With all the promotions Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is running over the course of the summer, we thought it was high time we learned how to hit a golf ball the right way.

In the shade of a huge canopy at the edge of the driving range, our patient instructor Johan began at the very beginning, rightly assuming we’d never been shown the proper way to even hold a golf club.

Using additional clubs laid out on the ground, Johan showed us the all important swing stance and gave us the opportunity to try it out. In between hacking up chunks of grass and missing the ball entirely, we managed a few nice swings in our first lesson, enough to encourage us to come back for more.

Lesson two began with more of the same, trying out different clubs and picking up more tips for getting that ball to go in the right direction – we especially love the thwhacking sound the big fat drivers make when they hit the ball and the way Johan gave us an encouraging “yes, please” every time we got it right – then it was over to the putting range.

Showing improvement, our third lesson ended in the bunker, chipping wayward balls out of the sand and onto the green with our sand wedges. We were even more surprised in the bunker than we were on the putting green as our chips hit their targets more often than not.

Playing three proper holes on our last lesson, though, proved that while we’d learned most of what we needed to know, we’re still many hours of practice away from being professionals. At the end of our little game, however, we were thoroughly addicted and ready to get out on the greens and play more.

Laura Fulton