National Course Hazards toughened up for 2011 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf

The National Course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club has been upgraded to create a more challenging test for the world’s top golfers when they tee off in January’s 2011 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

The course, a five-time host of the PGA European Tour’s Desert Swing curtain-raiser, has been modified and tweaked in advance of the sixth edition of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, which takes place from January 20-23.

At the forefront of the course upgrades are five new bunkers on holes 2, 5, 6, 13 and 17, all designed and implemented via the combined expertise of Troon Golf, the operator of Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Rob Shuttle, Senior Development Manager, Tourism Development & Investment Company, the master developer of major tourism destinations in Abu Dhabi, and MultiGolf, a company behind the sophisticated and unique bunkering at the Gary Player-designed course at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.

The finished sand hazards are, in typical National Course fashion, both subtle and effective, with many bunkers pushed up closer to the greens. As opposed to simply deepening the traps, defined lips and steeper faces have been introduced to provide a strategic challenge for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship field, which currently boasts six of the world’s top 10 players and all four Major winners from the 2010 season – the first time this has ever taken place outside the United States.

“I think the players will enjoy the challenge of analysing the course changes and adapting their games,” said Faisal Al Sheikh, Events Manager for Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), the championship organiser. “I am confident The National Course will once again provide a stern test for the field and offer the millions of television viewers tuning in around the world a fitting spectacle for what has become a flagship showpiece in Abu Dhabi’s ever-evolving sporting calendar.”

Spectators are already in for a treat at the 2011 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, as current world number one, Lee Westwood, headlines a stellar field that also includes, Phil Mickelson, the reigning U.S Masters champion, Graeme McDowell, the U.S. Open champion, Louis Oosthuizen, the Open Championship winner and Martin Kaymer, the US PGA champion and two-time Abu Dhabi winner.

Meanwhile, Paul Casey returns to the emirate looking to seal a hat-trick of National Course titles, while fellow Englishman, Ian Poulter, is aiming to go one better after a second-place finish in 2010. Ulster sensation, Rory McIlroy, and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, a three-time Major winner, are other Falcon trophy contenders.

With the course changes implemented to keep the professionals on their toes, Abu Dhabi Golf Club and National Course regulars will not find the adjustments too daunting from their regular tee-boxes.
“We didn’t want to make the National a more difficult course for our club golfers because it was already a great test,” said Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s Andrew Whittaker, the course superintendent. “Our objective was to modernise the look and feel of the course and the new bunkers will certainly make the players think long and hard about their club selection.”

“We wanted to give the bunkers the impression of depth, so we’ve flushed the faces up rather than deepening the traps themselves. The result is a more visually stimulating experience for players and spectators.”

Earlier this year, the Championship unveiled its new title sponsor, HSBC, the world’s local bank, and announced an increased prize fund of US$2.7 million – US$500,000 up on 2010 – to make it the richest event on the European Tour’s Desert Swing.

The Championship is on course to attract its biggest ever spectator turnout in 2011. To accommodate this, ADTA has arranged for a substantially expanded Championship Village with more attractions, restaurants, cafes and competitions than ever before.

At a global level, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship consolidates Abu Dhabi’s mounting credentials as a golfing and leisure destination of distinction by taking the emirate’s name across the world to golfers booking stay-and-play holidays through the increasing number of international and local tour operators who are packaging the sport in the UAE capital. The emirate’s golfing facilities have expanded significantly over the past year with Abu Dhabi now boasting three world-class, championship-ready facilities.

Image 1: The Abu Dhabi Golf Club National Course.