Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Glistening lakes, spongy grass, honking geese and fresh, crisp air seems almost otherworldly after living in Bahrain for so long, yet for a fleeting morning, it was the reality for golfers playing in the 21st Annual American Mission Hospital Island Classic Charity Golf Tournament.
The GulfWeekly team, comprising Editor Stan Szecowka and myself, plus two friends, David Axtell and Robert Timmers, played around His Majesty King Hamad’s private golf course at his palace in Saffriya on Friday morning.
The other three were seasoned veterans of this course, but for me, it was my first experience and it blew my mind. It felt like I was in another country … and I’m pretty sure that’s where a few of my early drives ended up having not played for a while.
The annual tournament is one of the main events on the kingdom’s golfing calendar, and it took place over three days with different flights based on handicap and ability.
If there was any doubt that this was an extra-special occasion, the fact that I set my alarm and successfully got up at 6am was testament to that. I even arrived early, a legendary event that hasn’t happened since the days of black-and-white television!
After a short breakfast and a going-over of the rules, we matched off to our tee box with optimism pumping through our veins.
The format was Florida Scramble, where each player drives and then the best of the four is selected. Then, whoever took that first shot sits out whilst the other three play from that point where the process is repeated. When the ball finally hits the green, all four players can putt.
It’s an interesting twist, both a speedier way of playing and one that emphasises the ‘team’ aspect of the sport, with players being able to bail others out if they hit a poor shot.
In fact, Stan and I might have to chip in to buy Robert and David a massage because their backs must be cripplingly sore from carrying us through the entire round!
Joking aside, things started fairly poorly for the team. A number of my shots bobbled along the ground and were mysteriously magnetised to the course’s lakes, whilst Stan faced the ultimate golfing ignominy of failing to reach the ladies’ tee with two of his drives.
Thankfully, we had David and Robert – both keen golfers who have held memberships at the kingdom’s premier private course in recent years – to dig us out of the sand (often, quite literally) as their irons singed and they found fairways and greens with consummate ease.
Sadly, once we got to the greens, our putting let us down for a while. The course had been watered in the morning and so the ball was rolling fast across the surface, but as the sun rose in the sky it dried out very quickly and the pace slowed. It was also hard to get a read on the undulations of the green, with the ball refusing to roll in the direction it should.
As we moved on to the ‘back nine’ (basically, our second round through the nine-hole course), Stan and I improved considerably. Stan was finally finding the sweet spot with his driver and my putter was warming up, holing a couple from an impressive distance.
Still, for all our trying, we failed to land a single birdie on our round, with one rotation of the golf ball denying us on a couple of occasions as putts fell just short. Still, we nailed a fair few pars and finished with a respectable score of 67 nett.
Our smiles turned to frowns as the other scores rolled in, but at least Stan raised a few laughs with the age-old joke of ‘the highest score wins in golf, right?’
That wasn’t to say our team left empty-handed. In fact, David took home two accolades, both for Closest to the Pin on the par-3 second hole, and for Most Accurate Drive on the eighth, during our session.
Ultimately, on an occasion like this, everyone is a winner. Funds raised go to the work carried out by the not-for-profit AMH and its good works in the community, and the players get to an experience a slice of beauty at one of the most exclusive of locations. Hole-in-ones all round!
OVERALL RESULTS FOR THE THREE DAYS
The Championship Flight was won by Al Hawaj 1, this team being the one with the lowest score over the three days for all teams with a handicap average of less than 6.0.
In overall second place was DHL 2 and in third place overall was Bahrain Confidential.
The Premier Flight was won by AMH Riffa 1, this team being the one with the lowest score over the three days for all teams with a handicap average of 6.0 or more.
In overall second place was Royal Golf Club 2 and in overall third place was E.K. Kanoo 2
Overall side contest winners:
Closest to the pin (Hole 2): Andy Love (DHL3)
Most accurate drive (Hole 8): Graham McKenzie (E.K. Kanoo 1)
Longest putt (Hole 4): Waleed Al Manaseer (AMH Riffa 2)
