Spring Sands

Springtime in Bahrain does not bring showers of rain, but rather sprinklings of sand. Check out this picture of an "overcast" day. This is the view from just outside our apartment. There are a few clouds, but the darkness you see is primarily due to the wind kicking up lots of dust and sand.

As you can see in the second picture here, most of the empty space in Bahrain is occupied by dirt, sand, dust, and sundry particulates that enjoy being swept up in a stiff breeze - and the wind does blow this time of year.

But, we can't complain. We are averaging about 75F every day! The running and golfing are great this time of year if you can stand the wind. It's almost a daily occurrence to get a text message: "Fancy a game of golf this afternoon?" Yes - yes I do.

Golf In Bahrain

Coming from Spokane, the land of green grass and cheap golf, it was quite a shock to witness what is called the Awali Golf Club here in Bahrain. The course is all "sand", which means that what most golfers call "greens" are termed "browns". It also means that when you land in the fairway, rather than hitting the ball where it lies, you place it on a small piece of astro-turf that you carry with you throughout the round. Sara and I had our most recent golfing adventure at Awali with our friends Matt and Mya.

Here is a shot of Matt chipping onto the brown from the fairway. The sand is very smooth, but not so soft that you sink in. The area beyond the trees in this picture is where Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF) conduct military activities. It's especially interesting when the Blackhawks fire up right in your backswing.

And golf in Bahrain just wouldn't be right if you didn't have to chip over the occassional oil pipeline. The smells of oil and natural gas permeate the air during the typical round of golf here. And the fairways and other boundaries are marked with some sort of tar spread over the dirt. It's not exactly communing with nature in the same sense as playing 18 at Indian Canyon, but it is golf.

Our recent experience at the Dubai Desert Classic in UAE was quite different from golf in Bahrain. The biggest difference was the grass. The next biggest difference was that Tiger Woods plays golf in Dubai. We had a great time watching some of golf's greats from right up close. Sara was very excited about getting to see Sergio Garcia play - and she got his autograph. And we were able to experience our first rain delay. I would describe watching live golf as somewhat akin to playing an intense game of red-light-green-light. If that doesn't seem to make sense, then next time you watch golf on tv, look for those guys that hold up the "quiet please" and "stand still" signs. Then, watch as the mob of fans goes running as soon as their favorite player hits the ball.