Golf Central

Don't tell him we told you, because we don't want to jinx the big fellow ... but our favourite Swede Henrik Stenson could be on the verge of one of those wacky golfing feats that we love so much at IGWT.

Not long ago we told you about how big Henrik had flown some 45,000 miles in search of the bucks and golfing trophies. Air Warrior Supreme. Then, we told you about Henrik's hush-hush scouting mission to daily-fee Torrey Pines, where he paid his own greens fees and teed it up with the plebs. Municipal Golf Warrior Supreme.

Now, Henrik is in Abu Dhabi, gunning it out in the star-studded field at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. So far, so good: Stenson, one of the early starters, fired a 5-under 67 Thursday and was one shot off the lead after the first round. Big deal you say? Think about it: If Stenson can win in Abu Dhabi, he would be the first man to complete the trifecta of victories in all the major championships of the United Arab Emirates (Stenson won the Qatar Masters in 2006 and last year added the prestigious Dubai Desert Classic trophy to his collection).

Some people collect the colourful stamps from the UAE: Henrik Stenson collects golf trophies. And more power to him, because we love nicknames at IGWT ... Go Henrik of Arabia!

The vast mystery that is China has been opening its eyes to golf, and opening the eyes of the rest of the world in the process. Two weeks ago, the HSBC Champions in Shanghai boasted the strongest field in Asian history. And Omega has a deal to stage the World Cup of Golf in Shenzhen for the next 12 years. What's up with all this golf in China? ...

Here is a brief guide - in great deal thanks to the tireless efforts of China-based golf tracker Dan Washburn, whose forthcoming book on the rise of our game in the world's most populous nation promises to be a must-read.

American property tycoon Donald Trump has moved a step closer to gaining permission to build a $1 billion golf complex on one of Scotland’s most picturesque coastlines. In the first round campaign the local planning committee voted 7-4 in favour of Trump to the dismay of fellow corporate big guns, the RSPB and Scottish National Heritage.

Trump says he plans to build "the greatest golf course on earth," a proposed complex which will include two championship courses, almost 1000 holiday homes, 500 private houses and an eight-storey hotel. It will flatten 60 acres of beautiful Aberdeenshire seaside that is home to an array of wildlife and a unique sand-dune system. The dunes are constantly shifted by winds of a similar power used to create Trump's improbable hairstyle.

For more on Trump's grand ideas, here's what our friends at the Scotsman have to say ...

On the flip side of one of Trump’s limitless coins is news of a Scottish golfing venture that is costing a pittance without infuriating the nature boys. Askernish GC, a course built by Old Tom Morris in 1891 but left to expire after the Second World War, is being restored to it’s former glory by volunteers keen to save one of the lost wonders of the sporting world.

For the trivial sum of £10 (paid into an honesty box) golfers take a step back in time to confront the largely un-tamed and astonishingly beautiful terrain of the Outer Hebrides. Pinehurst this is not, as players contend with the hardly flawless fairways and greens of South Uist, but as honorary life president, Kenny Dalglish, says, “it is the golfing equivalent of drinking the elixir of life”.

And for more of the glory of golf in Uist, here's what our friends at the Telegraph have to say ...

Do you like your par-4s wayyyyy uphill, at 450-yards-plus? Do you like golfing with an oxygen mask? We thought so. Well if you like your golfing holidays mixed with a bit of errr. ... "hillwalking" ... then the Himalayas may be just your ticket.
     A long-time favourite spot for yoga freaks, fitness fanatics and people who simply want to vanish, the Himalayan mountains are becoming a popular golf destination.
     A round at the Gokarna Forest Golf Resort & Spa, in Katmandu, Nepal, will only set you back $50. The track was designed by Gleneagles' own David Kidd and claims to have the only bent-grass greens in South Asia (the par-5 11th is pictured above). Golfing at Gokarna also carries the unique panache of being able to say: "I played golf in the Forbidden Valley", home to the Surya Nepal Masters, an event on the Indian-based PGAI Tour, a feeder circuit for Asian Tour hopefuls.
    In addition to the golf, you can see monkeys in the nearby forest, get a lovely back massage and spoil the missus senseless in the "Harmony Spa", and probably have really nice Nepalese curry, too.
    The long-haul airfare is the big problem, and there's that Maoist thing, but hey - that never stopped '80s rock legend Bob Seger from singing: "If ever get out of here, I'm going to K-K-K-K-Katmandu..."
    So what's stopping you ... other than not having a Bob Seger-sized budget? Super-fit IGWT editorial chief Iestyn George likes his golf the hard way, having claimed to have played at least three great golf courses with holes called "Himalayas." Mr George went down with a crocked hamstring in a six-a-side football match yesterday, though, so John Terry he may not be - however, if he is game enough to play the Himalayas, you should be, too.
    Penang-based businessman raves Richard Long raves about golf in Nepal. "You see all these different colors in the morning and evening, the snowy mountain peaks change colour after sunset. The air is thinner and the ball flies further," gushed Long to the Wall Street Journal.
    In addition to Gokarna, there's also the stunning 9-hole Himalayan Golf Club in Pokhara, the Royal Nepal GC in Katmandu, and the Nirvana Country Club in Dharan. Nepalese tour operators Earthbound Expeditions can hook you up with a six-day golf and casino package including Gokarna.
    So off you go, then ...

After the success of Twenty20 cricket, everyone seems to be jumping on the bandwagon of sport-shortening. In golf we've already had PowerPlay and now we've just been introduced to 6teesix. Lending more from Twenty20 than just the blatant name style thievery, the new concept takes normal golf dynamics and condenses it into six holes.
    Played in a team format, matches are designed to take roughly 60 minutes (that's ten minutes being devoted to each hole for all you non-mathematicians out there.) The hope is that golfers who would otherwise play but are bound by time constraints will be rushing to the courses before presumably enjoying a microwave ready-meal in the clubhouse afterwards.
    Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood took charge of the inaugural event, with Clarkey's rest of the World team beating Lee's England team 11-7. The two teams of you guessed it...six players apiece, took part in a modified matchplay format in a unique 'pairs scramble' designed to encourage faster play.
    Both Clarke and Westwood spoke favourably about the experience which was held at Oceânico Group's Vilamoura Millennium course. To save you time I've condensed Darren's interview to “enjoyed playing...” and Westwood's to “a lot of fun...” To read more about it or to get into 6teesix yourself, click as quickly as you can on Oceanico Group or 6teesix.com