AAGD travelers relish a golden sunset following an exciting “Desert Safari” in Dubai.
By AAGD STAFF
New York, NY (November 15, 2018 )—Sun, sand, scenery, and tours of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) kicked-off the trip of a lifetime for passengers on three tours heading from the USA to UAE—a land of true wonderment and great golf. The 8-Day Classic Dubai and Abu Dhabi awesome adventure drew more than 70 travelers from across America who joined the international cultural excursion planned by the African American Golfer’s Digest, the nation’s leading publication serving avid Black American golfers. The final travel group returned to the USA from their excursion on November 14, 2018, all with plenty of stimulating exploits to share.
Armajean Osbourne (second from left) golf with gents at Emirates Golf Club, Dubai.
(l-r) Coran James, Rudy Richmond and partners play Yas Links in Abu Dhabi
“When the first trip rolled out in early October 2017, I initially thought that only 20-25 people would be interested,” said Publisher Debert Cook, who organizes numerous domestic and international golf trips for her 15-year old, New York City-based magazine.
“Within three weeks the first trip had completely sold out, yet calls for more bookings were still coming in. So, I decided to add another trip (with an identical itinerary) to the 2018 schedule. Then, that second trip sold out shortly before Christmas 2017. With
calls for more bookings still being fielded, I added a third trip. And, that’s how we ended up with three successive trips, all with duplicate itineraries, going to Dubai and Abu Dhabi for 2018,” says the history buff and former adjunct professor at the College of New Rochelle, South Bronx Campus in New York.
Rudy Richmond enjoying night golf at the fully lighted Majlis Course at the Emirates Golf Club.
Ms. Cook knows her golf audience and their interests very well. With each published issue of the niche magazine, more than 80,000 loyal readers are always eagerly anticipating the next planned travel excursion or program announcement. Their Trips, Getaways & Excursions webpage is very popular and gets nearly 11,000 hits per month. Those number of hits—not particularly a lot for a national magazine—have proven to be enough to garner registrations for successful travel programs and events for the publication.
(L-R) LaVerne Flowers, Armajean Osbourne and Lillian Dent at Yas Golf Links.
“We welcome golfers, and non-golfers, to all of our functions. In fact, we include golf clinics at several of our events, and, get plenty of folks attending who actually hold a golf club in their hands for the very first time,” says the golfer who herself started playing 16 years ago. “So, attracting and engaging new golfers without being intimidating is part of the goal for all of our travel programs.”
Dubai & Abu Dhabi trip #1 (Oct. 10-17, 2018 ) travelers pose for group photo.
AROUND THE WORLD WE GOLF
The publication’s annual getaways have taken travelers all around the world, by land and sea. “Our escorted golf trips and golf cruises have included destinations such as Hawaii, Alaska, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Panama, Costa Rica, Africa, and others. “Our readers are always seeking exciting places to play golf—And, yes, we did golf two courses in Alaska!” said Cook, whose AAGD travel programs are ‘friend and family’ geared and always open to the public, with many non-golfers always in the mix.
Group poses in front of the Burj Al Arab. This uber-luxe sail-shaped hotel, the only one to achieve a seven-star rating, sits on its own man-made island in Dubai’s harbor. The exclusive property was completed in 1999. There is certainly no shortage of sky-high buildings in Dubai.
“Everything about the trip was wonderful from beginning to end, the airline, the tours, the hotels, including the other people in my tour group.”—Elizabeth Brown
Traveler Denese Powell in front of The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque which stands out as one of the world’s largest mosques, and the only one that captures unique interactions between Islam and world cultures. The largest mosque in the country, it is the key place of worship for daily prayers, Friday gathering and Eid prayers.
“We had a wonderful time in Dubai and Abu Dhabi!”—Jacqui Walwyn
“Today’s golfer (and their friend/spouse) seeks a unique group travel experience with rounds played at courses where they feel welcomed, safe, and comfortable. It’s not always about the cost or the distance, it’s about the overall experience because golfers find the means to do what they want to do.”
“Plus, we always offer a payment plan, since many of our readers are either retirees or students or folks who are raising families on fixed incomes not conducive for extensive leisure travel,” says Ms. Cook, a Certified Meetings Planner (CMP) with over 20-years of industry experience in the corporate and private sector as owner of Event Planners Plus NA Inc.
“I’ve been to than 58 countries and to six continents and I believe, without a doubt, that travel is one of the best ways to really discover the world and those who occupy it. This planet is filled with great wonders just waiting to be explored and it is a pleasure to watch travelers immerse themselves in various cultures,” says Cook who has been to the UAE several times prior to arranging this group tour.
MAJESTIC BEAUTY OF THE UAE
Why did she select this destination for her readers to experience? “I wanted to share the majestic beauty of this country with others and expand their horizons on just how small our world really is. We’re all in this together and the earth needs our cooperation to continue to sustain us,” said Cook who knows that Dubai is the second largest and second most important and influential emirate of the United Arab Emirates after the capital, Abu Dhabi. Many may associate the Middle Eastern economy with the oil industry, but little of Dubai’s revenue comes from oil. In fact, the most profitable industries in Dubai are tourism, real estate and financial services. According to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, the number of tourists in Dubai has increased year-on-year, reaching almost 15 million in 2016. This made Dubai the fourth most visited city destination worldwide after Bangkok, London, and Paris.
“We had an outstanding time and fun was had by all.”—Amajean Osbourne
(L-R) Laddy Baldwin, Leary Wade, Kendal Flowers and Bill Fullard enjoy the beautiful Yas Golf Links in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
THREE EXCURSIONS 
The three excursions of Dubai & Abu Dhabi during 2018 took place October 10-17, October 24-31 and November 7-14. The 2019 golf trip to Dubai & Abu Dhabi is already being planned and will be announced soon. Interested persons should continue to check the publication’s Trips, Getaways & Excursions webpage or contact Debert Cook via email at debertcook@aol.com.
ENJOY TRIP PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY TRAVELERS BELOW!
