ABU DHABI // To the purists, stepping on to the first tee at Al Ghazal comes as something of a shock. In front of your concrete platform lies 362 yards of sand, some of it treated, the rest left in its natural state, culminating in the slightly raised platform of a "brown" in the distance.
Browns are Al Ghazal's answer to greens and the fairways are the areas of treated sand on which buggies are allowed to travel. The carts are prohibited from the "rough" areas of sand in another curious diversion from golf as most people know it.
But if Colin Montgomerie, the moody Scottish professional who is renowned for his surliness on the course, can be converted to sand golf, then so can anyone.
Angela Scurr, the manager of the club which has been operating for more than 10 years in the shadow of Abu Dhabi airport, certainly gives a powerful sales pitch and is clearly proud of the unusual product she and her colleagues offer to members and visitors.
She used the example of Montgomerie and his fellow European Tour professionals who played in competitions at Al Ghazal during their build-ups to the 2004 and 2005 Dubai Desert Classics. "I remember looking at Montgomerie's frown as he stood on the first tee perhaps thinking 'what on earth am I doing here?' but he came back later with a big grin on his face telling everybody how much he enjoyed it," she said.
"People who have never played here before are shocked because they can't believe what a good course it is. It has quite a bit of difficulty on it. We have got some really interesting holes. I would say hand on heart that there are no boring holes.
"It is as close as you can get to traditional golf on greens. Most of the browns have aprons in front."
The browns are a mixture of sand and oil and can be made hard or soft so that your ball bounces at different levels and they have to be brushed extensively every time a group of players have putted out.
Scurr, who plays off a handicap of four and has won numerous tournaments during her time in the Gulf region - she refers to herself as a big fish in a small pool - feels comfortable on either sand or grass.
"Once you get used to playing on sand it becomes second nature," she said, determined to dispel my obvious doubts. "It takes a while to get used to because more often than not at the start you hit the mat further than the ball."
The "mat" is the piece of astroturf players are given to improve their lies for fairway shots.
wjohnson@thenational.ae
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years-of-age
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his/her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30-years-old and able to support the child financially
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now