By Kent Gray
It’s a big ask setting up a course fairly for the big-hitting whippersnappers on the European Challenge Tour, the over-50s from the Staysure Tour and the stars of the Ladies European Tour.

But Chris White believes the set-up of Ayla Golf Course for this week’s innovative 54-hole Jordan Mixed Open will prove it is possible – despite the average Challenge Tour player driving 284-yards in 2018, almost 50-yards further than their LET counterparts.

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“With the course set-up as it is, there is no reason why there shouldn’t be one player from each of the three tours coming down the closing stretch with a chance of victory,’’ said White, Director of Operations at Ayla Oasis and the driving force behind the tournament concept.

Masterminded by White and his team at Ayla, with the approval of representatives of the three co-sanctioning tours, the Greg Norman-designed course will see the Challenge Tour players tee-up from 7,152-yards, with the Staysure Tour players competing from a yardage reduced by seven percent, at 6,601-yards.

There will then be a further seven percent reduction for the LET players, who will compete from a scorecard measured at 6,139-yards. The distances are comparable to the length the competitors would play from under standard tournament conditions.

“Our first and primary priority was to engineer a format that could showcase golfing talent regardless of gender,” said Chris White.

Chris White, second from right, with representatives from the Jordan Mixed Open’s co-sanctioning tours.

“This not only means taking into consideration carry yardages, both off the tee and throughout the player’s whole bag, but also the positioning of bunkers and hazards, which will be approached differently depending on the angle and distance that each competitor is playing from.”

“The beauty of golf is that everyone can compete alongside each other. In the amateur game through the handicap system, but with the correct set-up we believe that this can also be true when it comes to men, women and seniors in the professional arena,” White said.

The spin rates of approach shots have also been analysed and will be considered when preparing daily hole locations, while wind and other weather considerations will also be factored in each day before play commences.

“Golf needs more innovative concepts to continue to grow the sport globally and this is a truly exciting new format,” said Davide Lantos, the LET’s Director of Tournament Operations.

“The Tournament Directors have gone through a rigorous process to ensure that the set-up is a fair test for all the players, including the positioning of different tees at Ayla Golf Club. It will be a thrilling spectacle to watch the best players from three tours compete in Jordan.”