Tour Report - Abu Dhabi, January 2024
Twenty people signed up for this trip and how pleased we were to land at Abu Dhabi National in an evening temperature of 26 degrees – especially after the cold wet and windy January we had left behind.
What used to be the Abu Dhabi Westin Hotel, is now the VOGO, due to a change of management in early January. It is a palatial luxury hotel with a spa, two heated outdoor pools, 4 restaurants on site and just a few steps away, the iconic Falcon clubhouse with the option of eating inside or on the large terrace, This also had the advantage of Happy Hour from 5 – 8pm! Despite a few concerns about the local laws on alcohol, there was definitely no shortage, however, it was not cheap!
We had two free days on this trip and some people took the opportunity to visit the Mosque (left) and the Louvre, others took a bus tour around the city. Doug and Kim hired a car and drove to Dubai. (See photo’s below). The rest of us chose to take advantage of the sun and chilled around the pool.
Enough of food and drink and relaxation– yes, we were there to play golf! The courses were fabulous, our golf not quite so much! Day one on the Abu Dhabi National, an inland course with plenty of water to challenge us.
The winning team was:Terry Jones, Ian McMeeking, Jayne Mott and Denise Stone.
Round two at Saadiyat Beach, a beautiful links leading down to the sea, and impressive clubhouse. Wildlife roamed the course and the lovely gazelles didn’t seem to mind our presence.
The winners were John Barrett, Robin Moser, Kim Sparks and Jayne Mott.
Round three at Yas Links was another hot and sunny round, with yet more water to negotiate. The winners were:
Richard Wadkin, Ian McMeeking, Kim Sparks, and Sally Barrett.
Our final round was back on our home course, the Abu Dhabi National, and unfortunately we had rain for the first few holes.
We played this in teams of four, made up of couples. This could have been a recipe for disaster, but luckily no incidents were reported.
The winners were: Terry Jones, Vanessa Adams, Barrie Luscombe and Denise Stone.
On our last night the weather was fine so we gathered on the terrace under the Falcon for Happy Hour and a “prize giving”. Miraculously everybody won a prize.
David Evans kindly offered to run a “Marathon” prize alongside the team competitions. Using the team results, he somehow came up with the top four players of the week, based on either their incredible talent, or their incredible luck in playing with good team mates! Clearly the latter – and the Marathon winners in Miss World order were:
4th Denise Stone, 3rd Jayne Mott, 2nd Terry Jones and Champion Kim Sparks. Congratulations to all prizewinners!
We then adjourned to the Buffet where we had our final dinner.
Then we adjourned to the Bar! Of course.
A huge thank you to everyone who came on the tour – what a great group you were! Our seasoned tourers welcomed our four first timers, John and Sally Barrett, Doug Carrington and Kim Sparks and everyone mixed in.
Many thanks for making my life easy and we look forward to seeing you all soon.
Linda and Robert.