By Joy Chakravarty
That 10 follows nine is a globally accepted fact, one that rarely raises an eyebrow. However, at the Majlis course of Emirates Golf Club, most golfers are thankful for it.
It’s because the par-four ninth hole, stretching 488 yards of immense trouble, is demonic. It has so many pitfalls that even the most seasoned professionals are mindful and respectful of it. This is one hole where club amateurs consider bogey a good score.
The par-five 10th, 549 yards of serenity, is just the healing balm one needs after the spiteful ninth. It is the easiest golf hole, and a par is like losing a shot to the field. It’s a par-4 pretending to be all grown up, but a baby at heart.
It’s one of the many design elements that make the Karl Litten-designed course such a pleasure. One can easily make a double bogey on the ninth and can bounce back swiftly with an eagle or birdie moments later.
Over the past five years of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the ninth has been the toughest hole every single year.
Last year, it averaged 4.35, and in the previous years, it yielded average scores of 4.29 (2024), 4.27 (2023), 4.42 (2022) and 4.35 (2021). There have been more scores of double bogeys and worse (168) on the ninth during the time than birdies (156).
Barring 2021, when it lost the honor to the 13th hole, the 10th has been the easiest hole during the Desert Classic in the last five years. It has provided more eagles (52) than double bogeys or worse (21), and only 109 bogeys.
Both Rory McIlroy, the reigning Masters champion and a four-time winner of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the golf course, and Tommy Fleetwood, the FedEx Cup champion who has made Dubai his home for the past two years, urged the participants at the 16th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) to be wary of the ninth.
“The ninth hole is one of the best par-fours we play all year. It’s a tough tee shot where you got to hit it pretty long, but you still have to hit it within a zone to have an approach to the green from a flat lie. So, that’s one hole where you have done well if you make four fours during the week,” said McIlroy.
Fleetwood also singled out the ninth for special mention.
“I think the ninth is arguably the toughest hole on the golf course, just from the tee shot perspective and then hitting into the green. If you can get through that stretch of holes from fifth to ninth, then you have the back nine in front of you. Having the back nine in front of you is a nice thing at Majlis,” the world No.5 Englishman said.
The ninth asks for a long tee shot, but it must find the fairway. To the right is gnawing rough and a bunker that makes hitting the green impossible with the second shot. The entire left side of the fairways and the green is water, which almost always seems to be in play.
The 10th has a wide-open fairway, followed by a green that is surrounded by bunkers, but most players are happy to hit it into them for an easy up-and-down.
Two other holes players need to be careful of are the par-four first, and the par-four 12th.
The first hole breaks many hearts because it invites a tee shot down the left and flirts with the thick rough and an out-of-bounds area to have a better approach to a small green. Push it too right and the palm trees are lined up to impede the second shot.
The 12th has sand down the left side, but if one wants an easier approach to a tough green, that’s the way to go. To the right is a waste area, as well as a hidden water hazard beneath a thick clump of trees.
The closing stretch of the drivable par-four 17th and the severe dog-leg par-five 18th are two of the finest examples of risk-reward holes. Over the years, these two holes have decided the fate of many titles.
The 17th is 359 yards, but if the wind is favoring even slightly, most players tend to go for the green, which is around 310 yards as the crow flies. The 18th is easily reachable in two, but the water in front of the green is always a deciding factor.
When Norway’s Vitor Hovland won the 2022 Desert Classic title, he closed with a birdie, eagle and birdie.
