It is flaming July in the UK, but if you did not don thermal underwear and bring a ski jacket, you have made a schoolboy error.
This is the height of summer, at one of the jewels in the crown of British sport, and there is driving rain coming in from the side.
That is if you have managed to make it to the course at all.
At its height, the traffic on the lone dual-carriageway that leads to Royal St George's is being lapped by snails.
One spectator making the 100 or so mile trip from St Albans on the other side of London says it has taken him eight hours to get from his front door to the course in Sandwich, Kent.
Then there is the cost. The cheapest ground admission ticket is £60 (Dh350). Add to that the outlay for the park and ride (£5), the official Open Championship programme (£7), and the £7.80 for fish and chips in the Food Village.
Yet the galleries are massive.
Around 180,000 spectators took in this summer's British Open, bringing in, according to one independent analyst, £77 million of benefit to the county of Kent.
Now contrast the British Open experience with that of the opening day at "Golf's Ultimate Finale" yesterday.
The Dubai World Championship's sole reason for being is to bring together the top 60 players on the European Tour.
It is fair to say, then, given that all the best players in the world are still plying their trade in Europe, there is a little bit of stardust knocking about the Earth Course this weekend.
Admission is free to see them, yet the galleries remain light and airy. There is no need to bring a periscope with you to watch golf here. Just take a step to the left or right and you will have a perfectly unimpaired view.
When the world's best player, Luke Donald, and arguably its most talented, Rory McIlroy, played their approach shots to the 18th green yesterday, the grandstand was maybe two-thirds full.
OK, so it was the last day of the working week.
There is no straight route to get to the Earth course, and navigating the Greens Community roundabout is slightly inconvenient. But there is no way Jumeirah Golf Estates is as geographical remote as Sandwich.
Three years into its lifespan, it still feels like this tournament is a blissful little secret, reserved for a lucky few.
Given the quality of sport on show, why are the greens not lined with crowds of spectators five deep? Are UAE sports fans just spoilt?
A dearth of spectators is, of course, not unique to golf. Football is said to be the most popular sport in this country, yet top matches in the professional league are routinely played in front of half-empty stadiums.
The most progressive clubs, those who want to turn a profit one day, have worked out it is their job to make the live experience better than sitting at home watching on the television.
Al Jazira, the nation's leading football club, went some way to answering the problem last year, as their gates swelled at the promise of the chance to win Dh1 million or a Ferrari. Success was marked, but brief.
At the DWC, they offer complimentary golf lessons, temporary versions of Dubai's most popular restaurants on selected holes, and have a band playing live music after the play has finished. They even provide beanbags to loaf on next to some of the greens. UAE sport has been searching vainly for a solution to the TV-is-easier-and-better conundrum.
They may have found a kernel of an answer at the Earth Course this week.
The organisers of the tournament are trying out technology which allows spectators with iPods and iPhones to tune in to the live television broadcast of the event.
If all goes according to plan, an app should be available in 12 month's time which allows anyone inside the course to access the live feed.
Perhaps that is the answer. Next year they should ditch the Greatest Show on Earth slogan, and go for: Come to the golf - it's just like watching the television.
Maybe that will pack them in.
pradley@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
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UAE Tour 2020
Stage 1: The Pointe Palm Jumeirah - Dubai Silicon Oasis, 148km
Stage 2: Hatta - Hatta Dam, 168km
Stage 3: Al Qudra Cycle Track - Jebel Hafeet, 184km
Stage 4: Zabeel Park - Dubai City Walk, 173km
Stage 5: Al Ain - Jebel Hafeet, 162km
Stage 6: Al Ruwais - Al Mirfa, 158km
Stage 7: Al Maryah Island - Abu Dhabi Breakwater, 127km
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
