Wowed by Qatar’s golf and culture
My trip to Qatar came about after I accepted an invitation from Qatar Tourism Authority to play in their golf day last year held at Royal Mid-Surrey GC. The weather was thankfully perfect for golf, warm, sunny and little wind. Over 80 guests turned up mostly travel agents and a few golf journalists for pre-arranged tee times with each group of four teeing off after 1 pm. In my group was Mike Braidwood, head of Qatar’s Education City Golf, (one of the two courses in Doha), and later during the prize giving Gala dinner prize the idea we discussed the idea of a proposed press trip to Qatar.
Over the next couple of months three dates were put forward and later cancelled due mainly to Doha’s many commitments hosting several top sporting events. Finally November 9th to 13th was agreed for the press trip and despite coinciding with the start of ATP’s Nitto finals at the 02, it was an invitation I could hardly refuse but before leaving Qatar’s PR emailed us a few words of warning concerning water damaged passports to playing golf in polo shirts with elbow length sleeves and knee length shorts and particularly important, as a strict Muslim country not to drink alcohol in public.
Finally our small group of four golf journalists flew direct to Doha with Qatar Airways arriving at the state of the art recently opened Hamad International airport. This was not my first trip to the State of Qatar even though my last trip was some twenty years ago to cover the 1998 inaugural ATP Doha Tennis Championships, the year Austrian Thomas Muster won the title, it was however not the Doha I had visited all those years ago which is now a thriving, bustling city that never sleeps, full of towering skyscrapers some that change colours at night. Even the small triangle shaped six story Sheraton Hotel where I last stayed all those years ago is now dwarfed by huge multistory tower blocks. .
The six and half hour flight to Doha went quicker than expected but that is partly down to the amazing selection of in-flight entertainment. In no-time we were whisked away from the airport in a 4 x 4 Range Rover for the half hour drive to the five star luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel, in less than an hour later I was already installed in my large spacious room on the 23rd floor with a sitting area that led to a small balcony from where I could admire the sprawling city spread below.
Our first game of golf was played on Education City of Golf Club (Mike was sadly on an overseas trip), which besides an 18 hole Championship course, has a 6 holes practice area next to the golf range and a flood-lit 9 hole par 3 course all designed by Jose Maria Olazabel. Playing the course was quite challenging but despite 151 bunkers dotted along fairways and around greens, and the 30 degrees of heat, I found this course a pleasure to play. Next to the clubhouse is the aptly named Centre of Excellence which boasts state of the art equipment to improve golf and is next to a private area specially designed for local women to learn to play golf without having to traditional black head scarves. After golf we rushed off to visit the unusually designed National Museum of Qatar constructed to appear similar to a desert rose, Qatar’s traditional emblem, and where all kinds of exhibits are kept depict how Qataris existed between desert and sea.
The next day we played the 18 hole Doha Club Championship course, an easier course to play with wider green fairways and less desert rough and bunkers replaced by a couple man-made lakes as water hazards. Ironically just as we reached the 17th green, the heavens opened and down came torrents of rain something locals had barely seen for almost ten months! Following our golf was another busy afternoon, this time spent Sand Dune Bashing in a 4×4 Range Rover that frighteningly sometimes titled at 45 degree angles as we drove across the desert towards the stunning Khor Al Adaid sea known as the ‘inland sea’. There are few places in the world where the sea encroaches deep into the heart of a desert and this is one of them.
During our visit we were keen to see the many differently designed football stadiums that were all in vary degrees of completion and where the much talked about 2022 FIFA World Cup takes place. To find out more go htttp://www.stadiumguide.com/tournament/fifa-world-cup-2022-stadiumqatar
Clearly, Qatar is fast becoming the sporting capital of the Middle East.
