Latest News
Anniversary Tournament 2018
Thanks to everybody who joined us for our 3rd Anniversary celebrations on Sunday. With guest players from Kazan and Moscow participating they were very complimentary about the spirit of the club and the condition of the golf course. We are delighted to announce our winners as Kenneth Lemley, Peter Cook, Sohail Siddiqi and Sabine Siddiqi who scored 118 points claiming the title with a strong back nine of 59pts. Runners up were team Kazan, Evgeniy Tripuk, Bayzat Sagdeev, Andrey Matveev, and Sergey Markelov who also scored118 points – back nine 57pts. Third place was the Dreamland Team of Patrick Park, Jinyoub Choi, Euichil Noh and Jeanhyuk Yim with116 points. Some fantastic shots were played to claim the Nearest The Pin prizes, Nearest the Pin hole 5 Chris Bernardi, Nearest the Pin hole 10, Khalil Huseynov, Nearest the Pin hole 13, Ray Jacques and Nearest the Pin hole 17 Ian Grant. Congratulations to John Wiseman pictured above winning a bottle of Royal Salute 21 yr old whiskey in the players raffle draw at the prizegiving.
Saturday 6th of October 2018 – Saturday Roll Up Results
After a two week break, we resumed the Saturday Roll Up this past weekend. Due to the Dreamland GC vs. Russian Golf Clubs matches, only 13 players participated. Alan Ferguson took advantage of the afternoon weather and took first place with 4 under par 40 points. There was a tie for second and third place, between 3 players – Iain Paterson, Bruce Ferguson and Pat Clark on 33 points. It required us to look at their back nine scores. After the countback Iain took 2nd place with 18 points and Bruce took 3rd place with 17 back nine points. Pat’s 13 back nine points narrowly missed out on the prize table for this week. No players had a 2 on their scorecard, so we will have roll over for this coming Saturday Roll Up.
Maintenance Notice
As you may recall in previous years October has traditionally been the month for hollow coring and top dressing with sand. This week Martin and his team will introduce a new process of verti-drain aeration. The machine pictured above will puncture 25cm deep holes into the green soil profile alleviating compaction from machinery and seasonal golf play. The air channels that are created allow new roots space for growth and easier movement for water and nutrients through the sand profile. The verti-drain process in much less disruptive that the hollow coring usually performed in April (where we remove cores from green and fill with sand) Hollow-coring will be reduced once per year in future if our greens remain healthy with this new program. Players will only notice small holes once the verti-drain is complete that will close over quickly. The greens will be rolled following the verti-drain and mowing resumed immediately to ensure we retain a smooth and true putting surfaces once again.
Return match Agalarov vs Dreamland in Baku
On the 5th of October, Baku, Azerbaijan welcomed members of Russian Golf Club – Agalarov Golf Estate for a return match! With Agalarov winning the summer match in Moscow 7pts to 5pts Dreamland Golf Club members welcomed the team in preparation to challenge for the trophy.
Eight Agalarov players arrived early on Friday for a practice game and to learn the course ahead of Saturday’s match.  With an unforeseen change in the climate, the weather was cool and windy as the teams assembled.
First flight with team captain from Agalarov – Igor Knyazev and his wife Alla took the lead with 3 points from Dreamland Golf Club’s team captain Khalil Khuseynov and playing partner Ilqar Ahmadov. In the second flight with Simarev Dmitry and Perevalov Dmitry from Agalarov played against Dana Smith and Eldar Kerimov with the match score awarding 2 points towards the Dreamland team. The final flights benefitted from the weather improving with wins for Agalarov players Burgart Andrey and Elena Dmitrienkova over Elman Rzayev and Iltifat Agayev.
After Starostin Igor and Fursov Maksim team from Agalarov successfully finished the 18th hole and results were calculated to make it 10 – 2 in Agalarov favor - it was time to Khalil Huseynov to pass a trophy back to Agalarov team captain Igor Knyazev to send back to Russia till next year summer matches!
We were pleased to welcome Agalarov Golf Estate members to visit Baku, we looking forward to continuing the long term friendship between the teams. 
Dreamland Golf Club vs Kazan Golf Club
Saturday the 6th of October - Dreamland Golf Club hosted twelve golfers for the first match between Kazan Golf Club and Dreamland Golf Club Baku. With direct flight between Azerbaijan and Kazan (Russia) golfers took the opportunity at the end of their golf season by visiting Baku and meeting our members for a club match. With some challenging October weather the first 6 holes gave the early matches a true test. Kazan captain Sayfutdinov Aydar and playing partner Kurbanov Ramil were paired against 2017 Dreamland Club Champions Rob O’Donoghue and Sean Harrison with initial points (2-1) awarded to Baku for a win. The same score was recorded for the second group of Alistair Macduff and Wade Droney from Dreamland who played against Pasechnik Sergey and Kuznetsov Ivan putting Baku in the lead. Kazan fought back well with the mid table matches with Chris WoodWoolley and Tadeus Herrold losing to Safin Aydar and Shagiakhmetov Ilshat and Ray Irving and Mark Javie unable to defeat Matveed Andrey and Markelov Sergey brining the scores to 8pts to 4pts in favour of the visitors.
Ruslan Jafarov and Rashan Aliyev fought strong against Karimov Rustem and Tripuk Evgeniy, but Kazan team played so well increasing their lead to 11pts to 4pts. The last flight of the day was played by the inform pairing of Tural Velizade and Ray Jacques, however despite a 77 gross from Tural they could only earn 1pt for Baku against the strength of players Sagdeev Bayzat and Gumerov Askhat. Congratulations to Kazan on winning the friendship trophy by 13pts to 5pts. We look forward for a return match next summer in Kazan to claim the trophy back!
UK Travel – PLEASE!!!
We are looking for any members travelling to the UK later this week or next week, to take with them a set of Vintage golf clubs (in a flight bag) that were used in the recent Nobel Brothers Film production. We will pay for any excess luggage (although clubs fly free Turkish Airlines) and also award a shop voucher for 200AZN for your troubles. Once in the UK we would arrange a courier to collect the clubs from your address and send down to London to VinHicGolf HQ. Please drop Phil a note  Philip.jones@dreamlandgolfclub.com  if you can help us out!
Georgia Trip
Good luck to the team heading to Tbilisi this weekend for the Georgia V Azerbaijan friendship trophy. We look forward to updating our social media with some pictures of the new course and the match results.
Medal Grand Final
On 21st of October we will have our last medal series of the year - Medal Grand Finalş Be sure to sign up and we will arrange the draw with morning tee times. Points will be on offer to the leading 10 players in each handicap division 0-21 and 22-36. The entry fee is free for all members, with an optional 5 AZN if you wish to join the 2’s club. Good Luck to all.
Azerbaijan Open 2018
As we look back on a fantastic September at the club we are pleased to share some great memories of the 2018 Azerbaijan Open, follow the link below for the official video and newsletter. Thanks again for all our players, guests and sponsors we look forward to our 2019 event!
Qatar Trip
We are pleased to launch the sign up for any players wishing to join us in Qatar this November. For any players wanting to sample some warm golf at that time of year, it will be a fantastic trip to experience the best courses in Doha.
 
Friday 23rd of November – Late evening flight down to Doha – Check in at the Grand Hyatt Hotel
Saturday 24th of November – Education City Golf Club Doha – Due to open January 2019!
Sunday 25th of November – Doha Golf Club – home of the Qatar Masters (European Tour Event)
Sunday 25th of November – Return flight to Baku
 
We are confirming final costs through Qatar Airways and the Grand Hyatt Doha, however if you would like to register your initial interest please contact Anton Samsonov Anton.Samsonov@dreamlandgolfclub.com and we will update as soon as we have the full package price.
ACADEMY NEWS
Azerbaijan Junior Open 2018
On Saturday Dreamland hosted the inaugural Azerbaijan Junior Open with children aged between 7 and 17 years participating over four different categories. Thanks to the generous sponsorship from Bos Shelf, plus support of volunteers, the team were able to accommodate and reward juniors of various golfing abilities. These ranged from single figure handicappers to those experiencing the golf course for the very first time. Changeable autumn conditions didn’t dampen the spirits of the enthusiastic juniors with some super scoring being produced. Winning places were as follows:
  • Category A Winner – Huseyn Babazade, 43
  • Category A Runner Up – Nabi Efendi, 41
  • Category B Winner – Tofig Mammadli, 19 points
  • Category B Runner Up – Rufat Musayev, 19 (CB) points
  • Category C Winner – Ali Kerimov, 19 points
  • Category C Runner Up – Ilknur Kazimly, 16 points
  • Category D Winner – Tural Aslanov, 40
  • Category D Runner Up – Sophie Green, 48 (CB)
  • Straightest Drive – Lala Ibrahimova
  • Longest Drive – Huseyn Babazade
  • Nearest the Pin – Farid Khalilzade
Thanks to all who participated in making this inaugural event such a success. The club are looking forward to taking it from strength to strength to help further evolve golf in Azerbaijan
Swing Tips from IMG’s Ryder Cup Stars
The return of this week’s analysis sees us focusing on Henrik Stenson. Over the years Stenson has gained a reputation as not only being one of the most powerful ball strikers on tour but also one of the most accurate, hitting many fairways and greens in regulation.
One of the keys to his accuracy and renowned straight ball flight is the fact there is very little hand manipulation and clubface rotation through the impact area. Rather than rolling the wrists and forearms excessively to try and create speed, he gains both clubface stability and power through fantastic body rotation. 
Body rotation is so important in the golf swing, especially through impact, and a move that helps Stenson to rotate so well is that he allows his head to rotate and his eyes to be taken off the ball. This move is not completely unique in that the swings of former world number ones David Duval and Anika Sorentam also both featured this move. When their clubheads made contact with the ball, their eyes were looking well past the ball and down the target line.
To see this move in action please click the link below:
Should you wish to get more out of your swing by further exploring the topic of body rotation, please contact me at the Academy for a session in the IMG Performance Studio:
E: alex.day@dreamlandgolfclub.com or M: (+994 50) 983 8 172
RYDER CUP Promotion Winning TEAM GRIP!
Mark your place in history by having the EUROPEAN Team’s grip fitted to your putter. Just two grips remain and are available with our academy team. The grips are on sale priced 85AZN each including fitting, and can be purchased on a first come first reserved basis with Kamran Aliyev Academy Supervisor  Kamran.Aliyev@dreamlandgolfclub.com
Foot Golf
To coincide with the football season getting underway this month we are offering a 2 for 1 promotion on all Monday evening rounds of Foot Golf. 
The game is played similarly to golf, with the exception that a football is used instead of a golf ball. Also the ball is kicked rather than hit with a club, and aimed towards an oversized hole in place of the usual golf hole. Our specially built 9 hole course at the Academy includes bunkers, trees, hills and water which should all be evaded to reach the hole.
It’s great fun for all the family!! Get your shooting boots on and come and have a crack at breaking the Dreamland course record. We’re open every Monday from 17:00-20:00
Pre-Owned Clubs For Sale – More Stock Needed!
Please find below the link to our Pre–Owned selection of golf equipment which we have on offer with the Golf Academy Team. Alex, Kamran or Emma are delighted to allow you to trial any of the items at the Driving Range, as you can see many of the leading brands are featured. If you have any clubs that you wish to sell the team are happy to prepare valuations.
Dreamland Golf Club | +994 (0) 12 404 7 404 | reservations@dreamlandgolfclub.com |