Omega Dubai Desert Classic

February 5th, 2010

There really is only one place to start on this week’s Blog and that’s with a look back to the Qatar Masters where Titleist Ambassador Robert Karlsson claimed a comeback victory. Since claiming the European Tour Order of Merit title in 2008 Robert has been unlucky with injury but, after battling a persistent eye problem for the majority of the 2009 season, he is now back to full fitness and back on form. This was evident last week in Qatar as the Swede birdied the 71st and 72nd hole for a bogey-free closing round of 65 (-7) to claim victory by a three-stroke margin. We would like to congratulate Robert on his tenth career European Tour victory; it’s great to see him back on top form after such a disrupted 2009 season and his return to the winner’s circle is a welcome site for all European golf fans as we head towards the Ryder Cup in September. As proved in 2008, a confident Karlsson is a hard man to beat and it would be no surprise to see him in contention this week at the Dubai Desert Classic. Grattis Robert!!!

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Talking of which, that’s exactly where we are coming from with this week’s Blog. The Emirates Club, Dubai is once again the host venue for the coveted Dubai Desert Classic, a tournament which consistently attracts some of world golf’s biggest names. This year is no exception and a stellar field is once again in attendance. The aforementioned Robert Karlsson will be strongly fancied after tasting success last week in Qatar and current European #1 and Pro V1x loyalist Lee Westwood will also be one to watch. But we couldn’t come to Dubai and not mention the reigning champion, Rory McIlroy. Rory claimed his maiden European Tour victory at this event 12 months ago and goes into this season’s Dubai Desert Classic as one of the most consistent performers in world golf. Rory has finished fifth or better in each of his last five European Tour events and is seemingly in contention whenever and wherever he tees it up. This week is no different and Rory is certainly in no mood to relinquish his crown without a fight as opening rounds of 68 (-4) and 70 (-2) would testify. Rory is currently one shot off the halfway lead and in a strong position to mount a successful title challenge.

During the practice days in Dubai the Titleist Tour Team spent some time working with Portugese Titleist Ambassador Jose Filipe Lima. Jose is back on the European Tour after a successful season on the Challenge Tour in 2009 and will be looking to produce the sort of form that saw him record a European Tour victory at the Saint Omer Open in 2004. Jose took time out during his practice session to work with Tour Technician Phil Dimmock on his driver set-up. Using a Trackman launch monitor, the test revealed that his current 909D2 8.5° was not quite producing the optimum spin rate causing the ball to drop out of the sky a little early. This lack of spin also made it harder for Jose to turn the ball over and hit the little draw that he likes with the driver. Fortunately, the fix for Jose was very straight forward with the switch to a higher lofted head producing the required result. Specifications for Jose’s new driver are detailed below:

Jose Filipe Lima

Model: 909D2
Loft: 9.5°
Shaft: Aldila V*ooDoo XDV6 X-Flex
Length: 45”
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Ribbed .580 (Std)
Swingweight: D3

Denmark’s Soren Hansen was another player to make a tweak to his driver set-up this week in Dubai. Soren has been using the Aldila RIP 70 X-Flex shaft in his 909D2 (9.5°) but felt this specification was yielding too much spin. After consultation with the team Soren decided to go back to a shaft that worked very well in his old Titleist 905R driver, the Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Whiteboard. The Diamana Whiteboard is designed with a strong tip section which helps reduce spin and is a shaft that has found favour with a number of hard-hitting Titleist players over the past couple of seasons. Soren’s full driver specification is detailed below.

Soren Hansen

Model: 909D2
Loft: 9.5°
Shaft: Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Whiteboard 73 X-Flex
Length: 45”
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Ribbed .580 (Std)
Swingweight: D3

A quick glance at the halfway leaderboard in Dubai would suggest another enthralling weekend ahead of us with the likes of Westwood, McIlroy and Karlsson all in contention. This is the final week of the European Tour’s ‘desert swing’ before moving on to an entirely new venue for the inaugural Avantha Masters in New Delhi, India. The new event marks a new destination for the European Tour and the sights and sounds of one of the world’s most bustling cities will provide a unique backdrop for this event (and a new experience for the Titleist Tour Team!!). We will report back from our voyage of discovery at the same time next week.

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