The first time I came out to Dubai was in 1987. I remember flying out on EK001 from Gatwick, which was their first long-haul flight – a small Airbus in those days!

And that was when my first aerial photos of the course were done. I went up in a government helicopter, and the people I was working for rang Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and these helicopters just appeared over the horizon.

I was no aerial photographer in those days, I was just a sports photographer, so I wish I had known how important those photos would have been. Being sat in a government helicopter with the door wide open, shooting on slide film as well so you can’t see what your pictures were like back then! It was quite a first experience! Which just kept going on from there really.

Emirates Golf Club in the late 1980’s

The site back then was a one-square-kilometre fence, and Sheikh Zayed Road was a two-lane highway with this little roundabout at the front here. Then once you were in, there were three black lakes on the golf course, which was the rubber lining waiting to be filled up with water. You could see the odd bit of shape on the fairways and the odd bit of grass which was beginning to appear, and that was it.

We then returned the following year in 1988 with President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq from Pakistan, for the first official opening of the Emirates Golf Club. Then it was the first Desert Classic in 1989 and onwards from there really – sadly I would’ve done a complete streak of events, but because of Covid that year, when Tyrrell Hatton won, I couldn’t travel because of my age and insurance – so that was a shame.

The place just became so unique instantly. In those early years, it was like “This place is sensational”. The clubhouse just sat on its own, with no trees around it. It was literally the clubhouse and just the desert. Just imagine how that stood out in those days being the first grass golf course in the Middle East. A real amazing bit of imagination by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

I photograph golf tournaments all over the world, and no golf course comes as close to being designed for photography – it is bonkers how good it is. The basic thing is the light and how it works on the holes. It’s as if the designers talked to me 35 years ago and said, “How would you like this hole to look?”

In the morning, on the front nine, you have the 3rd and the 8th hole which are straight into the sun – perfect. On the back nine, the 10th hole is straight into the golfers noses. 13 is an absolute studio with the skyline and the marina.

Then in the afternoon, it all switches around, and you have the 5th and the 9th holes on the front nine which are just amazing. While on the back nine you have 14, 16 and 18 which are all just incredible. It’s an ‘all-day studio for golf photography’ as I call it. 

David Cannon

Away from the course at this tournament, there are always PR stunts done around the event. Who can forget Tiger Woods on the Burj Al Arab? A seriously high-pressure job. Sat in the helicopter, door open, harnessed in, and I’m on my knees behind a television cameraman. Then Tiger has given us strict instructions that he’s only doing 15 minutes of hitting balls. It was a real battle to get those pictures in the time we had. I think it was one of the biggest PR hits globally for Jumeriah and the Desert Classic.

Then earlier this week we shot Rory on top of the new Atlantis The Royal, Dubai which was incredible. No helicopter this time! Just my pole which I can operate my camera from with my mobile phone – times have changed!

When you look back at the winners here, Seve Ballesteros in 1992, Ernie Els in 1994 and Rory McIlroy in 2009 are all favourites of mine. Then you have to throw a Tiger Woods in there from 2008 when he holed that huge putt with the fist pump – those stand out by a mile.

It’s just such an iconic place. It’s stood the test of time and they have really not had to do an awful lot to the golf course in major terms. They’ve lengthened holes and tightened things up but still, it’s essentially the same golf course as it was in the 80’s. It is just designed for golf photography!

Images: David Cannon