A Message From Our Chairman
Golf has been played in Oman since 1969 and over the last 10 years has seen significant development, investment and growth.
The efforts that have been made for us to reach the current position have involved vision, trust and commitment from many people. Through these efforts much has been achieved in a short period of time, not least by bringing Oman its largest sporting event to date, the Oman Open.
I am proud to have served as Chairman since 2014 and of the work being done to bring the game of golf to the local population as well as developing golf as an effective source of tourism and employment to the Sultanate.
Now as Chairman of the Oman Golf Association, with the support of the Ministries and our sponsors and partners, I am excited to continue our journey and look forward to continuing to offer golf to all in the Sultanate.
Mundhir Al Barwani, Chairman of the Oman Golf Association
Established by the Ministry of Sport in 2009 the Oman Golf Committee was awarded the status of an Association in 2020.
The Association exists to increase awareness, participation, promotion and appreciation of golf to the domestic and international markets and further to this to ensure that golf is used to promote the general interests of the Sultanate both locally and overseas. The Association is responsible for the governance of the game in the Sultanate, enforcing the Rules of Golf as laid out by the R&A and administering the World Handicap System.
The Oman Golf Association is a non-profit making organisation and any funding raised through Government support or generous sponsorship is directly invested into achieving our goal to grow the game in Oman in a sustainable way and in doing so to support and contribute to Oman Vision 2040.
The Oman Golf Association is proud to support its National Amateur Teams. Those who are selected to be part of the Under 13, Under 15, Under 18, Ladies and Men's National Team Squads are the best amateur golfers in the Sultanate. Throughout the season the National Teams compete in tournaments regionally and internationally including the Asia Pacific Championship, the Arab Championships and the GCC Championships.
Working with the GEO Foundation and other key stakeholders the OGA have created GOgreen, a national sustainability strategy to address and advance sustainability and climate action in, and through, the sport of golf. The vision is that golf will become more widely recognised for delivering valuable social, environmental and economic benefits to the citizens of Oman.
The OGA is committed to making golf more inclusive. The R&A Women in Golf Charter aims to increase women and girls participation in golf. The OGA have adopted the Charter and have committed to build on and develop initiatives such as GOladies which focus on encouraging more women and girls to play golf and stay within the sport as members of clubs, while also empowering women to enjoy successful careers working within the golf and wider hospitality industry.
Taking inclusivity a step further under the banner of #ForeEveryone the OGA is committed to providing the opportunity to experience golf to all sectors of the population in Oman. Through a series of outreach programmes the OGA will be able to visit schools, institutions and corporate establishments, as well as establishing relationships with bodies such as Special Olympics Oman to provide sports training and athletic competition for those less fortunate.
In 2019 and 2020 the Oman Golf Association acted as promoter of the Oman Open, forming part of the European Tour the event attracted a stellar field of Professional golfers and was played over 4 days at Al Mouj Golf. The 2020 Oman Open saw 10 of the World’s top 100 in the field of 144 players and was televised globally to a potential audience of 325 million households. With over 2000 hours of TV coverage the event strives to put the Sultanate of Oman at the forefront and to serve as a platform for increased tourism, direct overseas investment, and provide the potential for increased employment.
In 2023 Oman will play host to the Asian Tour with the first International Series Oman tournament.
The Oman Golf Association relies upon the generous support of sponsors and partners in order to achieve many of its objectives. If you would be interested to learn more about the opportunities that exist within the Association or the Oman Open please contact us.
