At The Birthplace Of Golf

As the headline suggests, I am taking a break from writing about the UAE’s gossip and golf news this week, but just before I do that – what a week of gossip it has been!

I wait with bated breath for official news of the new super rich European Tour Event which, if substantiated will become the wealthiest golf tournament in the history of golf. A prize pot of $20 million has been rumoured, but I guess I won’t join the hordes of other reporters and add fuel to fire just yet by speculating further. All will be revealed at a press conference at the Burj Al Arab on Monday.

Now on to the real purpose of this column – to inspire you golfers out there to take a trip of a lifetime!

Some of you may have noticed I didn’t feature in last week’s XPRESS, something that was unfortunately out of my control but I guess as a golfer it was the ultimate excuse – a visit to the beautiful Fife coast and to the town you all know as the "Home of Golf" – St Andrews.

I must reiterate that although there was golf involved, that wasn’t the reason for the trip. I had been to St Andrews on a number of occasions but as a spectator.

Historic Moment

I was last there at the 2005 Open Championship and was fortunate enough to watch Jack Nicklaus walk across the Swilken Bridge for the last time as an Open competitor – a truly memorable and emotional experience. Well, by the end of a busy week I managed to get the opportunity to step on the first tee of the Old Course and sample the delights of arguably the most famous golf course in the world.

You may think, ‘What’s this got to do with the UAE?’ – well I did try and warn you, didn’t I? Golfers reading this will appreciate that for most, a trip to St Andrews and an opportunity to play the Old Course can be a once in a lifetime opportunity. In Dubai we have some of the finest and most well-manicured golf courses in the world, but aside from the perfect fairways, receptive greens, lush green grass and pristine conditions of Emirates Golf Club, you have to sample Scottish links golf to truly appreciate how the game of golf has evolved into what we know it as today.

True Golf

The hard fairways, the tight lies, the undulations, the pot bunkers, the blind shots, the unpredictable bounces, the enormous rolling greens and – in the case of St Andrews – the awe of the place, this is in my opinion the truest form of golf.

The courses we know today are geared up to making the game fair: they are designed to reward good shots and to punish bad ones. The Scottish links, where the game was originally hatched, were designed to punish the bad and the good shots! The unpredictability is what makes links golf challenging, fun and a joy to play.

If you ever get the chance to visit Scotland, don’t skip the Fife coastline – it has arguably the finest stretch of links anywhere in the world. And good luck in the Old Course ballot – probably more nail-biting than any shot you’ll get to play!