‘Brown’ Golf Set to Go Green

Golf  is one of the growing sports in Oman. The game has a historical background. Many new visitors to Oman may wonder how this game is actually being played in this country.

Golf usually refers to the lush green fields with serene surroundings and an amicable climate. But it is different in the Sultanate.

It is the well-laid-out browns that attract golfers in this country. The weather is not conducive to prepare the greens, moreover the plan not financially feasible, the browns, however, adds colour to the game.

The browns are designed away from the bustling life of the capital city, towards Seeb International Airport. Initially it was the Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) that chalked out a golf club and then came the Ghallah Wentworth, Oman’s second oldest golf club.

Down south, in Salalah, exists the Flamingo Park, which also boast of well-laid-out browns. The Wudham Naval Golf Club and Al Maha Golf Club are the other two venues were golfing is at its peak during the weekends.  It might need volumes if one has to touch upon the history of golfing in Oman as referred by the existing clubs respectively.

However, a special insight has to be given to Ghallah Wentworth, who shifted venues recently and now are contemplating on preparing the first all-green course for the golf enthusiasts in the Sultanate.

The most aspiring factor was that when the plans for a green course in Oman was revealed through the media, many inquiries poured into the club.  Going green was a dream for the cream of Omani golfers in the Sultanate. And those dreams are gradually turning into reality with the stern efforts taken by His Highness Sayyid Qais bin Tariq Al Said, who himself is an ardent golf lover and a player of repute in the Sultanate.

Having witnessed the development of golf greens in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates and other AGCC countries, Oman was the only country which did not have a world class golf course of their own.

The existing browns of the various clubs in the Sultanate are not to be undermined, but it is anyone’s dream to have a classic course with green fairways and sandy bunkers and, of course, the spectacular lakes adding colour to the entire playing arena.

Sayyid Qais, who is also the president of the Ghallah Wentworth, said then, “It would be the most glorifying moment for the golfers in the Sultanate, who have been slugging it out on the browns for all these years.”

But the question that always lingered in the mind was will it  be possible to maintain the proposed green course? Will it be financially viable to have such a course in this part of the region?

However, still there is a distinct optimism among the golfers at the Ghallah Wentworth Golf Club and more precisely the Omani golfers are thrilled to have a green course for themselves.

Golf is one sport, in the Sultanate, which has seen a drastic development in recent times and the most heartening factor is the response from the Omanis, who have started dominating the sport of late.

The proposed green course is to be laid on an approximately 80 hectare area situated behind the Seeb Novotel Hotel, which has been allotted for the purpose and approved by the Ministries of Housing and Commerce and Industry.

A team of experts from England who visited the area had presented a sketchy plan after studying the topography of the available land.  The experts — Paul Thomas of Dave Thomas Ltd (Golf Course Design Consultants) and professional  golfer Bill Longmuir — appeared to be thrilled of designing a course, which would be ideal for the Sultanate and most importantly, as both of them opined, the course will be laid out without disturbing the natural beauty of the land.

Paul had then said: “The natural landscapes, typical to Muscat — precisely speaking the wadis and the mountains — will be maintained as such.” He  had further stated that they don’t want to turn the place into pine forests here as it would look more artificial than normal, like the ones in Dubai and other places, “however we will try to utilise most of the wadi lines and design the course accordingly.”

Paul’s basic idea was that the playing surfaces naturally will be green with classic fairways, islands and in conjunction the adjoining waste lands will be turned green by planting palms and other trees which grow here in plenty.  Bill Longmuir, who has played in many of the courses, which have come up in the desert regions, also had encouraging words: “Mostly I have found the courses built on deserts are flat, but this one would be really different as the landscape here is spectacular and the upcoming course could be challenging.” Detailing more, Paul Thomas, who is the son of illustrious Dave Thomas, had explained that the course could shape up to the likes of a green oasis in the desert.

Paul picturised the planned course as, “It would  be  a  traditional   18-hole course with a full championship length, with state-of-the-art  clubhouse having forms of a mixed leisure… there would also be some stunning features, like big lakes and places having moving water to add to the feature.

Paul had said that their plan would go well with the existing topography, though some areas — very minimum — will need a bit of earthmoving and engineering to be done.

According to the experts the design will be for a par 72 course, with 4 par 5s and 4 par 3s of a traditional championship length.

The fairways are likely to be of 7,200 yards — 6,300 to 6,600 yards for men’s competition and 5,900 yards for the ladies competition. The wadis will act as hazards, which might be ten in all, and in general the plan fits to the criteria.

But before he departed, Paul said that whole plan was still in a preliminary stage and it would take a few months to create a final structure.

However, Paul was confident that if the project gets going it will only take around 18 to 22 months to complete, though he hinted that the first job to be done will be developing a nursery to grow grass, which in turn will be used for the course.

The experts also had expressed belief that once the course is ready, it would be the most spectacular ever to be created, especially without disturbing the natural landscapes, which has the hills, the wadis and the sea as a backdrop.

And since then golfers in Oman are hoping that their dreams will turn into reality and not remain a dream.

If the neighbouring Dubai is planning to have Tiger Woods in action this season, Muscat too will not be far behind.

Looking back, one may not get a chance to even doubt about the authenticity of the plans to have a green course. For the historical background of Ghallah Wentworth reveals the efforts taken by the club to promote the game year after year.

Turning the pages back, one finds keen interest in getting a closer look with reference to the forming of the Ghallah Wentworth.

The first nine holes of the Ghallah Wentworth Golf Club were laid out near Gallah Army Camp in late 1970 by Lieutenant-Colonel J.M. Cooper, commanding officer of the Sultan’s Armed Forces Training Regiment, Ghallah as an alternative to the golf club of Petroleum Development Oman, at  that time the only golf club in Oman. In December 1970, the first game was organised. The whole membership of 15 (twelve of whom were from the armed services, one from PDO, and two from contractors) competed. About this time His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said graciously consented to become the patron.

By the end of 1972, the membership had grown to 43. During this year the other nine holes were laid by Colonel Cooper and Captain Mate and the club became the first one in the Gulf to have eighteen holes.

The type of golf on this course had, of necessity, to be target golf as no finances were forthcoming to build proper ‘greens’. The subscription, a nominal one, was RO1 per annum, and this was not increased until 1973 when it became RO5 per annum.

All tees, greens, pots, poles, flags, white circles and the clearing of the course were made possible by the help of club members, a few willing soldiers and coolies from SAFTR (who were paid for giving their free time) and assistance from Yahya Costain.

The 19th hole was originally sited on the verandah of the colonel’s house at SAFTR but when numbers swelled, permission was sought, and granted, from the defence department to use the old SAFTR’s officers mess for this purpose.

A great deal of effort on the part of members was put into the alteration and redecoration of part of this building to accommodate the club. When Colonel Cooper left SAFTR in March 1974, the land on which the golf course was situated had been designated a development area. Therefore, after lengthy discussions in committee, it was agreed that the club should move from Ghallah to a new home at Bausher where Yahya Costain were, at that time, building their own recreational centre. The building of the clubhouse was paid for by means of debentures purchased by members. Further capital was raised by the introduction of a joining fee, and subsequent increases in the level of subscriptions.

As the club grew, so it became more solvent and it was possible to extend the clubhouse to its present form.

Initially the course at Bausher, which was soon carved out of the sand dunes, provided nine holes of target golf with the first competition, the Costain Trophy, being played during February 1975.

During the latter half of 1975, the layout of the course was revised and by 1976 ‘browns’ had been laid and target golf became a thing of the past.

In the season 1978-79, additional tee boxes were built to provide a different approach to two of the holes and, during the following season, a further two tees were constructed.

In 1981, the new road leading to Bausher village was laid, making it necessary to reposition a number of the tee boxes and realign the fifth fairway.

Following the move to Bausher, the membership of the club, which is open to all residents in the Sultanate, increased rapidly and it became necessary to draft a constitution which was subsequently accepted by the members and duly published on September 11, 1978. At the same time the club was registered with the Ministry of Information and Youth Affairs.

On December 20, 1979, the club became affiliated to the English Golfing Union and, as a result, it follows their handicap system.

In January 1980, the club’s founder and first president, Colonel John Cooper left the Sultanate and His Highness Sayyid Abbas bin Faisal kindly consented to take over the presidency. Following the death of His Highness Sayyid Abbas in 1982, His Highness Sayyid Thuwaini bin Shihab Al Said became the new president. In the years since the formation of the club, we have entertained teams of golfers from the RAF Queen’s Flight, the Royal Navy (UK) and the Royal Australian, Royal New Zealand and United States Navies. The club hosts the Oman Ladies Open Championship and the Men’s Oman National Championship. Throughout the year, which because of the climatic conditions is divided into a nine-hole season and an 18-hole season, members compete for numerous trophies, which have been generously donated by various companies in the Sultanate.

A close relationship has always been enjoyed with the PDO Golf Club, which is known as the Ras Al Hamra Golf Club, with their members being invited to play in several of the competitions at GWGC.

However, the rivalry between the two clubs is always apparent during the annual match when both clubs compete for the Ras Al Ghallah Trophy.

In 1988, His Highness Sayyid Qais bin Tariq joined the club as a playing member and the following year became its president.

His Highness Sayyid Qais is amongst many Omani playing members in the club, most of whom play off single figure handicaps and often appear among the prize winners. One such member is Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Balushi, a 1 handicap player, who has been the national champions seven times during the past eight years.