30. Jumeirah—Earth, YAS Links, East London GC, and Maccauvlei GC, UAE and South Africa, January 24-27, 2016

Jumeirah—Earth, YAS Links, East London GC, and Maccauvlei GC, UAE and South Africa, January 24-27, 2016

OK, so everyone knows that Dubai’s airport is one of the truly modern and smooth running one in the world.  If that is the case, I gather that the night of January 23 is the exception that proves the rule.  We landed early…and then it took literally 15 minutes for them to get the jetway lined up to the plane.  I joked to another passenger that the good news was that this would mean the luggage would be there when we got to the carousel.  That was a mistake.  First they had our flight being unloaded at carousel #1…and then had to walk around announcing that it had been switched to #3.  It took 1 hour and 5 min for my golf bag to make it out!!  Finally, I rented a car form Europcar, a very large car rental agency.  They could not process my credit card (which has both a mag stripe and a chip) because eit lacked embossed numbers for card #, exp date, etc.  They only can process but using the manual multipart tickets that were prevalent when I was 30 years old (and that was a LONG time ago…stop laughing, the same is true for most of the readers of this blog, probably including YOU).

Anyhow, finally got to my hotel at about 12:15am (we got to the gate at about 9:10pm), and I tried to get some good sleep…this is to be the tough part of the trip.

Jumeirah—Earth Course, Dubai, UAE, January 24, 2015:  Ever notice the logo on Rory’s shirts?  It is from a huge housing/golf development south of Dubai.  They currently have two golf courses with plans for two more (assuming the housing market there stays OK).  I was scheduled to play the Earth Course at 7:00am.  We were delayed but only about 10-15 minutes due to ground fog.  The front nine was slow due in large part to a member of our foursome who has no business being on such a long difficult course…he probably shot a 60-65 on the front, but mercifully had to leave after nine to get to an appointment.

The Earth Course hosts the DP World Tour Championship (i.e. The Race to Dubai) to complete the European Tour season.  It was designed by Greg Norman (bringing to three the number of Norman courses on this trip…Nirwana Bali, Bluffs at Ho Tram, and Jumeirah-Earth) and stretches to 7706 yards.  It features massive, deep bunkers which must be avoided, and large difficult green complexes.  I thought the back nine was better than the front as the back offered better design variety while the front simply felt very very long.   I was expecting another boring monster championship track…it is a monster but not boring.  I liked it much more than I thought I would.  It made its World Top 100 debut on Golf Digest’s recent list at #97.  That is generally consistent with my thoughts, which would probably place it just outside of the Top 100.

Playing as a threesome on the back we played in about 1 hour 40 minutes, allowing me to get down to Abu Dhabi for my 12:50pm start.

Yas Links, Abu Dhabi, UAE, January 24, 2016:  Abu Dhabi lies about 90 miles south of Dubai, but my drive from Jumeirah was more like 60 miles.  Hit some traffic but still got there with time to spare.  This was always one of the “tight “ days on the trip itinerary, as after the round at Yas, I had to drive back up to the Dubai airport to catch a flight.  Sunday is a regular work day in UAE which would mean fighting traffic the final 10-15 miles of the drive north that evening.

Yas Links was designed by Kyle Phillips (think Cal Club renovation and Kingsbarns) and like Emirates and Jumeirah, made its World Top 100 debut earlier this month in Golf Digest at position #46.  While not a “true links” course (while definitions vary, mine is courses built on sandy soil that was covered by glaciers during the last ice age…and as we all have been taught by Al Gore et al, the last ice age ended with the invention of the internal combustion engine, although it had slowed considerably when cows started farting), it is pretty damn close.  Built along side an outlet to the Persian Gulf, it occupies a narrow strip of land that runs along the water outlet, somewhat reminiscent of how The Old Course occupies a long narrow strip of land.  It stretches to 7414 yards, and like The Old Course is fairly flat, but with wonderful mounds, bumps and rolls in the fairways (as well as defining fairways) which make level lies achievable only by really knowing the course and hitting shots perfect distances (very difficult to do on firm fast courses).  Please note that with Ferrari World, YASC Waterworld, and the Yas Mall across the street, the surroundings do not quite feel like St. Andrews.

Despite the artificial nature of the course, it is brilliantly done and certainly the best of the three UAE courses that made the recent Golf Digest listing.  It clearly “belongs” in the World Top 100.

I played quickly for the first eight holes and then hit a “wall,” but was able to finish, shower, and head up to Dubai International Airport, arriving in sufficient time.  I had to fly to Johannesburg, South Africa, which required me to fly via Qatar airlines and through Doha, Qatar…that truly is the most amazing airport I have seen.  And, my flight from Doha to J-burg was my first on a 787…an incredible airplane.  We landed in Johannesburg around 9am, and after a long wait to get through immigration, walked across the street to my hotel for the next two days (yes…will actually get to stay in the same hotel for two straight nights).  Really really convenient.  I celebrated by staying in my hotel room most of the day and catching up on much needed sleep.  Monday January 25 was “golf-free” and I needed that!!

East London GC, South Africa, Tuesday January 26, 2016:  Pat and I had been to South Africa in March 2015 and I had played all of the courses that had been part of the World 100 EVER bucket list at that time.  However I had not yet set my sights on Tom MacWood’s spoof 1939 list, which I later discovered included two courses in RSA that I had not played…East London GC along the Indian Ocean in the southeastern part of RSA, and Maccauvlei GC, located about 50 miles south of Johannesburg.  So these two were added to this itinerary.

Early Tuesday I flew from JNB top East London (about 1:45) and was met at the ELS airport by ELGC’s GM, Brenden Fourie.  Ther club has hosted the South African Open about 7 times and the course now stretches to about 6770 yards (par 73).  It sits high on bluffs above the Indian Ocean but only close to the beaches in one or two locations.  The course is very hilly, and plays firm and fast.  I played with last year’s Captain, Ed Ashton-Scott who sis a great guy, as is Brenden.  This section of RSA has suffered from a severe drought over the past several months and to my mind that helped the condition of the course.  The fairways have wonderful thick turf.  I loved the course, it is one you could play every day.  We played early and the wind did not start picking up until the back nine…the course usually plays in very windy conditions each afternoon, and that helps make it fun.  And, after having written in a previous post that I had yet to break 80, I hit a 9-iron to 3 feet on 18 that allowed me to finally break 80 on the trip.  In terms of fun courses, only Humewood is better in RSA (IMHO).

After a nice lunch, it was back to JNB to prepare for the last day of the trip.

Maccauvlei GC, South Africa, January 27, 2016:  I checked out of my hotel early, left my luggage in storage and used Uber to get me 50 miles south to Maccauvlei.  The club was founded some 90+ years ago and is the home club of Charl Schwartzel (2011 Masters Champion).  The folks at Both East London and Maccauveli were totlally unaware of the MacWood article when I first emailed them (I send them copies of the article) and at both clubs various members came up to me for further explanation.  Here at Maccauvlei I was asked to sign the minutes book of the Board Meetings.  Felt like a celebrity. 

Unfortunately, played a little like a celebrity (instead of like a golfer) for the first 5 holes and then played better…finishing with an 82.  The course is flat, and has seen better days (RSA’s economy and the value of the Rand has suffered mightily in recent times), but the members and staff that I met were wonderful…including Schwartzel’s father, with whom I had a nice talk. 

Took a taxi back to JNB, started working on this last trip post, and then boarded flights back home.  Am flying JNB to London to JFK (visiting family in NY) and then flying to NC Thursday night.  Will be great to get home and see Pat, my wonderful bride.

Bucket List Status January 28, 2016

World Top 100 Ever:  Total of 180 courses have been included on one of more World Top 100 courses since the first was published by Golf Magazine in 1979 (on a total of 35 World Top 100 lists).  I have played 267, and have 13 to go, composed of:

            Australia—6

New Zealand—1

France—1

Italy—1

Canada—2

Mexico—1

Barbados—1

                       

Tom MacWood Spoof 1939 World Top 100:  First published on www.golfclubatlas.com, this list is composed of 101 courses (#100 is a combination of two then nine holers…Royal Worlington in England, and Prairie Dunes in Kansas).  Five no longer exist (or never existed)…leaving 96 that are playable.  I have played 85 of these 96 and have 11 to go:

            England—6

            France—2

            Belgium—1

            Canada—1

            USA (FL)—1

United States Open Championship Host Venues:  A total of 54 courses have hosted (or are scheduled to host) a US Open through 2023.  I have played 52 including the following that no longer exist as golf courses:

            1. Englewood CC (NJ)--I played in about 1961

            2. Baltimore CC-Roland Park (MD)—played remaining 4 holes in 2013, and have played the Club’s newer course twice

            3. Fresh Meadow CC—I grew up about 2-3 miles from its US Open course which closed about 1945; during my sophomore year in high school I dated a girl who lived in the housing development that occupies this land, and in 2015, played the Club’s current course….and these have been deemed to constitute “playing the venue”.

I have not played two host venues:

            Brae Burn CC (MA)

            Skokie CC (IL)

Summary to do:  Total of 26 to go.

Planning/hoping to play:         February 2016...Australia/NZ—6

                                                May 2016…England—6

                                                May 2016…France/Belgium/Italy—5

            Undefined 2016 dates…USA—3

                                                Undefined 2016 dates…Canada—3

                                                Undefined 2016 dates…Mexico—1

                                                Undefined 2016 dates…Barbados—1

Need a plan:                            Australia—1 (Ellerston, NSW)

Courses Played to Date

To date in total have now played 813 golf courses in 44 countries (including the USA and counting N Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England as separate countries).  If I complete all of the above, Barbados will bring me to 45 countries.  Of the 813 courses, 588 are (or were) in the USA and 230 in the other 44 countries.  

Total states played are 42, and I am missing AK, IA, LA, ME, MS, ND, SD, and UT (having never set foot in AK, MS, ND, and SD). 

A list of USA states and other countries where I have played the most courses are (numbers in parentheses indicate total projected if I play the above 26 to complete these three bucket lists) follows.  Note that GB&I totals 79 (86), far surpassing any other world “region”.

Scotland                      30 (30)

England                       29 (35)

Ireland                         17 (17)

Canada                        16 (19)

Australia                     13 (19)

Florida                         69 (70)

New York                    61 (61)

North Carolina            44 (44)

Massachusetts             42 (43)

California                    42 (42)

South Carolina            31 (31)

Pennsylvania               27 (27)

Ohio                            25 (25)

Georgia                       22 (22)

New Jersey                 22 (22)