"The most challenging and exciting mile in golf"

GregNormanDubaiPoor La Costa has Greg Norman and the folks in Dubai taking their claim to infamy when they announced that  Jumeirah Golf Estates's "Earth" course will be hosting the inaugural Dubai World Championship in November 2009. From the press release:

Greg Norman said:“As a golf course architect, it is both rewarding and challenging to know that this course will be hosting the Dubai World Championship.

“I’ve been fortunate to have a number of PGA Tour events played on courses I have designed.  Of course, Jumeirah Golf Estates will be showcased on a global basis and as the golf course designer, I’m proud to be a part of such a significant event.

“From my perspective I think that both the Earth and the Fire courses will be equally playable and I’m pleased with the progress that has been made on them.”

Norman was returning to Dubai for his ninth site visit and spent his time fine-tuning the course design for the Championship.  The final four holes of the Earth course will, he said, offer a spectacular finish:

“Of course, I think the entire course has a great balance, but the finish will really stand out.  The last four holes will measure exactly a mile, 1760 yards.  I expect it will be considered one of the most challenging and exciting miles of golf, in terms of risk and reward."

Meanwhile, let's get to the important stuff:

“There were some significant changes on 7 and on 9 but everything else has been more subtle, getting the greens ready for the speed that we need them and so on.  And we’ve had to allow for the infrastructure of a major tournament. That means laying cabling and getting prepared for the full hospitality suites, designing the right driving range facility, creating ease of access for parking and everything like that.”

And with the release came this totally unstaged photo in need of a caption, don't you think:

GregNormanDubaibuggy