Latest News
Thanks to all who braved the cooler temperatures this past weekend, it was certainly more like the January weather we expect in Baku. To enjoy your time on course as much as possible, Michael has shared a few tips on playing in the cooler weather, see the Academy section below.

As many of you will know Michael’s next career opportunity will take him to the ETPI (European Tour Performance Institute) In Dubai. We are pleased to say that with his help we have shortlisted some excellent candidates as his replacement so we look forward to announcing our new Head PGA Professional over the coming weeks.  

Tee Times – Weekend
Although no frost this past weekend, it certainly felt like it! We will continue to reserve 8.30 / 8.40 / 8.50am as Possible Frost Delay Tee Times. Therefore a 9.00am Tee time will be the first time to be booked each Saturday and Sunday however those players will have the option to arrive early so that once the course inspection is completed the starter may open the 1st Tee. 
 
2018 Tournaments
We are currently finalising the calendar and look forward to publishing the fixture list for the coming season very soon. For January we will continue with the weekly roll up events as the weather towards the end of the month is looking a little wintery.  
Course Change Over
The events team have been busy studying over 100 stroke play events from the past 2 years, to determine the new stroke index’s ahead of the course change over. It is good practise for all courses to periodically analyse what the members actually score on each hole against what the length, par and hole layout would suggest when in the design stages. Below we have shown our previous hole layout along with the original index’s. We have then added the new layout starting from Hole 13 and the revised stroke index’s accordingly for you to compare. You will also note that the new back nine is a par 35 as it has 3 par 3’s on the inward stretch. The front nine (par 37) will mean that players must really focus on some challenging holes before reaching the café for a well-earned refreshment… We will keep you updated weekly of the progress we are making ahead of starting the new layout by the latest 1st of April.
2018 MEMBERSHIPS
Thanks to all that have renewed (or in process of renewing) their membership for 2018. We would also like to take this opportunity to welcome many new members that have joined us for the first time in January. We look helping you grow your love of the game and wish you success on the course! If you are still undecided we will require a final decision by the 31st of January 2018, if membership isn’t an option we will issue your final account statement to show any golf played in January which will be billed at the preferential member guest rate. For those members moving on, be sure to get your updated handicap certificate from our golf events team, events@dreamlandgolfclub.com
Saturday 13th of January 2018 – Roll up Results 
It seems now winter has come to Baku, since only 8 members have participated in our last week’s Saturday Roll Up. Due to cold and windy conditions, results were low as expected. Ian Paterson took first place with 5 over 31 points. Callum Stewart’s 7 over 29 points brought him the second place. William Blanchard took third place with 9 over 27 points. No one had a 2 on their scorecard, so we have roll over for this week’s Saturday Roll Up. 
ACADEMY NEWS
Great article from PGA for anyone, at any level, looking to improve on how important it is to seek advice from your PGA Professional. Check this out! Hopefully this will help incentivise many of you to take advantage of our world class facility during the winter months in order to get your game ready for this summer BIG events at Dreamland Golf Club. This message is clear….no matter what your reasons are for playing the game wither it is to win competitions, enjoy a social environment, or just to take 5 azn off friends at the weekend J then PGA Pro advice is the best option. with mid-week floodlight and road access now is the time to start the road to improvement. 
Tips from our Academy Head Pro:

This week's focus – playing / scoring advice in the cold weather….

“Having just been out and played 9 holes there in 4 deg, although walking kept warm and (with some extra layers on…) it was still very enjoyable. The course is in excellent condition for this time of year and greens surfaces are as good as anywhere in the world right now! Here are a few tips I would offer to help your game in these cool conditions:

1. TEMPRATURE AND EFFECT ON DISTANCE – stats would say that each 1 deg drop is at LEAST 1 YARD in distance. Always take this into consideration when making club selection. Especially playing in a cold Baku wind. I would hit the ball of the tee around 10 – 15 yards shorter in this weather …. So chose the club smart.
2. EXTRA LAYERS – don't wear too many extra layers and loose mobility to swing the club. Galvin Green etc. provide proper base layers to keep body temperature up and still allow you to feel free when swinging.
3. KEEP MOVING – I would highly recommend walking in these conditions to keep body temperature up. Certainly show that this should have a positive effect on performance and health benefits too.
4. LESS ROLL – course is in great condition but there is noticeably less roll on shots. AGAIN TAKE EXTRA CLUB at this time of year to allow for this.
5. NOW IS THE TIME FOR CHANGES – with cooler conditions and less tournaments at this time of year I would highly recommend using this time to make any necessary swing changes. Can still play scoring focus but I would say the course would play on average 2 – 4 strokes harder at this time of year.
6. PLAY FROM THE RIGHT TEES – taking into consideration the fact the course is playing longer then I would recommend moving at least 1 tee FORWARD. Here is an idea … why don’t you get some variety in and challenge yourself to a game of the green or the gold tees for a change?? What do you think the effect on score will be?? Maybe practice more short irons and wedges …
We will follow the same class schedule for the week ahead with our local market class on Wednesday evening 7pm till 8pm. This “get into golf” class is the perfect way to get Professionally introduced to golf in a nice relaxed environment for only 20azn. ALL WELCOME to come and join the fun!! Direct access is available to the golf academy on this evening and throughout the week Monday till Friday.

Ladies class will continue each Wednesday at 1pm and has been a proven success in 2017. Delighted to see new faces now out playing regularly on the golf course through using the benefits of the class, regular Par 3 course play on a Monday and now onto the Championship course. we look forward to welcoming new faces and growing our ladies section in 2018….even if it is chilly pop down for a coffee and a chat, and learn some great tips on how to improve.
Footgolf is now available on a Monday evening from 5pm till 8pm with floodlight play available on our academy Par 3 course. This is a great new initiative to grow awareness in Azerbaijan and to mix the worldwide passion for football into golf course concepts and scoring system. If you have not tried this then we would highly recommend you get along on a Monday evening to try it out. We will certainly look to grow this concept now in 2018. The cost is 20azn per person for 18 holes and we can provide the footballs. For more information on Footgolf please contact academy@dreamlandgolfclub.com  
It is SKI TIME!!!
Pik Palace Hotel Shahdag
Discover the winter magic at Pik Palace Hotel this winter with skiing, great food and magnificent views over the surrounding nature.

Park Chalet Hotel Shahdag
Azerbaijan’s definitive five-star ski destination devoted to heightening the senses and nurturing moments of family fun awaits you with exiting festive season offer. Get into the spirit of the winter season

For more information please contact +994 12 310 0009,
Dreamland Golf Club | +994 (0) 12 404 7 404 | reservations@dreamlandgolfclub.com |