Growing the game

Leading the charge to diversify golf in Qatar is Education City Golf Club. Spanning 4.5sq miles, the complex features a José María Olazábal-designed 18-hole championship golf course that’s hosted the most recent two Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. Its first few walls lead up to an ancient wadi (riverbed) wall; there’s also a six-hole introduction course, a floodlit nine-hole, par-three course, a driving range featuring Power Tee and TrackMan technology and — the icing on the cake — the Centre of Excellence.

This state-of-the-art training centre is “unlike anything I have ever seen”, said Education City Golf Club’s general manager, Michael Braidwood, who’s worked in the golf industry for 30 years.

Braidwood continued: “The centre offers five high-tech golf tuition studios, an indoor putting lab, a gym and a private tuition area for Muslim ladies who can learn and practice golf in privacy, meaning they don’t need to wear their abaya.”

Women are certainly at the forefront of Education City’s effort to grow golf in Qatar. “Our ladies’ section is very active, with ladies’ golfing mornings, Get Into Golf courses (a four-week programme with weekly one-hour lessons to introduce women to golf in a fun way, which costs QR740) and private lessons with our female pro, Rachel, specifically targeting Qatari ladies,” said Braidwood.

There are also ongoing efforts to increase children’s participation through a junior golf development programme called 'Play to Par' (QR600 for four weeks), which focuses not only on golf but on the key areas (including mobility, motor skills and coordination) of a child’s cognitive development. “We have well over 250 children — of which half are girls — on our database and run regular junior tournaments,” Braidwood commented.