In the desert, Dubai has a limitless supply of water thanks to the creek and salinization plants. But, then again, keeping a golf course green can t seem like that big of a task in a land of ample maintenance budgets for golf and everything else. Once after a torrential rain in the mid-1990s flooded the downtown area, the government immediately installed a stormwater management system to prevent it from ever happening again. The desert can be a surprisingly cool place. At night, during the winter months, Dubai can be almost turtle-neck cool, especially when the wind blows.
Daytime golf can require a windshirt.
Although the desert wind is generally just a strong breeze at worst, my drive from Dubai to Abu Dabi, one of the other seven Emirates, indicates otherwise. A strong wind blows sand across the highway, drifting it like snow along the curbs. The wind keeps the desert in constant motion, creating small drifts and ripples in the sand almost like water ripples. Once off the main highway, Ali, who is driving me and two friends to the course, tells us he has to take a longer route to Abu Dabi Golf Club because drifting sand has made the direct route impassable. The National Course at Abu Dabi Golf Club, a 36-hole complex owned by Marriott, is longer and more difficult than the Garden Course, which has nine floodlit holes for night play.