A sold-out field of 104 golfers gathered at the stunning Al Hamra Golf Club last month to contest the inaugural Worldwide Golf Society Showdown and after a day of fun, frolics and a smattering of good golf, it was the Shank Addicts team of Ajay Shah, Avani Shah, Sudir Vohra and Salim Sheikh who took home the trophy with an impressive 95 Stableford points.
“The Worldwide Golf Society Showdown held at the fantastic Al Hamra course was a memorable event for the Shank Addicts Golf Society of Dubai,” said Vohra who played on one of several teams brought up to Ras Al Khaimah from Dubai by captain Joseph Andrade who showed tremendous support for the event. “I wish to thank Rick Bevan of Worldwide Golf and Craeg Deery of Al Hamra Golf Club for organising an unbelievable weekend that had all major UAE golfing societies fielding their top teams. The event finished with a fabulous evening of music and entertainment and I’m sure all the golfers had a wonderful time at Al Hamra.”
While there was undeniably a lot of questionable golf on display, fuelled in no small part by the complimentary on-course refreshments supplied by MyGolf Dubai, the podium teams all somehow managed to produce the goods and the Abu Dhabi Golf Society team of Patrick O’Neil, Alan Cocker, Mark Collinson and Paul Cochlin came home a very close second on 94 points.
“A huge thank you to the team at Worldwide Golf for the recent event at the Al Hamra Golf Club,” said O’Neil. “Everything from the wonderful hotel stay to the organisation of the golf day itself was top notch and the members of ADGS are already looking forward to the next one!”
Some fabulous prizes were laid on by Official Hotel Partner Hilton, with the winning team receiving vouchers for a one-night stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton on Marjan Island and unlimited weekend golf at Al Hamra, while the runners-up received a one-night stay at the newly opened Hampton by Hilton Marjan Island. The third placed team of Anthony Louis, Kunal Sethi, Kirtan Desai and Vikram, Malhotra (90 points), also representing Shank Addicts, received a voucher for the Islanders Brunch at DoubleTree by Hilton.
MyGolf Dubai presented all players with a goody bag packed with items such a Tour sized golf towel and a free 1-hour session at the soon-to-open indoor golf simulator facility in Dubai. They also sponsored a Nearest the pin competition on the 11th with a free golf lesson going to Steve Ramsden of the Smokin’ Tees. More on-course prizes were provided by Hilton with Reena Sethi of Shank Addicts winning an Islanders Brunch for four for Nearest the Pin on hole 4 and Clive Parsons of Like Big Putts smashing the Longest Drive on hole 18 and Beach and Pool access with lunch for four at the DoubleTree by Hilton.
Societies and teams from around the UAE threw their support behind this first edition of the Worldwide Golf Society Showdown with Eagles Sports & Social Club, Emirates Gentlemans’ Golf Society, Jebel Ali Golf Society (JAGS), Sport2Business and the Al Puza Golf Society all out in force while the only all-female team was fielded by the hugely popular Desert Rose Golfing Society. Up and coming society The Dingers gave the more established teams a run for their money and definitely supplied more than their fair share of laughs while standalone teams such as the KPL All Stars, Par Tee and The Bogeymen all enjoyed the day’s entertainment – some more than others!
After play, it was back to the Bay Sports Bar for more refreshments provided by Al Hamra and then onto the luxurious comforts of the DoubleTree by Hilton to sleep off what had been an intensely enjoyable and memorable day.
