Wood, general manager of Etihad Holidays, which offered special packages for golf enthusiasts wishing to travel to this year's competition.
"Our guests want to know they're playing the very best courses and the fact the world's best have played in Abu Dhabi is part of the appeal," adds Ferguson-Brown.
A number of hotel courses in the capital have also noticed a boost in numbers as a result of the ADGC tournament. Ghassan Mayo, general manager of the Abu Dhabi Golf Club by Sheraton, has found that there has been a significant increase in enquiries about his course from visitors to the emirate.
"We're seeing visitors from Germany, Britain, Scandinavia, Japan, America, Korea, Malaysia, France, Canada, Belgium and Austria," he says. "[The ADGC] has definitely contributed to the UAE economy."
The benefits of hosting key international tournaments do not stop with the influx of spectators and players, however. The international awareness that this type of event generates via television and print coverage is invaluable and can help to maintain the destination's popularity year-round, as ADTA's director general, Mubarak Al Muhari, points out.
"Last year, 17,500 spectators followed the stars around the National Course, but live TV coverage reached more than 120 million homes in 28 countries," he says.
Ready for your close-up?
Welcoming a world-class competition to town is not as simple as just rolling out the red carpet. Months of preparation is required to make sure everything is just right, as general manager of Emirates Palace, Noel Massoud, knows only too well.
The 394-room hotel hosted all 120 of the European Tour players during the ADGC 2007, which ran from January 18-21 at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
Sponsoring the high profile event was part of Emirates Palace's strategy to boost tourism to Abu Dhabi and reach out to prospective hotel guests in Europe and Asia, so the pressure was on the hotel to make a lasting impression.
"The players will be our international ambassadors," explains Massoud. "We [worked] very closely with the ADTA to develop a programme for the players that would enable them to relax as they prepared for what is a highly competitive tournament, in order to ensure that the pros spread the right message - that Abu Dhabi is an ideal destination for hospitality, culture, heritage, sun, sea and sand, and that we have facilities here for leisure, relaxation, wellness and sports that are on a par with the best in the world."
For golf courses staging a major competition, the pressure to make a positive and lasting impact can be even more intense.
"The players expect the course to be in top condition; there is scrutiny from the spectators, and the course is the backdrop to all the action being broadcast by television stations around the world, so we really have our work cut out," says Jeff Julich, golf course superintendent for Emirates Golf Club, which hosts the annual Dubai Desert Classic (DDC).
Having lead the 88-strong maintenance team at Emirates Golf Club through preparations for seven Desert Classic tournaments, Julich has a clear idea of how much work goes on behind the scenes to ensure the course looks its best. And he knows the unexpected can still happen - just weeks before the 2006 DDC, the grass on the course began to die.
"We caught a disease that we did not know anything about, and in order not to harm the environment or waste chemicals and money, we needed to get the disease identified before we could try to treat it," Julich explains.
"We sent [a sample of] it off to a turf grass laboratory in the US, and then we had to sit and wait for weeks for the results to come back. In the meantime, the disease was getting worse and worse. In the end, we got it under control using fungicides, although we never actually identified the disease.
"Sometimes these things just happen, but thankfully we were able to get it under control before the start of the tournament."
Driving forwards
As the oldest grass course in the Middle East, the Emirates Golf Club has a well established reputation among the local, regional and international golfing communities.
Nonetheless, Julich does not deny that there is potential for market saturation should golf course developments in the region continue at the current rate.
"I'm sure that we will see an impact when the course at Sports City opens up, and then in two years' time when the two Greg Norman courses open," he says.
"There are only so many golfers in Dubai."
"The golf governing body - the UAE Golf Association - tracks every club and keeps records of how many people in Dubai play golf, how many people have memberships, and how many rounds are overseas bookings.
"And when you look at the numbers versus the number of golf courses, you have to wonder how it's all going to work and how we'll all manage to survive here."
According to KPMG's Golf Benchmark study, however, Julich doesn't need to worry.
The researchers estimate that the number of golfers in the Middle East has grown to approximately 12,000 over the last two decades, and this figure can only continue to increase.
So, although the company has found the golf participation rate in the Middle East to be the lowest in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region at 0.03%, the company predicts there is still enough demand to support the golfing industry's future growth.
"Because the current golf supply is heavily targeting expatriates and tourists, we believe there is certainly demand growth potential for golf in the Middle East," the report states.
And although the number of players per course in the region is approximately 490, somewhat lower than the EMEA average of 610, KPMG still maintains that this reflects a fairly efficient golf market.
"All of the golf courses in the Middle East view their futures positively, with not one expecting average or negative business performance.
"More than one-third foresees excellent performance, and the remaining 62% predict good performance, reflecting the very positive attitude of the local market toward golf," the report concludes.
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