Latest News
With spring in the air we look forward to a great season ahead here at Dreamland Golf Club Baku. Last week was a busy a time for the team with the first visit of the year by Russell Hannah Senior Director – Golf for IMG. Russell toured each department and discussed updates with the team with respect to course condition, 2018 event calendar and general operational topics. He was pleased to catch up with many members during the week and hear feedback on the club and areas of further improvement.
PGA News
We are pleased to share that Anton Samsonov our Golf Operations Manager and PGA Professional has been awarded the title of “Advanced PGA Professional” in a recent sitting of the PGA Council. Tristan Crew Executive Director of the PGA Member Services commented “The board of Directors and PGA Council recognise the progress Anton has made in broadening the interest of golf in Russia and Azerbaijan along with his commitment to our education program. His recent completion of the Director of Golf Qualification is credit to his passion for the golf industry, we wish him the best of luck going forward”.
Novruz Scramble 2018
This weekend we will play our Novruz Scramble, please note the START TIME WILL BE 10.00am for monthly scramble events this season, this way we can open the tee sheet up a little earlier in the afternoon for members who wish to play outside of the tournament times. 
EGA Handicaps
Players are reminded to continue to submit scorecards from individual competitions QUALIFIER  Medals, Roll Up’s, AIGS (Azerbaijan International Golf Society) to keep their handicap valid in line with the EGA European Golf Association rules.
3.5.9 A player must return at least four (4) qualifying scores each calendar year to provide his handicapping authority sufficient information about his playing ability to confirm or adjust his exact handicap for Annual Handicap Review.
Events Calendar
We are delighted to present the DRAFT Calendar for the 2018 season. Whilst we still await confirmation from certain sponsors we were keen to share with you some new formats and events. As you can see it promises to be an exciting spirited golf season ahead!

Saturday Roll Up – We have suggested a change in format twice per month to the traditional Stableford game. The occaional stroke play (Medal) and some pairs events like Greensomes and Foursomes are shown and even a “Traffic Light” competition where you play from a sequence of different tee starts – Gold, White, Blue, repeated.
 
Medal Series – Our Monthly Medal Series will start back at the end of the March (sponsor tbc). This event is free to enter and open to all Dreamland members who can compete for the overall Medal Series Winner at the end of the year.
 
New Event! - Green Keepers Masters Revenge – Martin and his team will provide the ultimate test for us as he seeks his revenge on Sunday 8th of April. The course will be set up with a “twist” so be aware of some new pin positions and obsticals which may add some surprise to this team format event.
 
New Event! - Black Tee Challenge – After much demand we are pleased to established a Black Tee Challenge for Sunday the 3rd of June. Don’t miss out on your chance to play the course at its longest set up from the Black back tee’s and take advantage of the extra shots your handicap will receive from this tee box.  See the handicap index chart attached to see the offiical slope rating. 
 
New Event! Professional’s Challenge – Our team of PGA Professionals and coaches will dust off the clubs on Sunday the 24th of June and take on any member teams wishing to challenge! Aswell as the usual on day proceedings, additional speculation (within reason) will be encouraged.

New Event! Mercedes Trophy – Azerbaijan will hold its first ever Mercedes Trophy on Sunday the 6th of May. We look forward to launching the sign up very soon with a chance for players to qualify for the regional finals to be held in June.
 
Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup – We are in talks with ISM (International Sports Management) as a possible venue choice for the Azerbaijan Qualifier. We will update as soon as further details are confirmed. 
 
New Events and Formats – We will offer a mix of 2 player and 4 player team Scramble formats throughout the season, this will continue the fun enjoyed by teams. Finally we are looking forward to announcing the date for a Mixed event which was trialled at the end of 2017 with resounding success!
Members Trips
We have been offered a couple of opportunities to travel this golf season, it is a great opportunity to play some new courses and meet new golfers from neighbouring countries. If you are interested please feel free to e-mail events@dreamlandgolfclub.com and we will keep you informed of further arrangements.
Georgia – We are in talks regarding a date for a return match with the team from Georgia. Currently the course at Ambassadori GC is making some small course changes and Tiblisi Hills Golf Club is due to open at somepoint this summer. We have kept the date as a “To Be Confirmed” for now but will update as soon as we know.
Moscow – For those that don’t know the golf scene in Moscow, it can only be described as “Unbelivable”. With 39 courses in Russia and 21 located within 50KM of downtown Moscow the standard is to be seen.  We have been invited to the very exclusive Jack Niclaus designed Skolkovo Golf Club for a game on Sunday 1st of July. We are in current talks with a club for a game on the Saturday afternoon so will update in due course.  As many of our players will require a travel visa for Russia we will need final confirmations and accomodation payments well in advance of the trip.
Saturday 3rd of March 2018 – Roll up Results 
Excellent playing conditions were enjoyed on Saturday, with 39 members using this opportunity to participate in the weekly Saturday Roll Up. Winner was Callum Stewart with 1 under par 37 points. 3 players – Rory O’Mahony, George Ball and Leslie Tulleth scored level par 36 points to compete for 2nd and 3rd places. It required us to look at their back nine scores. After a countback Rory and George had 19 pts while Les only had 15 back nine pts. In order to determine 2nd and 3rd place winners, it further required us to look Rory’s and George’s back 6 points. After countback, Rory took 2nd place with 12pts and George took 3rd place with 11pts.

Last Saturday 3 players achieved a Birdie on a par 3’s and shared the prize of 2’s Club. Chris Wood-Woolley birdied the 7th, William Blanchard and Emidio Deramo birdied the 11th hole to put 2 on their scorecards. 
Golf Genius Software
We are pleased to have renewed our support contract with Golf Genius for our 2018 calendar of events. As many of you will know by installing Golf Genius software to your phone and using it during our tournaments you will be able to see live updates and leader boards, giving you a better understanding as to how the rest of the field are playing. Please click the links below to download the Golf Genius app on your phone.
Golf Academy Café T
We would ask that all Academy players please note that for the month of March only Café T will stop serving its daily food menu at 5pm for MONDAY & TUESDAY evenings only.  A Beverage service will however still be on offer as usual till 8.30pm.  We look forward to resuming full service in April.  
Retail News
New instore is our range of Imperial baseball caps featuring some new designs for the coming season. The Aberdeen style is a lightweight wool flannel fabric available in Grey, Khaki, Navy and Black colours and features our logo and distinctive leather adjustable strap. For players preferring a more vibrant look the Metro Cap is a washed cotton twill fabric featuring a new DLGC - Dreamland Golf Club raised logo. For the summer months we have added the Jubilee lightweight mixed yarn design will be perfect for the warmer heat of Baku. We look forward to seeing our players sporting a new look this summer!  
Golf Course Update – by Martin McGavock 
Due to the good weather we are a few days ahead of this time 2017 and have begun this week with cultural work on the fairways and foregreens. This will be done via a combination of slicing slits in the fairway and punching small holes with different machines followed by a sand application, the aim being to increase air in the soil and promote root growth while keeping our surfaces even. Please have patience as Greenkeepers may be working and need sufficient time to move off the fairways after seeing golfers to allow play through.
The team will clean up and brush the sand into surfaces as we go along however it’s inevitable that we may deposit the odd small pebbles and sand for a short time afterwards. Currently our schedule indicates all will be complete within 10 days and will not be repeated again until October. Cultural work planned on tees and greens is left till the first week of April (annual renovations). Due to the intensity of the work done, it offers us the quickest recovery time due to higher temperatures.
We appreciate your understanding as we get through this crucial agronomic work, it’s all part and parcel of providing the high quality expected here at Dreamland Golf Club!
Experience the 147th Open in style
The Open returns to the east coast of Scotland this summer to the famous links of Carnoustie. There is no better time to secure your place at one of the world’s greatest sporting events and we wanted to make sure you don’t miss out. Thousands of fans have already secured their place at an iconic setting for a memorable experience. Should be planning a visit to the Open and wish to look at some hospitality options for your day, you can   find out more about our remaining packages   or get in contact directly by calling: Dan Killen on  +44 (0)1334 460010  or emailing him directly   dankillen@theranda.org
ACADEMY NEWS
We are pleased to say that our new PGA Head Professional Alex Day will be with us this coming weekend. His tuition diary will be open from Sunday 11th of March and he is obvioulsy very keen to meet all our members and help with improving your golf.
Alex firmly believes in offering a holistic approach to his coaching. He has achieved ‘Advanced’ PGA status, is TPI level 2 certified, and has worked successfully with complete novices through to tour professionals building specific programs to meet player’s needs. He has travelled through his time as a coach, developing the game in Oman (Middle East) where he coached their National adult and Junior teams at Muscat Hills Golf & Country Club. More recently in Russia, Alex developed another successful Golf Academy and secured the first PGA education program at Zavidovo PGA National.  We look forward to welcoming him to Baku in early March so he can help all our members prepare for the busy golf season ahead. 
Sale of Pre-owned Clubs
As part of growing the game of golf in Azerbaijan we are increasingly asked if we have access to any second golf clubs that may be suitable for new players who are starting to play the golf course. From March we are delighted to launch our “Pre-Owned” selection of golf equipment available to view and try at the Golf Academy. Should you have any clubs that you may wish for us to advertise on your behalf we have detailed the steps to help you find them onto a new owner. 

  • ALL members have the option for us to value the club(s) you wish to sell. Please contact our Academy Supervisor Kamran Aliyev and he will update you  Kamran.Aliyev@dreamlandgolfclub.com
  • Your club(s) will be assessed as to their suitability and the chance of selling them based on 2 criteria
  1. Selling Value Price – The total amount that we believe a customer will pay for your item in AZN (Manat)
  2. National Juniors Price – We may require your club(s) for our junior development program. If we have no buyers interest within 4 weeks of advertising we may be in a position to offer you a price which would support the growth of the game in Azerbaijan and help our local junior players realise their ambitions.
Tips
  • To achieve the highest prices and quickest sales we recommend all the items are cleaned, ready for use and where possible have original features i.e branded headcover
  • Once a club is advertised with Dreamland Golf Club its deemed to be available only through our Golf Academy. An owner may not withdraw the club(s) until they have been advertised for a minimum of 30 days.
  • Dreamland Golf Academy will take a commission of 20% commission for the sales and promotion service. The commission figure will be calculated against the selling price of the item and only deducted when the clubs have achieved their suggested selling price.
St. Patrick's Day Ball
This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the annual Irish Society St. Patrick’s Day Ball . The Baku Irish Society annual St Patrick’s Day Ball has become a highlight of the Baku social calendar and we are pleased to confirm this year’s event shall be held on the 17th March 2018 , at the Guba Ballroom, Hyatt Hotel . Whilst the primary purpose of the event is to provide an Irish themed night of entertainment marking the national saint’s feast day, its secondary purpose is to enable fundraising for those in need. To date the Baku Irish Society has collected and distributed in excess of $700k to needy causes in Azerbaijan, principally from fundraising associated with the annual ball.

Tickets are selling out fast so avoid disappointment and reserve you tickets asap.

To reserve tickets please send emails only to john@acecaspian.com  
Dreamland Golf Club | +994 (0) 12 404 7 404 | reservations@dreamlandgolfclub.com |