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Dear Stan, TOGETHER with 12 of my friends I experienced for the first time the 'summer paradise' of Bahrain's Lost Paradise of Dilmun Water Park.

It's truly an amazing place, a pride for Bahrain. All of us enjoyed the experience! The different water rides were full of fun and the surrounding is an oasis.

Going inside the park was like being magically transported to a beautiful tropical island. The place is perfect to relax, unwind and 'scream' to help remove stress! Kudos to the management and friendly staff.

Nevertheless, I just would like to comment on the absence of the much publicised free movie in the park. To encourage my friends to join me for the trip, I told everyone about the extended hour and showing a movie from 7-9pm as I read in GulfWeekly. To my dismay, when I approached one of the staff to inquire, I was told that the movie is shown only on Ladies Night. Care to elaborate on this?

Hey, this one comment never dampened our spirit nor discouraged us to go back. In fact, we are planning to go back two weeks from now!

Edz, by email.

Editor's note: As reported in GulfWeekly, film fans will be able to laze around on a sun bed or float on a tube while enjoying a PG 13 family movie on Fridays and Saturdays or a romantic chick flick for the ladies on Thursday night, though Ladies Night is suspended during Ramadan. The showings begin from September 3.

Dear Stan,

It was interesting to read the article in GulfWeekly regarding the development of Golf Tourism in the Middle East and the opinions of Mr Mike Braidwood, general manager of Bahrain's Royal Golf Club.

In Europe and the United States, golf has become much more accessible, but more importantly, more acceptable to the masses, thanks to the growing number of municipality courses offering affordable membership.

The growing involvement of the 'common man' in the sport can be seen every weekend as fans turn out in their thousands to see their heroes swing the club.

Without the proverbial 'grass roots' golfers (pun definitely intended) there would be no fans, no income and hence no Tiger Woods.

Of course, you will always get the odd individual turn up whose head is completely void of any knowledge pertaining to golf at all, they just want to be able tell everyone at work that they were there. But these individuals will not keep the golf industry afloat. They will not keep the likes of Callaway, Taylor Made, and Nike Golf solvent. They will not keep Tiger in the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed.

A few years ago I was part of a large group of fans following Tiger Woods, Thomas Bjorn and Phil Mickelson around a course, when such an individual was heard to say in a very loud voice 'Yes Yes Yes, I know, but which one is Tiger Woods?'

You have to ask the question 'What are you doing here?'

How can Mr Braidwood possibly claim to be growing and developing the game of golf when his membership fees are so prohibitive?

Surely to develop and grow the game in the region you must make it accessible to more than just corporate expatriates, who don't have the time to play, and the wealthiest two per cent of the local population?

To put it in perspective the majority of my Bahraini work colleagues have spent less money on their family transport in the last ten years than it would cost for them to join Mr Braidwood's golf club for a year.

Equally interesting, or should I say infuriating, is his apparrent attitude towards sand golf.

What exactly was Mr Braidwood trying to say when he stated: "When we opened the Riffa Golf Club in 1999, golf was played at an artisan level on sand golf courses."

Sand is the history of golf in the region. Mr Braidwood should be showing his appreciation of sand golf, not making snide comments about it.

The sand course at Awali is the oldest sand course in the region, dating back to long before Mr Braidwood was even a twitch in his daddy's niblick.

Bahrain's National Golf team were the dominant force in the region long before Riffa sewed their first tremendously expensive seeds.

These gentlemen were, and still are, sand golfers, raised on the mat, not the turf.

Unlike the average English cricketer I am rapidly approaching my half century, but I only took up the game of golf seven years ago. I was in Abu Dhabi at the time and my first golf experiences were on the sands of the Al Ghazal Golf Course.

What was pointed out to me at the time, and this also rings true here in Bahrain, was that a certain camaraderie exists amongst sand golfers that cannot be found on grass. While the clubhouses may be smaller and less well equipped, they are at least inhabited and have atmosphere.

The members are real people who talk to each other and have things in common.

There is no snobbery , how can you be a snob when you're playing on sand? It's perfect!

If it wasn't for the sand I would not have taken up the game. Grass was just too expensive to try something that you might not be good at, or may not even enjoy.

I cannot see how this elitist attitude can possibly be good for the sport.

During the current economic instability I would have thought that the likes of the Royal would be trying to attract golfers, not alienate them.

Certain clubs in the Emirates, which consider themselves 'special', openly consider members to be an inconvenience. They don't want people turning up and playing the course for free, just because they are members. They want tourists to play and pay the ridiculous green fees. There's more profit in it.

But they can do this. The Emirates have this crazy phenomenon known as 'tourism'. On some courses it is not possible, as a member, to play golf at the weekend.

Not quite the same here though, is it?

There's not enough passing trade at the Royal to fill a golf buggy. A very small golf buggy.

I was recently in the Royal Clubhouse with a friend. After changing our order a number of times we apologised to the waitress for messing her around. She was extremely polite, smiled and said 'No, problem sir - it's nice to have someone to talk to'.

The Royal may have grand intentions with talk of PGA events and challenge matches but survival will ultimately come down to support from the local golfing population, who, if talk in our ever crowded clubhouse is anything to go by, are currently not impressed.

Grass is fine I suppose, but it's not REAL golf.

Archie Brand

On the mat.