The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Bunkers and birdies in the desert kingdom
Adam Ruck reveals why Oman makes the perfect winter golf destination as he tackles the country’s thrilling flagship course – designed by Greg Norman
On a regulation winter’s day in Muscat – cloudless, 30C, light onshore breeze – a golfer I can’t identify plays his approach to the 18th green at Almouj, Oman’s Greg Norman-designed flagship course near the airport. The swing looks good, but body language tells a different story and a puff of sand in the distance confirms it. Bad luck, whoever you are; still, better to miss on that side than the other, where the Gulf of Oman licks the boulders of the sea wall a few yards from the flag. I make a note to adjust my sights when my turn comes to do battle with Greg.
Five minutes later, the same golfer jumps down into the bunker, flicks his ball out, bangs the sand off his shoes and holes from seven feet for par. Understated fist pump; polite applause from the gallery. Several minutes pass before I work out that I have just seen Ricardo Gouveia, of Portugal, pull off an impressive double: a one-stroke win on the day, and the potentially life-changing breakthrough of overall victory on the Road to Oman.
This may sound like a Bob Hope film but is, in fact, a serious part of golf ’s professional treadmill, modelled shamelessly on the Race to Dubai, whereby the European Tour reached its annual climax last weekend not far from here. In this version, played out over 25 tournaments in 20 countries on four continents, professionals who are not quite good enough for the top tier compete for promotion.
Oman’s willingness to play second fiddle to Dubai in this copycat way fits in with its low profile, and a natural modesty which is part of the charm of the country and its gracious inhabitants. Muscat straggles for more than 20 miles along the shore, with no swanky hotel towers to overshadow the Opera House, Grand Mosque and other public buildings erected by Sultan Qaboos in his munificence.