Arabian Ranches Golf Club has reopened its back nine holes with major renovations having been completed over the last five months.
After the significant rainfall that hit the UAE back in April, the damage caused by the flooding created an opportunity to repair and enhance not only the flooded areas but also parts of the course that had historically experienced groundwater issues.
During the closure of holes 10 – 18, the club has undergone significant enhancements to improve the playing experience for all, and after seeing them in person, I go into further detail on those alterations, as it welcomes back the UAE’s golfers to its full 18 holes.
Harry Grimshaw
TEE BOXES
Firstly, all the tee boxes on the back nine right from the red tees at the front, to the black championship tees at the back, have been entirely resurfaced and rebuilt. All have been laser graded, levelled and resurfaced with new paspalum.
The tee boxes on the front nine will be a work in progress over the next 12 months to match those on the back nine.
CART PATHS
The second modifications are the raising of the cart paths in key areas where they were prone
to flooding.
With any amount of rain, these were areas where accessibility became a problem. Whether it’s maintenance vehicles or golf carts, the flooded parts caused a problem for anyone getting around the golf course. So, now with the new raised paths, that risk is significantly lower.
It also benefits the maintenance vehicles getting access to the course quicker and more easily after a potential storm, and get golf carts around more quickly.
ISOLATED AREAS
Hole 15
There were some isolated problem areas which needed to be addressed. The main one being around the front right section of the short par four risk-reward 15th hole. This area short right of the green was an area always renowned for sitting in the water table and leading to having poorer quality turf because the root base was below the water table. That meant, the turf health was negatively affected by that.
Harry Grimshaw
That area has now been raised higher, and as a result, the turf will be much healtheir going forward and still being able to keep the original design intent of the golf course retained.
Hole 10
The biggest damage experienced on the 10th hole was around the green. At times of heavy rainfall, the green would get completely flooded. The forward section of the opening hole on the back nine has now been raised between 30 to 40cm in places. Still keeping in mind the original design with it’s contours and topography, it’s a very similar green in terms of slopes, but just slightly higher than it previously was to now protect it from any future flooding.
Harry Grimshaw
Additionally, parts of the 10th fairway, particularly on the forward half of the hole in the 100 yard range, has been raised by up to 40cm to guarantee that the turf is as healthy as possible by ensuring it is out of the flood line. This also allows the agronomy team to ensure better drainage on the hole overall. When it does rain again the water will drain off into the desert areas and into the hollows around the grass in the fairway, rather than lying on the actual surface on the fairway and causing damage.
Hole 13
The par five 13th was the biggest challenge of the whole project. Very similar procedure to hole ten, in that the fairway on the approach from approximately 150 – 170 yards out all the way up to the front of the green, was raised in areas up to 70cm. Historically, this was one of the biggest problem holes just because of the water table.
Harry Grimshaw
Now that forward part of the fairway, where in the past was prone to flooding even in times when it wasn’t raining, has now has been raised up.
So similar to the drainage on the 10th, it will be much better going forward. The water won’t lie on the fairway. It’ll drain into the lower lying desert areas around and because the root base of the grass is now out of the standard water table, the turf health improves dramatically.
All of those areas were re shaped and are now following the “grow-in” period now.
THE FUTURE
Going forward, a big part of the project at Arabian Ranches is essentially around detail work.
The surrounding desert areas are quite overgrown, primarily because of the good water that they’ve been receiving. After all the rain and the ground water being higher than usual, as well as the warmer conditions through summer, it has all come together to make prime growing conditions.
All of the fire grass, rough and shrubbery, around the desert areas, has become slightly overpowering and very difficult to manage. So now as we enter the winter, the growth slows down and the agronomy team will be able to get it under control and effectively make the golf course more playable.
Additionally, the team will continue to work on those details to make sure that the visual appeal of the golf course is as good as possible.
When standing on the tee boxes, you can already start to see on some of the holes, where they’ve been doing some work. The hard edge is now more defined down the side of the fairways and there is now a clear line that visually frames the fairway for you
It’s a concept and theme to tie throughout the entire golf course going forward. Once it all comes together, it means a lot less lost golf balls on the high-volume play areas, but still delivering a golf course that suits the eye and is more visually appealing for the club going forward.
Main Image: Harry Grimshaw
