January 2010
A review of the Fire course by Bob Knott, Senior Development Manager - Golf Courses, following his first playing of Fire
Dawn was just breaking when I glanced out of my apartment window over the myriad of boats berthed in the marina on my way to shower, shave and prepare for golf.
Even after well over four decades, the excitement of an upcoming golf match remains part of my life and although nowadays the performance is less assured, the anticipation of making a few birdies, not too many bogeys and shooting a good score makes getting out of bed after a very late night celebrating a friends birthday, so much easier than heading off to the office.
And today’s golf was to be something special. My first playing of Jumeirah Golf Estates “Fire” Golf Course since it’s recent opening and although I had played all but one hole individually during the construction and then mostly prior to grassing, today was about building a score over eighteen holes and the inevitably consequences of being penalized for wayward shots, when up to this point I had played numerous approach shots to a specific green and many drives from individual tees, but with nothing at stake.
Having consumed orange juice, the mandatory two boiled eggs and a cup of coffee, I set off to complete the thirty minute drive to the club feeling like a schoolboy about to get his first bicycle.
Wayne Johnson, the Director of Instruction at Jumeirah Golf Estates, was my playing partner and opponent, and having been the recipient of some lessons from Wayne in recent weeks, I was determined to show him the tuition had not been in vain. I had the swing thoughts, I had been putting very well for a few weeks, but would I have the ammunition to “Fight Fire with Fire”
The Fire and Earth practice range and the exquisite short game academy area should be enough to inspire any golfer on such a morning, so typical of many special mornings Dubai has throughout the winter and after forty minutes warming up, the golfing spirits were high and I was ready to go.
I had negotiated to receive shots from Wayne the previous day, we settled eventually on two, but on the short cart ride to the first tee I insisted we play from the 7,062 yards Tournament Tees. Good thinking on my part since the Fire Course off the Championship Tees is 7,480 yards and I did not want to spend the round wearing out my fairway woods and rescue clubs!
From the moment we started constructing the Greg Norman designed Fire Golf Course I fell in love with it. Superlatives can easily trip off the tongue when describing golfing landscapes of this magnitude, but the Fire course does have everything. The course is visually stunning, has great definition and movement that pleases the eye, perfect elevation changes, superb green complexes and outstanding informally designed bunkering. The whole golfing experience is enhanced by the colour and textures of the rich green playing surface, set against the “Fire” grass planted to the outer bunker perimeters and peripheral landscaping and of course the red sand in the bunkers.
In the autumn the Bermuda grassed fairways were over seeded with Perennial Rye grass and standing on the first tee in bright sunshine, it was hard to contemplate we were in the desert looking over a swathe of rich green carpet stretching out in front of us in the middle of a Northern Hemisphere winter.
The golf was pretty good too! I only dropped one shot in the first six holes, a three putt at the difficult downhill 222 yard Par 3 second hole, albeit after missing the greens on the 3rd and 4th but saving par with single putts after two good chips inside eight feet and was two up. Wayne hit back around the turn making three birdies in four holes. A great five iron to within three yards back into the wind at the 9th was quickly followed with two more birdies at the 11th and 12th. The Par 3’s on the Fire course are particularly good, requiring power and accuracy and the rescue club Wayne hit to the 228 yard 11th must have taken him back to the days when he played more regularly rather than spending most of his time in administration and coaching. Wayne, all smiles now and a three wood tee shot to the 368 yard uphill Par 4 12th was followed by a sand wedge to three feet for the third birdie.
I had blocked a couple of shots, resulting in bogeys at nine and ten, but did birdie the superbly bunkered downhill Par 5 13th Hole. Wayne and I both made par on the 179 yard 14th hole played out over the lake and then having bunkered my approach to fifteen and failing to get up and down, I was suddenly two down with three to go.
“Saved by the bell”! As we headed to the next tee Wayne received a phone call, his first lesson was arriving soon. An honourable half was offered, which I readily accepted. We skipped holes sixteen and seventeen to ensure we had time to play the last. The closing hole on the Fire Course is a 525 yard Par 5, 554 yards off the Championship Tee, played back towards the Norman Clubhouse. A true risk and reward hole, the perfect tee shot carries over a large bunker on the left hand side onto a down slope, gaining an additional thirty yards of run and an opportunity to get home in two. For all but the best players a three shot strategy is the sensible play, but in any event, missing the elevated green will result in the ball being gathered up into the deep swales.
Although the Fire Course has not received the same exposure to date as the Dubai World Championship Earth Course, the Fire course is a simply stunning course. The golf course is a real gem and I think anyone having the opportunity to play, will be rating it up with the best golfing facilities anywhere. I think that in areas it requires more strategy from the tee than the Earth course, certainly from the Championship Tees and although shorter in overall length than Earth, would be more than an equal venue for the Dubai World Championship at some time in the future.