Full disclosure: We’ve got a brand new event in Oman this week, so there is no defending champion, no relevant history, and no reason to speculate about how it might go. Therefore, in this installment of The Eurozone, we’re going to be architecture heavy, diving into the host course, Al Mouj Golf.
I’m new to this
As a budding writer, I am incredibly fortunate to have a platform where I can opine about golf to an engaged, organic, built-in readership. The Eurozone has thus far been mostly my stream-of-consciousness musings about cobras, evolution, architecture, Iron Maiden, and golfers you’ve likely never heard of. We’re off to a roaring start, but I’m learning as I go.
This week I’ve been feeling mounting pressure. Not from the No Laying Up guys–all they’ve done is build me up, give me feedback, act as a sounding board, and show incredible flexibility as I find my footing.
Not from the readership, for whom I am very appreciative(!), whose feedback has generally been very positive and whose critiques have been fair and made in good faith.
No, the pressure is from within. I strive to write a good column that strikes the right balance between informative and entertaining, with a healthy dose of all-out brainwashing when it comes to good architecture and the greatness of the European Tour. Writing for NLU, in particular, gives me a lot of freedom to have toasty takes. It is encouraged, actually.
So what happens when, despite your best efforts, there’s no take to be had, and no relevant history or defending champion to fall back upon for source material?
I think the answer is that I should write a column about why I can’t make up my mind on what the take should be. Therapy by keyboard. Buckle up.
Shark-bait
Upon first glance, it would have been easy for me to be lazily baited into flaming the charbroiled shark course on the menu this week, as some of Norman’s offerings are well-documented train-wrecks. Talking to Tron about this fact, he made a great point: Norman’s stuff is always a mixed bag. Some of it is good. Some of it is dogshit. Most of it is something in between. All all of it is extremely cost-intensive from concept to execution. This course is no different.
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The European Tour (proper) goes to the Sultanate of Oman for the first time Thursday for the 2018 NBO Oman Open. Oman has hosted a Challenge Tour (the Euro’s Web.com Tour equivalent) event for the past five years, but this year sees the event elevated to the big show.
The host course, Al Mouj Golf, opened in 2012. As oil-rich Middle Eastern countries have rapidly urbanized and modernized over the past 20 years, golf course construction oneupmanship has followed along in lockstep. Oil magnates have money to spend, and there are plenty of “name” architects more than happy to charge multi-million dollar fees to build gaudy courses devoid of strategy and soul.
A “name” architect designed Al Mouj Golf, but it thankfully does not fall into the category described above. At least, not entirely.
Notice how the shaping of the dunes behind the green subtly attempts to mimic the mountains���an imaginative concept with decent execution. Notice further how the flood lights that illuminate the par three course in the middle of the property intrusively break up an otherwise stellar view, at the expense of detaching the course from its surrounds–an unfortunate byproduct of the need for revenue creation. Photo Cred: Al Mouj Golf
Al Mouj Golf does its best to straddle several themes and styles at once: It is a course built in a desert, but it’s not a desert course. It is a course built along the ocean, but it’s not a true links. The course is framed by a majestic mountain backdrop on three sides, and the landforms try to mimic that backdrop, but the playable surfaces of holes are mostly dead flat and don’t resemble mountain golf at all.
If you had no familiarity with Al Mouj, read that last paragraph, and arrived at the conclusion that the course lacks an identity, I think that is a completely fair assessment based on the information I’ve given you so far. The course does not fit neatly into a categorical box, which makes it harder to evaluate against its peers. Nonetheless, a closer lens reveals redeeming qualities rooted variably in highlights of width, strategic design, aesthetic splendor, and imaginative imitation of nature.
Excitement is the Enemy of Nuance
When I was finishing my research for this piece Tuesday morning, I noticed this tweet:
Got some very pleasant things to say about this golf course here in Oman. Too pleasant for Twitter. ??
— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) February 13, 2018
I thought it was sarcasm. Eddie Pepperell is never afraid to fire away with spicy takes. But then he followed it up with this:
Truthfully it suits an accurate bomber Jon. But if I had to choose one this week it would be accuracy. It’s one of the best courses we’ll play all year. https://t.co/CoVRAXlppR
— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) February 13, 2018
Maybe he’s trolling and I’m now mistrusting my gut instincts, but the reviews from other players and the general public seem to be mostly quite positive, too.
There’s certainly reverence for the course, which I’m fine with at a surface level. On the other hand, you cats should stay woke about potentially over-the-line bad takes you may come across like these:
Reminds of Bandon a bit
— Josh ADHD (@FantasyADHD) February 12, 2018
I vehemently disagree with calling this course a “links” and/or “natural” and/or “Bandon-esque,” but I can see a perfect teachable moment from up here on this high horse, so let’s keep it real and get to the brainwashing part I referenced way back at the beginning.
Naturalness:
This is what the Good Doctor had to say about the concept of Naturalness:
“The chief object of every golf architect or greenkeeper worth his salt is to imitate the beauties of nature so closely as to make his work indistinguishable from nature itself.” -Alister Mackenzie
And here’s what Crooked Honest Andy articulated about it:
The most beautiful places in the world are natural in their settings. This principle applies to golf courses as well and an architect’s toughest job is making manufactured design features appear natural and uncontrived. Many of the world’s greatest courses are the ones that fit in with their natural setting. -Andy Johnson: Routing, Variety and Naturalness
Both of the quotes above imply in their premise the baseline understanding that earth will be moved, and that most sites are not perfect. Explicitly, however the test of the architect is to blend textures, layers, elements, and flora in such a way that the course looks like it was simply discovered, rather than built.
In fairness to Norman, the site upon which he built Al Mouj was a completely featureless strip of seaside land directly under the (very) short final of screaming jet airliners landing on Runway 26R at Muscat International Airport. Flat as it may have been, the site was blessed with eye candy on four sides, both with Gulf of Oman frontage and the Al Hajar mountain range in the distance. With at least enough visual appeal to make the site salvageable for golf to be mostly played by a pay-per-views customer base (looking at you, Low Energy Pebble!), and a massive budget to boot, Norman set out to manufacture a unique track. It’s manufactured, alright.
Cookie cutter bunkers, featureless land, ugly rock pilings. Somewhere, the Faz is smiling. Photo Cred: omantourism.gov.om
Rather than harp on these things in too much detail, I’d offer the following as a brief summation of where Norman came up short:
- Tons and tons of rock pilings, similar in size shape and color, that line over a mile of coastline, are a dead giveaway that the land had to be forcefully retained to prevent erosion and allow for the desired shaping, rather than the natural flow
Source: https://nolayingup.com/blog/the-eurozone-3-all-give-but-no-take