By Kent Gray
Golf Saudi has headlined a plethora of Middle East winners announced at the World Golf Awards’ COVID-modified ceremony in Dubai.

The Kingdom’s was awarded the event’s coveted “Vision Award”, a nod to the Saudi Golf Federation and Golf Saudi’s “outstanding strategic contribution to the game” including a world first national golf sustainability initiative.

Golf Saudi is a Global Event Partner of the World Golf Awards which have celebrated excellence in golf tourism, world-class courses and golf destinations since 2014. The awards, held “virtually” on Thursday due to the ongoing coronavirus conundrum, are voted for by professionals working within the golf travel and tourism industry.

“To be recognised by the World Golf Awards is a great honour and provides a valuable boost to the progress of the game in Saudi Arabia,” said His Excellency Yasir O. Al-Rumayyan, Chairman of the Saudi Golf Federation and Golf Saudi.

“Thanks to the support of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence and in line with Vision 2030, we have made great efforts to ensure our strategy for developing the sport is as progressive as it is inclusive. Whilst we are still in the formative stages of our national golf plans, progress has been considerable, giving us great confidence that our direction and commitment to sustainability will stand us in the best stead for the years to come.”

His Excellency Yasir O. Al-Rumayyan, Chairman of the Saudi Golf Federation and Golf Saudi.

World Golf Awards Managing Director Chris Frost said the Vision Award was recognition of Golf Saudi’s efforts in facilitating uptake and participation in golf through the delivery of world-class events, facilities and industry best practice.

Golf Saudi proudly point out this has been achieved with “consideration to environmental and ecological innovation” throughout all of its ongoing pioneering initiatives.

“I have closely watched over the past few years the accelerated development of golf tourism in Saudi Arabia and Golf Saudi’s vision is truly breath taking and quickly coming to fruition,” said Frost. “The next decade is incredibly exciting for golf tourism in the Kingdom and I believe in the near future the industry will be looking to the region as a market leader in golf development and sustainability.”

Gongs were also presented to clubs and tourism operators in geographic categories in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Oman, the wider UAE and wider still Middle East.

Dubai was recognised as the Middle East’s leading golf destination with Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club and the Track, Meydan Golf anointed the region’s best 18 and 9-hole courses. The Creek also won Dubai’s best course award.

The 17th at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club

The sun sets on one of the prettiest – and most testing – par 3s in the Middle East, the 17th at Yas Links Abu Dhabi

Yas Links Abu Dhabi won the Abu Dhabi and UAE equivalent while The Royal Golf Club (Montgomerie course), Al Mouj Golf Club, Royal Greens Golf & Country Club won best course in Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia respectively.

Dubai will host the next World Golf Awards from Oct. 27-29 next year at the Park Hyatt Dubai, coincidently an award winner as Dubai and the Middle East’s “Best Golf Hotel”. Nofa Resorts (Saudi), The Chedi (Oman), The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa, the Address Montgomerie and the St. Regis Saadiyat Island were other regional winners in that category.

Best Golf Tour Operator gongs went to Etihad Holidays (Middle East, out-bound UAE) and Desert Gate (Inbound UAE).

The ceremony’s top awards were presented thus:

World’s Best Golf Destination 2020
Australia

World’s Best Golf Course 2020
Augusta National Golf Club (Georgia)

World’s Best New Golf Course 2020
Hoiana Shores Golf Club (Vietnam)

The 11th hole at Hoiana Shores GC, looking out over the East Sea to the Cham Islands

World’s Best 9 Hole Golf Course 2020
Glade One Golf Resort

World’s Best Par 3 Golf Course 2020
The Turtle Hill Golf Club (Bermuda)

World’s Best Golf Clubhouse 2020
The Carriage House at Adare Manor (Ireland)

World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility 2020
Sentosa Golf Club (Singapore)

World’s Best Golf Hotel 2020
The Belfry (England)

World’s Best Golf Tour Operator 2020
Golfasian Co

World’s Best Golf Club Brand 2020
Callaway

World’s Best Golf Shoe Brand 2020
FootJoy

World’s Best Golf Travel Magazine 2020
Destination Golf Guide

World’s Best Golf TV Channel 2020
NBC Golf Channel

World’s Best Halfway House 2020
The Lighthouse @ Trump Turnberry Resort, (Scotland)

World’s Best New Golf Development 2020
Navarino Hills, Costa Navarino (Greece)

Golf Business of the Year 2020
Performance54

Golf Course Designer of the Year 2020
José María Olazábal

Lifetime Achievement Award 2020
Annika Sörenstam

The Golf Vision Award 2020
Golf Saudi

The post Golf Saudi, Yas Links and Dubai Creek score big at 2020 World Golf Awards appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The MENA Tour by Arena has claimed bragging rights as the first sports organisation in the UAE to halt the consumption of ‘single-use’ plastic bottles at its tournaments. Australian professional Daniel Gaunt, who captured the Al Zorah Open in Feb., was rolled out at Yas Links on Sunday as the circuit’s (probably unwitting) anti-plastic poster boy.

CRUSHING IT!!

We think it is safe to presume that @Gauntgolf is not a big fan of single-use plastic water bottles!!
Starting this week at the Abu Dhabi Open by Arena at @yaslinksgc, the MENA Tour by @arenagroup_plc is going plastic-free.#sustainability pic.twitter.com/Ma4OT9WVt5

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) October 6, 2019

As part of its just upgraded sponsorship of the MENA Tour, Arena Middle East & Asia has given each player at this week’s Abu Dhabi Open by Arena a steel water bottle. The Abu Dhabi-based arm of Arena Group, a global provider of turnkey structures for the “most prestigious occasions in the global calendar”, has also put up refill stations around Yas Links to keep the field suitably hydrated.

?????? https://t.co/QW2C1DJBkz

— Sam Hobday (@sam_hobday) October 6, 2019

The MENA Tour joins The Track, Meydan Golf in Dubai and Al Hamra in Ras Al Khaimah in saying no to single-use plastics, a movement that is gaining global traction.

The Track, Meydan Golf stopped adding plastic bottles to its carts on October 1, instead encouraging players to bring their own aluminium bottles with them to the nine-hole pay-to-play course to “contribute towards this cause”. In a flyer, the Troon International-managed course said it had increased the number of dispensers offering “chilled” water around the layout and would also offer a 50 percent discount on Track, Meydan Golf-branded re-usable aluminium bottles for green fee players who didn’t already own one of the canisters, bringing the cost down to just AED 15.

“The Track, Meydan Golf will be supporting the #GoGreen #SayNoToPlastic campaigns. We would like to contribute towards this cause by taking decisions and more responsible steps for the environment,” the club said.

“In order to sustain the planet’s natural resources and making the planet a better place for our current and future generations, the first step is reducing the plastic waste going into our planet. Thank you for your understanding and for helping reduce the amount of plastic waste being generated.”

Al Hamra G.C. has taken the #GoGreen initiative a step further by becoming the first golf club in the Middle East to eliminate all single-use plastic items from its premises. In addition to ditching plastic bottles, plastic straws, stirrers and take away containers have also been given the red card.

The club has partnered with the UAE-based ‘No More Bottles’ in introducing high-quality water filtration solutions across the par-72 layout and has replaced all plastic water bottles with branded glass alternatives for members and guests to use. The bottles will be cleaned, sterilised and refilled with the help of advanced environmentally-friendly filtration units.

“At Al Hamra, we are committed to preserving the environment and promoting environmental best practices,” said Christopher Hewett, Vice President-Hospitality and Leisure at Al Hamra Group.

Al Hamra’s new glass bottles will be cleaned, sterilised and refilled with the help of advanced environmentally-friendly filtration units.

“The decision by Al Hamra Golf Club to eliminate single-use plastic, thereby becoming the first golf club in the region to do so, serves as a role model on how positive sustainability initiatives can be integrated. The move is even more laudable as it underlines the commitment of the club to conserve its ecosystem, given its location by the Arabian Gulf and the Al Hamra Lagoon. The decision makes Al Hamra Golf Club a true pioneer in championing environmental sustainability.”

Al Hamra G.C. will focus on achieving its sustainability goals by installing innovative ‘Waterlogic’ water dispensers to their main water supply. No More Bottles claim the “advanced antimicrobial water purification systems fitted with UV Firewall” effectively wipe out impurities and cleanse pathogens from the water by up to “99.99 percent”.

The implementation of the new initiative extends throughout the golf club’s food and beverage outlets with guests to be offered the option of unlimited filtered water in glass bottles at a nominal cost.

“No More Bottles are delighted to announce our partnership with Al Hamra Golf Club as they work to achieve their sustainability goals,” said Carol Fraser, Managing Director of No More Bottles.

“It is always great to see another organisation supporting a cause so close to our own. We are working towards reducing plastic bottles by distributing high-quality filtration systems across the UAE and we are proud that Al Hamra Golf Club has joined us in our efforts.”

Starting this week, and with a little help from our sponsors @arenagroup_plc, the @theMENATour is saying NO to the ‘single use’ plastic water bottles. #Sustainability pic.twitter.com/Omg1ixppd4

— MENA Tour (@theMENATour) October 6, 2019

The post MENA Tour go green, join The Track and Al Hamra G.C. in banning single-use plastic bottles appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
A mild surprise at the UAE PGA Tour season-opener at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club late last month was the performance of home club hero Tom Buchanan.

A serial winner on the regional circuit with four titles from nine starts last season, the Scot signed for an uncharacteristically sloppy 76 on his home track to finish near the foot of the leaderboard, not a place he is accustomed with.

“It felt horrible and I finished well down the field, and that was disappointing,” Buchanan told GolfDigestme.com of his tie for 15th in the Sept. 24 event won by The Address Montgomerie Dubai’s Ryan Smith.

Fast-forward a month to the fourth stop on the UAE PGA’s 17-tournament schedule and it is fair to say normal service has resumed. With a brilliant one-under 71 in blustery conditions at the perennially challenging The Track, Meydan Golf, Buchanan eased to a four-stroke victory over Luke Plumb, the UAE PGA chief executive’s Trump Dubai club-mate Mike Bolt and Monty head pro Martin Robinson on Sunday.

“I had my kids on the range with me [at AESGC] on Saturday night hitting a few shots and it started to feel good and thankfully it continued to Meydan,” Buchanan said, noting Sophia, 8, and two-year-old Andrew have become willing range-rats. Here’s the happy proof from Saturday night:

Sophia Buchanan

Andrew Buchanan

Buchanan bogeyed the Track’s notoriously tricky par-5 1st but made the turn one under courtesy of birdies on the 4th and 7th. Further gains followed on the 10th and 14th as Buchanan dipped to three under with four to play and while there were bogeys on 15th and 17th, it only served to highlight how dominant the 38-year-old’s performance was.

“I drove the ball very well and the greens were excellent so anytime I had a putt I thought it could go in. So another nice victory…just need to keep it going.”

Count on Buchanan featuring at Arabian Ranches G.C. (Nov. 5) and at Trump Dubai (Dec. 3) if his work schedule allows. He’ll definitely tee it up Dec. 10-11 at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in what is the UAE PGA’s 36-hole qualifier for a spot in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

Buchanan earned a cult following in last January’s European Tour Desert Swing opener and is desperate to experience that high again.

RELATED: Tommy’s honour as Buchanan bows out of European Tour debut in style

“The HSBC qualifier is on everyone’s calendar this year. The prize is so great that everyone will be doing a little more to try and win that event,” Buchanan said.

Whatever happens at Saadiyat Beach, the popular Scotsman has a date with destiny next May as the UAE PGA pros look to avert a fourth straight loss to the Emirates Golf Federation’s leading amateurs in the annual, Ryder Cup-style Dubai Golf Trophy.

“It’s a big year for me as captain of the Dubai Golf Trophy team, trying to wrestle that trophy back from the amateurs. Hopefully, with a good UAE PGA season under our belts, the lads can come good for that.”

RELATED: Rayhan Thomas leads perfect trio as amateurs seal Dubai Golf Trophy three-peat

The post After being ‘horrible’ at home, normal service resumes as Buchanan claims his fifth title in last 11 starts appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
It’s a stat any touring professional would be proud to own – 54 under par in a scarcely believable 11 tournament run since February. Yet the record doesn’t belong to a busy European or PGA Tour star, rather a kid barely 14-years-old.

Josh Hill hasn’t so much crept up as the hottest amateur prospect in Middle East golf since Rayhan Thomas as he’s scorched a hole through that once distant glass ceiling.

The Jumeirah Golf Estates member has made winning such a habit recently it’s hard to keep up. Just know that he’d rattled off eight wins in the three months to late April. Six of those came in Open Men’s events as he ran away with the Emirates Golf Federation Order of Merit title while creating course records of 65 and 68 at Trump Dubai and the Track respectively.  The two other wins? Repeat U-16 and overall titles at the Faldo Series Middle East Championship at Al Ain, an event open to golfers up to the age of 21.

Related: Hill goes unbeaten as EGF amateurs seal historic Dubai Trophy treble

Winning with such on-going regularity is unrealistic but those in the know agree Hill is the real deal, albeit with an PG14 rating/caveat; not all teen phenoms go on to be
tour stars. The giddy ride thus far is still a hugely encouraging pointer to the future but before we get there it’s fun to push rewind and discover his equally impressive start in the game.

Hill’s father Russell, who played squash to an elite level back in England, hadn’t considered playing golf himself until his son started to show promise after progressing through the UAE’s traditional development programmes and Par 3 events.

“I remember a friend going out and playing a round with him when I think Josh was eight. He shot a 99 and I thought, geez, he could be good,” Russell recalls of his Dubai-born and raised son.

“I’m not sure he ever shot over a hundred to be honest and it was just evident he was going to good so I joined the Creek and started playing myself because it’s all buggy based and I didn’t want to stick him with men on their day off, getting stuck with a seven or eight year old.

“I’ve recently given up because he doesn’t really need me driving buggies any more [laughs].”

By the age of 10, Russell was curious as to how good Josh really was so entered him in the U.S. Kids European Championship at Craigielaw in Scotland.

“That was a funny experience because he’d never played in anything other than shorts and T-shirt and suddenly he was in rain gear and Under Armour [thermals]. We set the challenge of top 50 percent of the field and I remember him first day, it was a cold, windy links course and I think he was in eighth place and I though geez, okay. Over the next few days he rose up to fifth and I though he’s never played in these conditions and he can deal with some of the best in Europe in his age group.”

Later in 2014, Hill won the Wee Wonders British Grand Final (U10) and a year after that the U.S. Kids World Championships in Malaysia as well as medalling in the next two European Championships. When he dipped under par on an 18-holer for the first time a week before his 10th birthday, Russell and wife Jo needed convincing no more – Josh really was the business.

He got down to scratch just before his 13th birthday last year and is now off a +5.1 handicap. Having ticked off his goals of winning the EGF junior and senior men’s OOM titles in successive years, he’s now looking to the next level. In fact, he’ll step up two age-groups to contest the English U-18 Carris Trophy (Fulford G.C.) and English Amateur Championship (Sherwood Forest & Coxmoor) this summer before returning to the UAE to put himself under the microscope of MENA Tour competition. It’s a similar trail to that blazed by Thomas and a chance to amass the World Amateur Golf Ranking points that have helped the Indian world amateur No. 13 earn invites to the biggest junior events around the globe.

Hill’s coach Joe Marshall certainly believes his young charge, already 6ft 1in and looking down on his father, has the goods to compete at the loftiest age-group events. A growth spurt, coupled with input from Marshall’s fitness colleague Allister Parlane, has seen Hill’s club-head increase from 103mph to 112mph since they began working last September.

Hill followed up his sizzling 65 at Trump Dubai with another course record, a 68 at The Track, Meydan Golf. Not bad for a 14-year-old.

“He’s always had a good short game, he’s fantastic with a wedge, so the main goal was to tie up his long game” said Marshall. “But to be honest, if I look back on what we did, we just set goals, whether they be technical, physical or skill based. Josh likes outcome goals, he wasn’t afraid to say he wanted to win this and win that whereas a lot of players don’t like to disclose that. He’s pretty much hit every goal and it’s just snowballed from there.

“Josh is very receptive to information, he’s a young chap who is not afraid of information. He’s a joy to deal with.”

If Russell Hill is impressed with one aspect of his son’s game, outside of that scary good short game, it’s his level-headedness under the blowtorch, not something many youngsters learn so early, if ever. “He’s very calm, almost too calm, “ Russell says. “He’s a bit scary how calm he can be.”

Justin Parsons, Marshall’s boss at the Butch Harmon School of Golf at The Els Club in Dubai, sees it too.

“He is a keen strategist despite his tender years and is also very competitive,” Parsons wrote after Hill Jnr led a JGE 1-2-3 at the Faldo Middle East Championship in March, winning by six shots from pals Arjun Gupta and Toby Bishop. “Joe has done a great job simplifying his swing which already allows him a consistent, straight ball flight and Josh works diligently and rounds his skills with a good balance of short game and play.  The dominant player in the set, his scores at The Faldo Series [69-65-62 to finish -14] underline his serious potential.”

Photo: Rodney Oliva
Hill flanks Sir Nick Faldo during a Faldo Series event at Al Ain.

Marshall looks forward to seeing how Hill Jnr performs in the UK now his success in the UAE has raised flags offshore. While he obviously wishes no ill luck on the youngster, he knows dips in form are inevitable – this is golf after all – and reckons the odd failure will only make him hungrier.

Closer to home, the friendly rivalry with Gupta and Bishop has been pivotal too.

“Josh is very lucky to have Arjun [Gupta] and Toby Bishop pushing him,” said Hill Snr. “Unlike Ray [Thomas], there was a bit of a void, he did and is doing amazingly well [considering the relative lack of local competition during his early teens]. But this group with Max Cashmore, Arjun, Toby – they’d all do really well in Europe you know. So when you’ve got not just the Men’s Opens but the age group pushing you as well, it really helps. They’re decent players and decent kids as well. It’s a very healthy situation. We’re very grateful for that.”

So too is Hill Snr thankful for the often unrated junior pathways available in the UAE. The amazing journey continues.

“There’s always points for improvement, you just hope they keep on going.”

Dad’s not the only one.

The post Meet Josh Hill, Dubai golf’s new whiz kid appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

To celebrate Golf Digest Middle East’s 100th issue, we’re lined up a AED 100,000 giveaway with some priceless prizes to thank you for your loyal support of the region’s No.1 golf title, in print and online. How about Pro-Am spots and hospitality packages to Abu Dhabi and Dubai’s four European and Ladies European Tour events, or a 10k gift voucher from Callaway?

To be eligible, simply complete our 2017 Reader Survey to help us refine and deliver even more of the content you love to read, watch, engage with and share.

Take the 2017 Golf Digest Middle East Reader Survey here and win BIG! 

The survey will take no more than 7 minutes to complete and to show our appreciation of your precious time, all completed surveys will be entered into the draw for the following prizes:

The post AED 100k GIVEAWAY! appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

To enter, just answer the question below and fill in the required details. All correct answers will be entered into the prize draw, held on May 28. Good luck!

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