It’s by-invitation-only and it takes place every year on the Royal Dar Es-Salam Red Course in Morocco ’s capital of Rabat . It is the prestigious Hassan II Trophy golf tournament.
Over a 10-day period, accompanied by my wife, Audrey, I enjoyed some incredible activities in Marrakech and Rabat in conjunction with the 33 rd Hassan II Trophy tournament. The trip was more than just a visit to a pro tourney and the chance to watch skilled professionals make shots amateur golfers only dream about. It was 10 days of golf, sightseeing, and learning about an exciting, magical country.
For the 90 amateurs who participated in the three-day Pro-AM, it was an opportunity to interact with pros from across the globe on a one-to-one basis. Unlike most Pro-Am events, where amateurs are greeted by a pro on the first tee and say goodbye on the 18 th green, Hassan II Trophy amateurs not only played with different pros on each of the three days of the Pro-AM, but were able to spend their days and evenings socializing, dining, traveling, and getting to know them.
The tournament developed because of the friendship between US golf legend Billy Casper and King Hassan II of Morocco . Casper met King Hassan II in the late 1960’s, and at the King’s request, arranged for fellow PGA pros to compete in the first tournament in 1971. Although the tournament is relatively unknown in the USA, the list of previous winners reads like a Who’s Who of Golf - Orville Moody, Billy Casper, Lee Trevino, Payne Stewart, Nick Price, Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie, Roger Chapman, David Toms and in 1998, 2002 and 2003, Santiago Luna of Spain.
This year’s US pro contingent included two-time PGA Tour winner Keith Clearwater, Erik Compton, who placed first in the Canadian Tour’s 2004 Order of Merit, Ty Tryon, who made his professional debut in 2002 at the age of 18; Bobby Casper, known for his golfing skills and his nationally syndicated golf talk show, Real Golf Radio, and Patrick Damron of the Nationwide Tour.
Compton, who holds the unique distinction of being the only professional athlete in the world who competes with a transplanted heart, won this year’s tournament. He tied the tournament record of 15 under par held by Santiago Luna. He did so by hitting accurate drives to the Royal Dar Es-Salam’s tree-lined fairways, and long straight iron shots to its well-bunkered greens. In conquering the par 73 Red Course, Compton took home the $200,000 first prize and a jewel encrusted scimitar rumored to be worth nearly as much as the monetary prize. Second place at 11 under went to Portugal ’s Jose Philippe Lima. Watch for both these names because, as the PGA’s TV ad says, “These Guys Are Good.”
Since we have been home, my wife and I have been asked over and over about the trip and why we deemed it such “an incredible experience”. We have been hard pressed to pinpoint one or two things that made it special because there were so many things that were unusual, spectacular, and overwhelming.
The opportunity we had to spend 10 days traveling, socializing, and conversing with Billy Casper was extraordinary. It was a wonderful experience to be able to speak with a man who has won 51 PGA Tour events including two US Opens and a Masters Championship, was a nine-time winner on the Seniors Tour (including the US Senior Open) and was twice PGA Player of the Year.
We were able to meet, observe and walk “inside the ropes” with many of the 30 pros and 90 amateurs from around the world. Watching the pros attack the 7400-yard course with long, high, straight 300-yard drives, chip-in from difficult lies off spacious greens, and drop 30 foot putts as easily as I miss five footers...was amazing.
Topping the list of non-golfing highlights were meeting His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid at a cocktail reception at his estate and US Ambassador Thomas Riley at a cocktail reception in his home on the property of the US Embassy.
There were guided tours through the maze of alleys and souks in Marrakech where Moroccans have shopped for over a thousand years. We watched cobras dance to the music of snake charmers in Place Djemma el-Fna, Marrakech’s bustling central square. We enjoyed a five-course dinner of scrumptious soup, pigeon pie, lamb, chicken and couscous served in huge platters at a famed Chez Ali Fantasia, where hundreds of costumed dancers and Berber drummers entertained, wine flowed continually, and horsemen performed in a football size arena following dinner.
On a private railroad car on a four-hour train ride through the sometimes barren (and sometimes fertile plains) from Marrakech to Rabat , we were entertained by musicians and a belly dancer. Then there was a family dinner in the home of one of Rabat ’s leading rug merchants and a gala black tie sit-down dinner for 500 inside the walls of the old city of Rabat . A private tour of the King’s Stables where world champion show and race horses are raised and trained was included in our Moroccan trip where each and every activity, each new sight and sound added to our “Arabian Nights” Moroccan experience.
Because Morocco is a Muslim country, Americans have been reluctant to travel there since 9-11. These fears should be put aside because Morocco is a safe, picturesque, and magical country whose happy friendly people welcome Americans as they successfully blend age-old traditions with new Western customs.
We loved the people, the cities, the golf and the friendships we made. It was truly an incredible experience. To paraphrase California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, we said to our new Moroccan friends, “We’ll be back.”