Awali Golf Club is situated in the southern central part of Bahrain adjacent to the town of Riffa and the township of Awali, which belongs to the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco).

Awali Golf Club can be truly proud of it's desert course which is amongst the best in the Middle East. The question often asked is "Why did anyone want to build a course in the middle of nowhere and right in the middle of the desert?"

The answer lies in the fact that the game of golf was brought to the region by the original oilfield workers.

A view across the 18th and 7th fairways

Oil was discovered in Bahrain in June of 1932 but exploration activities had begun much earlier. Although the records are a bit sketchy, it is quite clear that by 1934 a three hole course existed somewhere in the vicinity of the first oil well at the oil worker's camp at Jebel Al Dukan.

By 1935 the worker's camp had moved to the hill area known as Awali so naturally golf moved with the camp. This resulted in a 9 hole course being laid out with the first tee being located at what is now the Al Dar guest house. The course ran around the area at the base of the hill.

Workers developing the course in the early 1950's

However, with the rapid development of the oil activities this site was soon to be required as building land for the Awali village, to provide housing and facilities for the growing numbers of oil workers. Despite being constantly moved on from their location the Awali golfers remained undeterred and in the late 1930's a new 9 hole course was laid out.

This was to be the forerunner of the current Awali Golf Club course and was designed and built by a Bapco employee by the name of Colin Pendal-Smith who was ably assisted by a committee of enthusiastic helpers. The course itself ran in a southerly direction from what is now the clubhouse, with today's 10^th being the original 1^st.

A green (brown) sweeper takes a well earned rest in the shade

Indeed, even today if one were to venture off into the desert to the right of the present 11^th you will come across the remains of that original Awali Golf course. So strong was the desire to play golf that it was not long after the inauguration of the 9 hole course that it was extended to become a 5000 yard 18 hole course.

During the subsequent years some of the original holes were abandoned and replaced whilst others were extended or reshaped in order to bring the overall distance to over 6000 yards. Indeed, at one point the 1^st hole was designed as a par 5 and followed the line of today's 7^th, which is why it is now named the "Old First".

Teeing off on the par 3 4th (Cardiac)

The tee box for the old first was positioned on the site of the palm tree that proudly sits behind today's 6^th green. Over the years and with various modifications and extensions the course gradually evolved into the layout that we currently enjoy.

For anyone who has played the Awali course it will be difficult to imagine that in its infancy the course had very few trees to contend with. Many players have cursed their luck when a wild swing has meant that they have managed to 'find' the trees.

Well they can blame the former members of the club for their fate, as it was they who gave up their spare time and individually planted all the trees that currently line the fairways. Of particular note in this regard was ex Bapco employee John Gornall, whom it is claimed watered many of the trees by hand when they were mere saplings. We are sure that today's membership will happily praise John's dedication for providing such a wonderful challenge to their game!  

Ed Scarff teaching a group of ladies in 1956

The popular belief is that the Awali Golf Club achieved its official recognition as a sports facility operated by Bapco in 1952. A full history of committee members can be traced back into the early fifties and include celebrated names such as E. W. Scarff, W. Lewis and Dr. P. McGregor all of whom have their names assigned to holes on today's course, the 10^th, 8^th and 16^th respectively.

At around the same time, the first clubhouse was built on the site currently occupied by the present building. However, during the early days of golf at Awali, members did not have the luxury of a clubhouse, indeed they simply brought a cool box containing their own refreshments and sat on 'The Hill', the site of the present day clubhouse.

The lounge in the present day clubhouse

During the early 1950's Bapco built the original very small clubhouse on the site of what is now the bar. Refreshments were served through a drop down hatch, all in all it was a very primitive premises. In 1957 the clubhouse was extended to cover much of the area that it now occupied. In those days the front of the building was entirely glass offering members a truly panoramic view of play on the 18^th fairway.

During 1987 the clubhouse received another makeover, this time it was to celebrate the 25^th Bahrain Open. The premises were extended to include a walled terrace with arches and an entrance door and is exactly as it is today.

In addition to the course and the clubhouse a driving range was built in the late 1940's or early 1950's. This has been progressively upgraded over the years to the current facility. The range is very popular and has been upgraded several times during its lifetime. Indeed plans are currently afoot to convert it into a dual purpose site; a four hole practice course and a driving range.  

The Driving Range

Major club competitions started in 1956, although the club's honours boards indicate that knock out competitions were running as long ago as 1939, when the first Kingsbury Cup was won by C.R.B. Hooper.

The British Overseas Airways (BOAC) Cup, currently sponsored by British Airways, is indeed the oldest recorded sponsored competition in the Gulf region. It is still a much sought after trophy and attracts a very large field of competitors each year. Another 'first' in the Gulf region was the Bahrain Open Golf Championship, organised and staged in 1964 by the Awali Golf Club.

BOAC Qualifiers 2007/08