Perhaps the most spectacular backdrop in world golf

I am always amazed at the stunning backdrops when golf is televised from the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai.

At the end of last month the $US8 million Dubai Desert Classic was played at the Emirates.

As the television pictures showed the highly impressive skyscraper settings in the background with a brilliant blue skyline, I was left shaking my head in awe, even though I have seen the same images many times beforehand.

I haven’t been to Dubai but what a place of wonder it must be.

Dubai is the home of Burg Khalifa, the world’s tallest building which stands more than half a mile high at 828 metres.

I live in Wellington at Heretaunga in Upper Hutt and am a proud resident. But the skyline in Upper Hutt is, shall we say, different.

Upper Hutt’s tallest building is the CBD Towers which has nine floors and stands at, wait for it, 37 metres.

Also in Dubai is the Palm Jumeirah which is an archipelago of artificial islands which, according to advertising, can be seen from space.

Upper Hutt doesn’t have an archipelago of artificial islands. By the way, I looked up the word archipelago in the dictionary and it means a large group of islands.

But Upper Hutt too can be seen from space. All you need is a very good telescope.

Upper Hutt may not have an archipelago of islands but it does have the Hutt River.

The river was shown in scenic television shots when the Royal Wellington Golf Club hosted the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship a few years ago.

The river actually looked quite nice but overseas viewers may have been confused when the same scenic clips also included pictures of the Huka Falls in Taupo. It may have given the impression that the Huka Falls and the Hutt River are connected.

That’s not the case but don’t tell those from abroad.

In Dubai there is also the Dubai Fountain which is world’s largest choreographed fountain system.

Upper Hutt doesn’t have such a fountain but down the road at Petone in Lower Hutt is Te Puna Wai Ora.

Te Puna Wai Ora —meaning the spring of life — supplies pure artesian water from the Hutt Valley aquifer and is extremely popular with people filling up bottles day and night.

The water from Te Puna Wai Ora always goes well with a good gin or a good whiskey — so I am told.

More seriously, the Majlis course at the Emirates Golf Club was opened in 1988.

The Majlis course was the first 18-hole grass course in the Middle East.

The club was the inspiration of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rasheed Al Maktoum and the Bedouin tent styled clubhouse nestled behind the eighth green, is named after him.

The club’s website says at the time of construction, the Majlis was surrounded by desert. Today, the sprawling city has grown to encircle the course, making for a spectacular city backdrop on many holes, particularly the iconic tee shot on the eighth. However, tall desert dunes still frame the perimeter of the course with both fresh and saltwater lakes coming into play on several holes.

As you would expect, the practice facilities are world class, including a state-of-the-art swing analysis studio, a nine-hole par-three academy course, a short-game area, practice putting greens and a driving range, all floodlit.