10 MINUTES WITH TOM ROURKE

GET TO KNOW THE NEW MAN BEHIND THE GENERAL MANAGER’S DESK AT THE ELS CLUB, DUBAI BY KENT GRAY

- KENT GRAY

SUCCEEDING KARL WHITEHEAD at the helm of The Els Club, Dubai is equal parts exciting and daunting. Now in charge of a Faldo-designed 36-holer in Cambodia as part of Troon Golf’s global management merry-go-round, The Els has not only lost one of Middle East golf’s nice guys in Whitehead, it has also bade farewell to a highly capable leader. Indeed, Whitehead helped charter the club through some of UAE’s golf’s most challenging fiscal periods, all the while ensuring it retained a reputation as one of the best conditioned courses in the region. ▶ Big shoes to fill then. Step forward Thomas Rourke. After the best part of eight years at The Track, Meydan Golf, the 39-year-old Englishman has well and truly earned his spurs as a profitable businessman and leader of good golfing men and women. During his reign, The Track was voted the globe’s best 9-hole course for three successive years in the World Golf Awards and once scaled the heights as Dubai’s second highest ranked course on Tripadvisor. That led to Rourke being named the Middle East’s leading Director of Golf in 2017 and made his promotion to a facility the pedigree of The Els merely a matter of time.

“I’m delighted to succeed Karl who has done a fantastic job at The Els Club,” said Rourke. “I am very excited to be taking this step to continue my career with Troon Golf and to join a very talented team and prestigious facility.

“The club is already in an incredibly strong position with its unique and first-class offerings. The opening of the new leisure club, on track for September, is the priority and we have plans to refresh and update other parts of the facility moving forward.”