The European Tour has added the AVIV Dubai Championship to its 2021 schedule, with the tournament returning for a second year to form an end of season double-header in Dubai with the DP World Tour Championship at European Tour Destination Jumeirah Golf Estates. The US$1.5 million AVIV Dubai Championship will be played on the Fire course at Jumeirah Golf Estates from November 11-14, preceding the final Rolex Series event of 2021, the DP World Tour Championship which will bring the curtain down on this year’s Race to Dubai on the neighbouring Earth course. It was introduced last December, when it was known as the Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World, as part of the revamped 2020 European Tour schedule, with France’s Antoine Rozner finishing two strokes clear of compatriot Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Italian Francesco Laporta and English pair Andy Sullivan and Matt Wallace. This year, the tournament will be title sponsored by AVIV Clinics, the healthcare partner of DP World, which provides unique, personalised medical programmes to enhance the aging process by improving cognitive and physical performance in healthy aging adults. The tournament replaces the cancelled Nedbank Golf Challenge Hosted by Gary Player in South Africa, which will now return for its 40th anniversary in 2022. It forms a new-look end to the European Tour’s 2021 season following the recent additions of the Mallorca Golf Open (October 21-24) and Portugal Masters (November 4-7). Players in those two events and the AVIV Dubai Championship will be aiming to secure their spot in the US$9 million DP World Tour Championship which will comprise the leading 50 available players on the Race to Dubai. Keith Pelley, the European Tour’s Chief Executive, said: “Last year’s tournament on the Fire course, created to complete our 2020 schedule, was a great success and we are delighted to bring the AVIV Dubai Championship to our schedule as the final piece in our jigsaw this season. “It means we will have two strong ‘Swings’ to end our 2021 campaign – the Iberian Swing in Spain and Portugal and now this Dubai double-header at Jumeirah Golf Estates. “Once again, I would like to thank the leaders of Dubai, DP World, AVIV Clinics and Jumeirah Golf Estates for helping us to play this event and we look forward to a terrific fortnight as we conclude another Race to Dubai on the Fire and Earth courses.” Mike Frayne, CEO of AVIV Clinics Dubai, said: “The AVIV Medical Program is an evidence based personalized program which utilizes hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to ignite the self- regenerative capabilities of the body and has been shown to enhance stamina, improve body strength and reduce pain related inflammation. This program will help both professional and amateur golfers improve physical and mental performance including focus, memory and attention, as well as accelerating physical recovery. “We are therefore delighted be supporting next month’s AVIV Dubai Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates, and we look forward to welcoming the European Tour players to Dubai.”

Flagdgolf Technology, recently installed by European Tour Destination Golf Son Muntaner, allows golfers to accurately hit on the driving range by simply viewing the screen to determine the distance to each target location. Each Flagdgolf unit is connected via GPS to all the flags on the driving range, allowing players to accurately view the distance to the flags. This advanced technology allows greater control over the stroke and the choice of club. Golf Son Muntaner, part of Arabella Golf, is designed to exceed players expectations. With extraordinary design, greens that propose continuous challenges and thorough maintenance, playing this course should be an obligation for golfers that visit Mallorca. The addition of Flagdgolf Technology is part of the ongoing strategy to position Golf Son Muntaner as one of the best courses in Europe. The strategy, initiated in 2016, saw Golf Son Muntaner completely change the grass on the course and also included a major redesign of all greens plus some of their iconic holes. The process continued in 2020 with the improvement of its bunkers with the Better Billy Bunker system and now, in 2021, they have introduced this Flagdgolf technology to ensure a enhanced playing experience on the driving range for all guests.

With the 2021 Ryder Cup done and dusted, all eyes are now on the next contest due to be staged in 2023 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Italy. The venue’s course designer, Dave Sampson, reveals the secrets behind creating a layout fit for the biggest show in golf.

As the global movement towards Net Zero gathers pace, European Tour Destinations Real Estate Consultant, Sandra Ruttle, reports on how the network’s resorts are bidding to maximise efficiencies and lower their carbon footprint. The property industry is at a tipping point on its path to a sustainable future. According to United Nations’ estimates, the real estate and construction sector is responsible for 40% of the world’s energy consumption and a third of all carbon emissions. This makes the industry a critical player in helping tackle the climate crisis and meet the international goals of achieving Net Zero emissions for every building, both new and existing, by 2050. Net Zero is defined as ‘a state where we add no incremental greenhouse gases to the atmosphere’. This requires carbon emissions emitted by the construction, ownership and servicing of a building to be minimised, with remaining emissions offset through resource selection and reduction, as well as the use of renewable energy. Incentives Pursuing a Net Zero strategy in the real estate sector offers opportunity for all stakeholders. For property owners and tenants, the running costs of occupying a net zero property will be significantly lower, even non-existent given the building’s ability to produce as much renewable energy as it consumes over the course of a year. Such occupants could therefore benefit from net zero energy bills and carbon-free homes. For investors, considering the sustainability credentials of a property, could generate higher property values, better tenant attraction and retention, as well as improved returns on investment. For resorts, offering an environment which matches a wider sustainable ethos has the benefits of drawing in and retaining a skilled workforce that shares the same principles. Achieving Net Zero Practically, reducing emissions in the real estate sector centres around three R’s: renewables, retrofitting and responsible ownership. Renewables are a valuable sustainability measure as they can be used in the short term and often require lower capital expenditure than other emission reduction measures. Estonian Golf and Country Club, located on the Baltic coast, is a prime example, and one of the network’s first-adopters of this methodology that it implemented from the very start of its real estate project, over 15 years ago. Instigated by its President, Mait Schmidt, who has long been an advocate of passive and low energy properties, all buildings constructed at the resort are airtight structures with advanced levels of insulation. They make use of modern heat recovery ventilation systems that help reduce annual energy operating costs by up to 80%, in a bid to minimise overall total energy consumption per floor area. Never has this been more relevant, as the Estonian Government recently introduced legislation whereby all newly constructed properties must have an energy class A.  Retrofitting is another key factor which will help achieve Net Zero, especially given that 80% of the building stock which will exist in 2050 is already built. Greater energy efficiencies, and cost savings, are tied closely with the implementation of new technologies, such as Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) devices,