RIYADH: Veteran Saudi golfer Ali Balharith has taken up a job that he enjoys doing after he retired on April 10 as supervisor of maintenance for semi-light equipment at the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.
Balharith, apart from being captain of the Saudi national golf team, is now the coach of both the men’s and junior teams. He was signed to a contract on June 6 by the Saudi Golf Federation.
One of the pioneers of Saudi golf, Balharith, 60, is banking on his wealth of experience in the sport to try and develop a stable of homegrown talents for future international competitions.
His commitment to raise the depth and quality of the Saudi game is without a doubt but Balharith, who first represented the country in the Pan-Arab Golf Championship in 1975 in Lebanon, said making a difference does not happen in a flash.
“Golf is a difficult game. Give us time to develop and let’s see what happens from there,” Balharith told Arab News in an interview from Najran.
With a keen eye for talent, Balharith has been credited with having discovered in the 90s the Kingdom No. 1 Othman Almulla, who has since made a name not only in the national but also GCC and Arab levels as well.
Almulla leads the national pool of 17 players, including those newly-promoted to the regular men’s team and fresh recruits to the junior ranks, under the wing of Balharith.
To start the road to building the junior team Balharith traveled with the squad to Dubai for a training camp at the famed Butch Harmon Golf Academy during the period Aug. 5-14.
Under the development program Balharith said he conducts local training every two weeks at alternate venues. Last week, Dirab Golf Club hosted a two-day training for junior players that followed the one held at Riyadh Golf Club.
Balharith thanked both clubs for their support of the program by way of offering their facilities for free. He particularly cited Khaled Abunayyan and Mohammad Abunayyan as well as Bouchaib El Jadiani of Dirab Golf Club and RGC’s Yousuf Eddiweesh and V. T. M. Rafi.
The Dubai-based Noah Alireza, a 2-handicap, is being touted as the one player with the talent to back up Almulla something which the national men’s squad lacks in team competitions.
Another exciting player to watch is Khaled Attieh, 14, a scion of a prominent business family in Jeddah who has moved to Dubai last year to further improved his golf skills. Now a 5-handicap he has been promoted to the men’s team along with fellow teenagers Khaled Eddiweesh and Abdullah Al-Hussein, who both play to between 9-8 handicap. That brings to seven the number of the men’s team which also includes Fahad Al-Mansour and Ali Al-Sahli.
Balharith said junior player Turki Al-Hussein is a candidate for the men’s squad. Along with Ryan Al-Daham, 15, Ahmad Ali Balharith, 17, and Abdulrahman Al-Mansour, 14, Turki makes up the four core members of the junior team. Joining them are the six new faces namely cousins Mishari Al-Dablan and Nawaf Al-Dablan, Abdlrahamn Anqari, Abdulghani Al-Khayat, Badr Al-Dablan and Ahmad Eddiweesh.
Meantime, Balharith said Othman and Alireza will represent Saudi Arabia in the Turkish Open golf tournament to be held Oct. 1-4 in Antalya on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey.
