CommercialBank Qatar Masters (28 - 31 January 2010)

Doha Golf Club, Qatar

Ever since 1998, the Club has hosted the prestigious Qatar Masters tournament, now sponsored by Commercialbank and held in January as part of the European and Asian PGA tours schedule.

Each year many of the world's top golfers compete on the Club's unique and challenging desert-type Championship Course measuring 7,374 yards from the tournament tees and designed by Peter Harradine, one of the world's leading golf course architects.

Often described by the press and the players as the best course on the European PGA tour the Doha Golf Course is undoubtedly the best course in the Middle East. The QATAR MASTERS has been played in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 included an impressive field, with such players as Nick Faldo, Ernie Els, Ian Woosnam, Vijay Singh, Paul Lawrie, Colin Montgomerie, Paul McGinley, Richard Green, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Seve Ballesteros, Eduardo Romero, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Richard Green, Henrik Stenson, Retief Goosen, David Howell and Nick Dougherty.

Lush fairways, greens and water hazards dominate an area which 12 years ago was a barren desert landscape. To complete the transformation from desert to golf course 1 300 palm trees, 10 000 trees and 5 000 shrubs were planted together with 65 cacti imported from the Arizona desert. Eight artificial lakes ensure that the 150 hectares of manicured fairways and superb greens are maintained to a standard that has won unanimous praise from both PGA European and Asian Tour players and officials.

Abu Dhabi Golf Championship (21 - 24 January 2010)

Abu Dhabi Golf Club, United Arab Emirates

An oasis of tranquility carved out of the desert, the Abu Dhabi Golf Club is managed by Troon Golf and offers one of the most luxurious golf resort experiences in the Middle East.

The 27 hole championship course, home to the PGA European Tour Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, the largest and most prestigious sporting event in the United Arab Emirates provides a tough but fair challenge, with lush fairways, strategically placed bunkers and generous greens.

Described as a "super course" by leading sections of the golfing press, the 162 hectares of the Abu Dhabi Golf Club designed by Peter Harradine features one of the finest world-class 18-hole championship golfing facility in the Middle East.

The inaugural tournament was played in January 2006, with Chris DiMarco taking the honors.

The course was designed 21 years ago and because of the incredible improvements in the playing equipment since that time, certain modifications were initiated. The course has been lengthened to 7,400-yard to host the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.

Harradine Golf tried to ensure that the alterations and additions reflected the style and vision of the original layout, thus ensuring that the integrity and concept of the original design were mostly preserved.

The tournament is in its fifth year and the 18 hole championship course, provides a tough but fair challenge and is one of the finest championship golfing facilities in the Middle East.

Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open (02 - 04 July 2010)

Golf Club Bad Ragaz, Switzerland

The 18-hole Championship Course home to the "Gentlemen's Tour", as the PGA Seniors Tour is affectionately known, offers everything that golf enthusiasts could possibly desire. Beginners and professionals alike find here a very special challenge.

Credit Suisse has been sponsor of this prestigious event ever since the tournament was first held in 1997, which each year attracts world-class golfers and crowds of visitors to the foothills of the Alps.

The 5700 m long symbiosis of golf and the natural world – slope 125, course rating 70.1 – was laid out by Don Harradine in 1957 as a flat golf course which combines the beauties of nature for all types of play. Many a golfing ace succumbs to the special charm of this course, with its exceptional standard of care, the unspoiled park setting with firs, birches and pines, the natural water hazards and the impressive mountain backdrop.

The Harradine family has been involved in the design, construction and renovation of three different courses in Bad Ragaz over 3 generations and over a period of 83 years.

Albert Hockey, the step-father of Donald Harradine left London with his brood in 1925 and arrived in Bad Ragaz to up-grade the old 9 hole course whilst he pursued his other duties as Club Manager and Golf professional.

Donald Harradine re-modeled the same layout in 1929 and built the existing 18 hole course in 1956 which he co-designed with Fred Hawtree. The existing course is the venue of the PGA senior tournament.

Peter Harradine recently designed and supervised the construction of the "Heidiland" course which is a 9 hole layout adjacent to the existing 18 hole course built by his father.

Deutsche Bank Ladies' Swiss Open (10 - 17 July 2011)

Golf Gerre Losone, Switzerland

Il più giovane dei campi da golf ticinesi è stato voluto dal Patriziato di Losone e disegnato dall’architetto Peter Harradine. La costruzione è iniziata nel 1999 e le 18 buche sono state inaugurate l’8 settembre 2001.

Il campo, piacevolmente ondulato, è attraversato in tutta la sua lunghezza da un torrente che, formando tre laghetti, rende il gioco intrigante e appaga l’occhio di chi, oltre al golf, vuole anche passare ore piacevoli nella natura. I sassi, caratteristica peculiare della zona, sono tutti stati estratti durante la costruzione del campo dando al percorso del Golf Gerre Losone un tocco unico, originale e impressionante.

Losone ha dei green velocissimi e con difficili pendenze e sono considerati tra i migliori della Svizzera Le prime 4 buche sono corte ma delicate, l’importante è non rischiare troppo. Poi il campo si fa man mano più difficile e tecnico. Il giocatore deve riuscire a mantenere la concentrazione anche nelle buche corte, proprio per non “sprecare” colpi.

La 18 è una buca che resta impressa nella memoria di tutti i giocatori; un par 4 lungo che finisce proprio davanti alla terrazza della Club-House.

Il Golf Gerre Losone, nonostante la “tenera età”, è stato teatro di numerosi campionati nazionali ed è la sede del Ladies’ Swiss Open, sponsorizzato da Deutsche Bank.

Im Einklang mit der Natur

Par 72, 5656 Meter lang, mitten in einer wunderschönen Landschaft mit Bergsicht: Der Golf Gerre Losone gehört zu den schönsten Golf-Plätzen der Schweiz.

Fragt man die Tour-Spielerinnen, die jeweils das Deutsche Bank Ladies’ Swiss Open bestreiten, über den Golf Gerre Losone, geraten sie ins Schwärmen: Der Platz sei wunderschön, das Ambiente auf der ganzen Anlage toll, der Platz in einem hervorragenden Zustand. Solche Komplimente seien natürlich schön, sagt Clubdirektor Davide M. Lantos, «sie stacheln uns aber auch an, in unseren Bemühungen nicht nachzulassen.»

Der Golfplatz wurde von der Bürgergemeinde Losone gegründet und vom Tessiner Architekten Peter Harradine entworfen. Im September 2001 konnte der Spielbetrieb aufgenommen werden. Dass man bereits 2006 die Ladies European Tour erstmals in Losone begrüssen durfte, «ist ein Privileg», so Lantos. Und er weiss: «Die Spielerinnen haben es hier nicht einfach, ein gutes Score zu erreichen.»

Losone hat schnelle Greens mit schwierigen Neigungen. «Wer die Greens nicht gut lesen kann, hat es schwer», so Lantos. Die ersten vier Löcher seien zwar kurz, dafür heikel. «Man darf nicht zu viel riskieren.» In der Folge wird der Platz immer schwieriger und anspruchsvoller. «Man muss unbedingt versuchen, seine Konzentration zu halten, besonders bei den kurzen Löchern.»

Die 18. Spielbahn werde allen in Erinnerung bleiben, sagt Lantos. Ein langes Par 4, das direkt hinter einem See und vor der Terrasse des Clubhauses endet. Während des Deutsche Bank Ladies’ Swiss Open allerdings wird die Spielbahn verlängert und damit zu einem Par 5. «Die Proetten müssen immer zwischen Angriff oder taktischem Spiel entscheiden. Das ist nicht immer leicht.»

Der Fluss, der durch den ganzen Golfplatz fliesst, ist übrigens künstlich angelegt. Das Wasser wird aus dem Fluss und dem Lago Maggiore gepumpt und auch zur Bewässerung des Platzes genutzt. Die Steine wurden alle während den Bauarbeiten gefunden und direkt in das Gelände integriert – in einmaliger Formation, originell und eindrucksvoll.

Losone is the youngest of the three “Ticinesi” courses and was designed for the "Patriziato" of Losone by Swiss Architect Peter Harradine. Construction started in 1999 and the 18 holes were opened on the 8th of September 2001.

The course is artificially and gently ondulated and is crossed by an artificial stream which feeds three artificial lakes. The large rocks and stones lining the stream and lakes are typical to that particular part of the world and give the course a unique, impressive and original touch. All the rocks and stones were extracted from the sub-soil during construction.

Losone is a “Technical” course with fast greens and a good finishing hole for the spectators as it ends right in front of the club house terrace.

Losone is the home of the Swiss Ladies Open and is often described as one of the most beautiful courses in Switzerland.

UniCredit Ladies German Open (13 - 16 May 2010)

Golf Park Gut Häusern, Germany

A fully new dimension of golf close to Munich !

The special combination of the three elements: water, sand and woods give the 18 holes championship course a very particular charisma.

The Par 74/72 course with a length of 6705 meters and six tee positions is a challenge for both sportive golfers and experienced beginners.

Peter Harradine, a famous golf course designer once mentioned: "With the Golfpark Gut Häusern I was finally allowed to design a golfcourse, with enough room!".

Ein Stück Schottland mitten in Bayern

Ausgewählt wurde der Golfpark Gut Häusern von den Verantwortlichen des Deutschen Golf Verbandes (DGV), dem Titelsponsor HypoVereinsbank und der Ladies European Tour (LET) aufgrund seines besonders anspruchsvollen Platzdesigns. Mit sechs Abschlagpositionen je Spielbahn und einer Gesamtlänge von 6760 Metern von den hinteren Tees ist der im Münchner Nordwesten gelegene Championshipcourse auch für Professionals eine besondere Herausforderung. Im Jahr 2003 eröffnet, begeistert der von Peter Harradine nach schottischem Vorbild gestaltete Meisterschaftsplatz Spieler aus aller Welt durch abwechslungsreiche, spektakuläre Spielbahnen und die raffinierte, harmonische Komposition von Wald, Sand und Wasser. Über 100 Hektar hinweg erstreckt sich das weitläufige Areal und zählt damit zu den großzügigsten Golfanlagen Deutschlands. Da ein Großteil des sanftwelligen Geländes als Stadioncourse angelegt ist, haben die Zuschauer von den Hügeln aus optimalen Ausblick auf die gesamte Szenerie.

European Challenge Tour Egyptian Open (19 - 23 October 2010)

Mirage City Golf Club, Egypt

Winner of the "Best Golf Club in the Mideast and Africa", A unique course carved from the desert landscape.

Mirage City Golf Club was designed by Peter Harradine, whose philosophy is to integrate the course into the landscape without disturbing its natural attributes. Harradine balances the ecological requirements of the landscape with the rules and technical demands of the game. Golfers playing Mirage City will find themselves navigating a series of ponds, lakes and streams that offer constant choice and challenge. With careful placement of tee boxes, the course suits both the beginner and the touring professional.

Signature holes at Mirage City Golf Club include:

* Hole 8 at 578 yards and a par 5 requires you to contend with a large fairway bunker on the left side as well as water the entire stretch of the right, and then the final approach shot needs to navigate a large lake.  Eagles and birdies are common, and intelligence and strategy are key to playing this hole.

* Hole 12 measures a little more than 150 yards downhill and over water. A large rock wall surrounds the back of the hole and its blooming color is a sight of sheer beauty.

* Hole 18 measures 416 yards, with a tough second shot uphill to an elevated green guarded by the winding creek.

Mirage City Golf Club was recently awarded the MENA platinum award for best golf club in the Middle East and Africa, and its 18 hole, par 72 layout is rated the number one golf course in Egypt.  New to Mirage City Golf Club is the 9 hole, par 32 course, first of its kind in Egypt and offering a dramatic challenge to anyone willing to test their skills.

The US$250,000 tournament, in which Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie competed last year before it formed part of the Challenge Tour Schedule, sees the Tour’s first return to Egypt since the 2004 Sharm El Sheikh Challenge, which was won by England’s Gareth Davies. His compatriot Steven Tiley won last year’s Egyptian Open , when it was played at the JW Marriott Mirage City Golf Club in Cairo, by four shots from rising star Thorbjørn Olesen of Denmark. Other former winners of the event, which was first played in 1921, include Mohamed Said Doche, who won the event on 14 consecutive occasions between 1969 and 1982. More recently, Amr Abu El Ela took the title a total of 12 times, with his most recent victory coming in 2008.

Don Harradine Memorial Trophy (21 - 22 September 2010)

Golfclub Augsburg, Germany

One of Don Harradine's main concerns was to provide a first class education and training for greenkeepers and ensure due recognition for their work. He actually considered them to be the most important people on golf courses. It was for those very reasons that he founded the International Greenkeeper's Association (IGA) in 1968. The IGA gave birth to today's national greenkeeper's associations which continue to play a crucial role in the golf industry.

The "Don Harradine Memorial Trophy" was created to provide a yearly reminder of Don’s support for the greenkeeper's professional values.  The golf tournament is co-organized and held under the patronage of the official greenkeeper's associations of Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia and was specifically created for the head-greenkeepers of those four countries. The trophy takes place on a Don Harradine course and has been played in 1999 (Seefeld/Austria), 2000 (Interlaken/Switzerland), 2002 (Schloss Klingenburg/Germany), 2003 (Zell am See/Austria), 2004 (Lenzerheide/Switzerland), 2005 (Bled/Slovenia), 2006 (Haghof/Germany), 2007 (Kössen/Austria), 2008 (Bad Ragaz/Switzerland) and 2009 (Bled/Slovenia).

Download official 2010 Flyer in English

Download official 2010 Flyer in German

For more information visit www.don-harradine-memorial.com