|
 |
 |
A special project I am very proud of |
|
| |
|
Colin Montgomerie passionate about his personal achievement
Over the years I have become very fond of the Middle East. Dubai was where it all started for me out here. I first played in the Desert Classic in the inaugural tournament in 1989 and I won the event in 1996, the same year I won the Irish Open and the European Masters. Those three victories helped me to my fourth successive Harry Vardon Trophy for winning the Order of Merit on The European Tour and I went on to make it seven in a row. I added an eight in 2005. I have been a regular visit to the UAE ever since and am proud to be a Golf in Dubai ambassador.
Now Bahrain has become another Middle East destination that I am personally passionate about. The Montgomerie at The Royal Golf Club, RIffa Views, is very personal to me. I have had the good fortune to spend a great deal of my time outside my playing schedule here in Bahrain which I've dedicated to this project.
If something is carrying your name, you personally ensure that you give it your full attention, believe me. You want it to be something special, not just for yourself but for all golfers who give up their time to play your creation - and, hopefully it leaves them with a long lasting impression. I hope I have achieved that here in Bahrain with The Royal Golf Club, RIffa Views.
Bahrain is not only a very beautiful and unspoilt Kingdom, but it also has a climate that allows golfers to play in warm, sunny conditions all year round. Furthermore, the region is booming, with many more people taking holidays here. It's got great restaurants and hotels and it has plenty of things for families to do.
Being the Kingdom's first major golfing development I was honored to be invited to play a part in this project. I have had the pleasure of being involved with many design projects in the past, all with different challenges. The Royal Golf Club course is only the fourth of my signature courses, making it very special indeed.
Bahrain's arid landscape allowed me to draw upon many of my past experiences in course design, including The Montgomerie, Dubai, a course I am also very proud of. With all my design work I can use the knowledge built up over the many pleasurable years I have enjoyed and still do on The European Tour, playing some of the most renowned course in the world, including many desert layouts.
My design beliefs, I feel, have grown with me throughout my career and I like to think they are not only an extension of me but also at the very edge of the latest design concepts and cutting edge technology.
Going back to my very early years, my father was the secretary at Royal Troon Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland, one of the most famous golf clubs in the world and host to so many Open Championships. I had the privilege, as with most Scottish links courses, of playing largely un-tampered surroundings you could see how the land's natural contours had been worked with and utilized to their full potential.
This is a landscape I adore and feel comfortable with. The Scottish style of deep bunkering is a mark I always like to carry with me in my design work. As I grew with the game to my collegiate years, I studied at Houston Baptist University in the United States. This was a complete change to what I had become accustomed to. The American-style manicured courses were totally different to what I'd grown up with.
The seventh hole at The Royal Golf Club has a hint of the 12th at Augusta National here the green angles to the line of play and with water coming into play at the front of the green. I like to think that all of these experiences have led me to where I am now and given me an infinite range to my personal spectrum in design. I like to think I have put my personal stamp on the course, making it a truly Colin Montgomerie Course.
At Riffa Views the whole entity is based around lifestyle living and so, of course, is the real estates It's always a fine balance between the villas and the golf course but it's a balance that we must get right. We have achieved great views of the course from the property yet we've kept the villas far enough back from the line of play to keep the residents safe and to ensure they don't encroach on to the course.
As a course designer I have learned how to work within these parameters and utilize the existing features. The hazards are hazards and are meant to be a challenge. Water and streams should come into play. It's important that golf should be challenging, and the golfer, whatever their standards, should have to work for every shot in his round.
Paramount to my belief is that golf should always be enjoyable. It doesn't matter if it's your leisure time or business, you should leave a course feeling challenged yet satisfied. It should be somewhere that eagerly encourages you to come back - a total golf experience. Here we have six tees on each hole at different angles on par 3s and different length on par 4s that help create something for every level of player.
With the Royal Golf Club, RIffa Views, I have created a design unique to the region as it is styled as a classic inland links golf course. This premier venue, I'm happy to say, will also challenge some of the world's leading players and host major international events. It will also provide a world-class and recognized course for players of all abilities.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
