Sleep pods, gaming stations, ice baths… the Hero Dubai Desert Classic is really pushing the boat out for its golfers and their teams this week.
Play gets underway on Thursday and executive tournament director Simon Corkill believes their innovations aren’t just gimmicks but can help improve player welfare.
The tournament brought in a mental fitness and recovery zone last year and have looked to improve on that this time out.
Corkill said: ‘From the Hero Dubai Desert Classic’s point of view, we are part of the Rolex Series, the premium level on the DP Tour, our team here worked out: “How do we improve our event?”
‘We felt that we’re an elite event, we pride ourselves on being an elite event and we felt we need to be providing elite services to elite players.
‘We do a lot of work with the DP World Tour and have done over the years with nutrition, amazing practice facilities and locker rooms, so what was the next step?
From mine and the team’s point of view, we wanted elite services and we’ve all seen the struggles with professional sports all around the world and I felt as an event we should try to do our little bit to help.
‘The players will use it for certain areas, I would think to hone their game, but we also provide the service for the caddies and entourage, who are travelling with the players, place to place and make sure that they’re catered for as well.
‘People see golf as an individual game but it is very much a team game. You’ve got a team behind the players. Especially the top golfers, caddies are vital to their success.
‘But also their managers, trainers, wives, girlfriends, they’re all vital to the success you see that the players have.
‘When they win, they thank half a dozen people. They’re the reason that they’re successful, so it’s important that we spread this to everyone.
‘As an event, we would like to see this rolled out across the DP World Tour.. We’re lucky to have been able to invest in it, to make sure it happens, but I would like to see it as common as practice range balls at every event. Hopefully we can do our bit and others will feed off the back of it.
‘We work very closely with the DP World Tour’s medical team and there are other events starting to do more things.
‘Hopefully we’ve started something but we’re not saying we are the ones who have done it but we’re certainly one of the first to have done it.’
Following the death of American golfer Grayson Murray last May, Corkill feels that the importance of facilities such as those on offer this week should be more prevalent across the game.
‘(It was) the tragic circumstances with Grayson Murray and his situation which brought it to a head,’ he added.
‘Yes, it’s a different Tour (the PGA) but there are a lot of people out there having challenges in day-to-day life everywhere.
‘A golfer is a golfer, ultimately it’s a job for these people, the caddies. We as an event, we feel it’s our duty to provide services to help.
‘If there’s like-minded events like ourselves, that can only get better. We, as an event, can only do one week of the year but we feel like we need to be doing it.
‘From our point of view, we’re not at the end of the year where people are fighting to get their tour cards but that is an emotional time for players if they make it – or just miss it – it’s life-changing for some of them.
‘So if they can get into that frame of mind early in the year, these services get provided at other events, then it can help everyone.
‘It’s for everyone. We’ve spoken about caddies, but it’s the same for managers, physios; a lot of them are on the road a lot, away from their families. So when they come to the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, just after Christmas, they can have almost a mental health check-up.
‘Everyone’s just had a lot of time at home with friends and family, back on the road for four, five, six weeks and they’ve had a lot of time to think about things, re-assessing. So we give them an opportunity for them to do that.’
