A hack around the desert fairways

William Johnson

• Last Updated: November 16. 2009 9:25PM UAE / November 16. 2009 5:25PM GMT

DUBAI // It has become a tradition at golf tournaments around the world for the media to play the course on the Monday after the tournament finishes to get some kind of feel of what the winning professional went through over the previous four rounds.

Leisurecorp broke with that tradition yesterday and let the golfing press loose on their magnificent new Earth course before any of the cream of the European Tour had struck a ball in anger.

It was a message to the cynics who had suggested that the Dubai World Championship (DWC), the exciting finale to the Race to Dubai, would be a flop and might even move from Jumeirah Golf Estates to nearby Emirates Golf Club, which has an infrastructure in place to host big tournaments.

Earth is undoubtedly a setting to rival Emirates and Abu Dhabi National, the other UAE stopping off point for the European Tour.

The Middle East will now have four attractive men’s professional tournaments to show off to the watching world when the DWC roars into action on Thursday.

The organisers treated the media as professionals yesterday, putting personal names on lockers and name plates on the driving range, where close by, Camilo Villegas, the charismatic Colombian, was weaving his magic with a five iron.

Then it was on to the putting green, rubbing shoulders with Ross Fisher, the Englishman who is a threatening fourth place in the Race to Dubai.

“I can’t wait to get out there to see what it’s really like,” he said. Well Ross, it is wonderful.

I was particularly looking forward to what Norman calls his “Golden Mile” – the demanding last four holes on the course. By the time our wilting fourball got there, we were not in the best shape to deal with the difficult run-in.

When we saw the signature 17th hole, however, we got an adrenaline surge. Norman has based this spectacular hole on the iconic Island Hole at Sawgrass, but he has made it longer and more difficult.

Hitting the green, albeit from the forward tee, and then making par was the highlight of a memorable preview to what looks sure to be a memorable tournament.