round 1 - al badia
the impressive clubhouse
the first course was al badia, a resort course at the hotel. the course was designed on an oasis theme and features water, rivers of sand and plants from the gulf. the clubhouse is one of the most distinctive in the world, with unique spiralling structures.
given the travel and initial exposure to the heat, it was no surprise that nic was the star player with a back 9 of 22 stableford points. neil and nic took the match 5&3. due to our lack of sleep we got an early night… we found a saloon bar and played pool until the early hours.
match score: neil & nic 8½ -6½ phil & al
round 2 - montgomerie
a slightly surreal view
the address montgomerie is one of the most luxurious golf resorts in the middle east. unsurprisingly, it was designed by colin montgomerie and opened in october 2002. the course is an open, expansive championship course with huge greens, laid out on a massive 265-acre site. interestingly the 13th green is laid out in the shape of the united arab emirates.
the match was one sided as neil and nic both hit a purple patch scoring 38 and 40 stableford points respectively. the course is definitely one of the best we’ve played with a stunning combination of skyscrapers and beautiful golf.
match score: neil & nic 9½ -6½ phil & al
round 3 - abu dhabi
the falcon
round 3 was at the abu dhabi golf club, designed by peter harradine dubai, is a tough but fair challenge, with lush fairways, strategically placed bunkers and generous greens. overlooking the course is the iconic falcon clubhouse.
neil and nic started to build a lead in the back nine and ended up taking victory, mainly driven by neil’s 38 stableford points and ten pars.
onto the KOP hole… four reasonable drives meant it was all to play for. neil took advantage of some errant second shots sinking an eight footer for par to reduce phil and al’s lead.
match score: neil & nic 10½ -6½ phil & al
round 4 - abu dhabi city
floodlit golf
before the flight home we played nine holes of night golf at abu dhabi city golf club. originally a sand course, in 1998, it was transformed into abu dhabi’s first grass course. it is intriguing and offers night golf via flood lights.
the round was fun and something different; the combination of real and synthetic grass was very strange and difficult to get used to. the match was a good contest and we came to the last hole all square. on the last green phil and al both had putts for the match…
match score: neil & nic 10½ -7 phil & al