AED20 Million Abu Dhabi Gold Club upgrade outlined

The upgrade will see the club get a new gatehouse, improved signage, a revamped approach road and extensive landscaping designed by California's award-winning Bennitt+Mitchell Landscape Architecture with some 120 palm trees and 16,000 square metres of planting, including wear-resistant paspalum carpet grass as well as seasonal flowers, shrubs and trees.

Phase one of the upgrade, including the new gatehouse, will be ready by the beginning of next year in time for the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, the biggest sporting event in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to be held from January 18-21.

"This is a significant investment to initially improve the spectator and player experience for all involved in the Championship but in the long-term to deliver to a world-class sporting and leisure facility to Club members and tourists in a more welcoming and relaxing atmosphere," said Mubarak Al Muhairi, Managing Director, TDIC and Director General, ADTA, which owns the championship. "The improvements are not only to the club's infrastructure but to the way-finding, branding and arrival experience for members, visitors and guests."

The new gatehouse, with its stone-clad façade, will feature an elegant waterfall and will be approached by a cobble paved driveway and parking area flanked by palm trees, providing a green corridor running up to the club. Roadside flags, billboard screens and large scale hoarding will also line the approach road to the club. The façade of the actual club house is also to be 'softened' with the use of canvas awnings and outdoor furnished areas fronting the facility.

"The comprehensive new master-planned approach to the Abu Dhabi Golf Club represents an ambitious collection of improvement initiatives designed to create a dramatic and unified entry experience," said Lee Tabler, CEO, TDIC. "The framework of this approach facilitates targeted entry adjustments as a comprehensive phase two club and resort master plan evolves."

Around 20,000 spectators are expected at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship 2007, which will see a field of 120 professionals fight it out for a share of the US $2 million prize money, including defending champion Chris DiMarco, one of the USA's top 10 golfers, Spain's Sergio Garcia, now at 9th on the Official World Golf Rankings, Ryder Cup star Colin Montgomerie and, playing for the first time in Abu Dhabi, two-time US Open Champion and world number five, South African Retief Goosen.

Meanwhile a series of course revisions are being implement at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club to increase the degree of difficulty for the Championship's competing professionals. The revisions include extending the course to nearly 7,400 yards, adding championship tees on several holes and lengthening others as well as creating new bunkers to frame fairways and greens to create fair, but challenging pin positions.

The Abu Dhabi Golf Championship 2007 will begin with the Al-Masaood Pro-Am on Wednesday, January 17, when sponsors and their guests have the chance to play and socialize with some of the world's best professionals.

The Abu Dhabi Golf Championship 2007 has attracted a high profile sponsorship line up including: Etihad Airways and Aldar as Diamond Sponsors, Standard Chartered Bank as a Platinum Sponsor; Nissan, Airbus, Rolls Royce, Omega and Xerox as Gold Sponsors.