Finally….. My First Golf Trophy!

            Finally while playing my third golf tournament at Dirab Golf and Country Club since working in the Kingdom, I won the trophy for Ladies Longest Drive!   My golf drive stopped shy of 150 yards! I have been trying to achieve this feat since I began playing the game in 2011! Today, was definitely a thrill of victory!

I have to thank my first golf instruction, Ivan from Korea who through an interpreter told me he did not care if I can hit the ball or not. He said my form is more important and basically that is what we worked on for 10 weeks. Also, many thanks go out to my friend and co-worker, Jay who through repetitive instruction and time spent at the driving range reinforced Ivan’s teachings. I was always told while learning to putt, “if you tap the ball too hard or too soft, the ball will never make it to hole”….thanks Tony!

There are several golf courses in the area. Dirab Golf and Country Club (+966-011-812- 6671 and +966-53-500-1896) is about an hour west of Riyadh. The place is absolutely beautiful, surrounded by mountains in a distance and from the sun’s reflection; they appeared to be just like the sand,…red clay in color! There are eucalyptus trees that really set the tone of the grounds for this course; tranquil and green, really! Dirab one of the two grassed 18 hole courses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, nestled in picturesque Tawfiq valley. The course offers a driving range and putting greens. Nine of the eighteen holes is floodlit for night time golfing. The club also offers tennis, swimming and horse-back riding activities as well.

Another 18 hole course is Riyadh Greens, considered the “Pearl in the Desert”  (+966-55-739-9900 and +966-54-069-5527). It is a large course like Dirab; 18 grassed holes of golf, but also have state of the art facilities. The grounds are beautiful with a huge spectacular clubhouse.

             Arizona Golf Resort (+966-011-248-4444), which opened in 1994 and is located on a compound enclosed within a high perimeter fence. It is a 9 holes course and it is not unusual to see gazelle and deer watching you play golf. There is a clubhouse, pro shop, riding stable, and petting zoo.   Looking for something to do in the Kingdom, try your hand at playing golf!

All the best, GMarie