Wall calendars do not rely on figuratively grey ink. Dates on the pages are mostly black and white for a reason. Clocks tick, pages turn, time marches at a cruel cadence.
They say only death and taxes are inevitable, although those in the UAE might argue the latter. But absolutely nobody denies that numbers on calendars are inescapable and indelible.
Yet, the golf calendar has become increasingly convoluted, especially with the game’s biggest circuit, the PGA Tour, having moved to a wraparound schedule this season.
Technically, the 2013/14 season began last autumn. Likewise, the new European Tour season began four days after the old one ended in Dubai in mid-November.
Scant few noticed because golf’s calendar is fixated on time-tested, mythical reference points. Designated season openers aside, some believe the year does not begin until the US tour’s Florida Swing in March.
As former Ryder Cup captain Davis Love once put it: “Even for us, that’s when the real run-up to the Masters begins.”
Interestingly, the season’s first major championship represents another unofficial launch point. With many fans in the northern hemisphere finally emerging from a long, cold winter, April at Augusta National represents a coming-out party, a rite of spring.
On the European circuit, there is no debating when the green light truly flashes. The Desert Swing begins next week, a three-tournament series that draws the best sequence of fields during the first six months of the season.
Next week, at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, five of the top 10 in the world have committed to play. Last year, the tour’s flagship BMW PGA Championship drew 13 players from the world top 40, only one more than Abu Dhabi mustered. The Qatar Masters was not far behind with 10 top-40 players last year.
While the Dubai Desert Classic took a hit in field firepower last season, that is about to change. The 25th anniversary field will feature the world No 1 Tiger Woods, the three-time winner Ernie Els, the reigning Race to Dubai winner Henrik Stenson and the former No 1 Rory McIlroy.
It begins on January 30, but there is an added treat on January 28, when many of the event’s past winners will stage a one-day shoot-out worth US$600,000 (Dh2.2m).
Mohamed Juma Buamaim, the long-time organiser of the Desert Classic, called it a “feast of golf”.
The official schedule might indicate otherwise, but the hors d’oeuvres are about to end on the European Tour. Beginning next Thursday in Abu Dhabi, and then to Doha and Dubai, it is nothing but meat and potatoes.
selling@thenational.ae
