A Short Walk Spoiled in the Sun

I was in Dubai the other day, walking the partially built “Earth” Golf Course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates alongside world number two Sergio Garcia, Darren Clarke and Justin Rose. Nearby Germany’s Martin Kaymer and Robert Karlsson, the current Order of Merit champion, were also sussing out the venue for the season-ending Dubai world championship in November.
It is a staggering course, boasting what its designer, Greg Norman, declares to possess “the most challenging four holes in golf,” which is a fair statement considering that, collectively, they stretch to almost a mile in length.
The world’s top 60 players will be competing for a $10 million prize fund in The Race to Dubai” and, with the news that the European Tour is considering seriously the notion of staging the 2018 Ryder Cup in this neck of the woods, it is yet another indication of just how far sport has developed in the Arab world.
Just one thing, though: when I said I was walking the course alongside so many top players, I should have added that I, together with around 100 others who were primarily local dignatories were walking the course, literally a few metres behind or alongside the players. I just hope for their money that they don’t think they can do this in November!