The Abu Dhabi Golf Course made more difficult for the HSBC golf Championship
The 2011 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship will take place at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club from January 20th till January 23rd. Part of the European Tour, this championship is a highly awaited tournament of the season. With the tournament
not far away, the course of the championship has been altered to a higher difficulty level. The National Course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club was upgraded to establish a more challenging course for the top golfers who will be competing in the tournament.
The National golf course has hosted the PGA European Tour Desert swing curtain-raiser five times now. Now for the sixth edition of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, special changes have been made to make this event even more intense than it already is.
Basically, the upgrade consists of the addition of new bunkers on the 2nd, 5th, 6th, 13th and 17th hole. The changes have been made courtesy of the Troon Golf, the operator of Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Rob
Shuttle, and Multigolf. Multigolf is also the company linked with the state of the art bunkering at the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club which is a Gary Player design. Shuttle is a development manager of the Tourism Development and Investment Company which is the
master developer of major tourism destinations in Abu Dhabi.
The sand hazards that were added to the course were typical of the National Course Fashion. Meaning they are not that noticeable yet they make golfing on it less easy. This was quite impressive since usually the upgrading of a course means defining tips,
making the faces steeper or deepening the traps. But all the players need to be especially careful since there has been strategic planning in order to make the tournament harder for them. This time six of the world top 10 players and all the four major winners
from 2010 will play in the championship. This is the first time such a world class field has been assembled outside the United States.
All the golf fans are in for a treat this year. Players such as world number one Lee Westwood would be teeing off against stars such as the defending U.S Masters champion Phil Mickelson, and USPGA winner and two-time Abu Dhabi Champion, Martin Kaymer.
“I think the players will enjoy the challenge of analysing the course changes and adapting their games,” said Faisal Al Sheikh, who is the championship organiser.
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