I’ll have the entire story for you in an article later this week, but I co-wrote this poem with pre-eminent golf course architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr. It seems that the Red Course at Royal Dar-Es-Salam, the first truly great golf course in the Arab World and an important course in the portfolio and legacy of Trent, Sr. may be completely redesigned in an effort to sell something designed by a conglomerate of famous former U.S. touring professionals.
I am sympathetic to Bob’s aim – we should preserve the precious legacy of great courses by the greatest golf architects, and Dar-Es-Salam has a rich and important history as one of the World’s best courses outside of the US and UK. As such, I can’t report on the story, but I can offer an opinion or two and make myself available to other journalists who wish to cover the story.
Bob and I co-wrote this poem as a lament for the course should the worst happen and we lose the Red Course. I promise you – the story f writing this poem is both hilarious and fun, and I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity to work with him on it. Plus I wear it as a badge of honor that he rousted me away from a Saturday night in NYC to talk poetry.
Anyway, enjoy the poem and get ready for “The Making of” or “Behind the scenes” or whatever we’ll call the uproariously funny tale of how it came to be…
THE RUBAIYAT OF DAR-ES-SALAM
Long let this noble tale be retold.
Dar-Es-Salam – a glory to behold!
When in Morocco “Play it Again, Sam,”
Rejoice in golf…refined, sublime, and bold.
The timeless sands will weep an ochre flood.
The million desert stars will mourn the blood.
The gift of Hassan Deux forever lost,
Should fertile golden land return to mud.
The Trophy of revered King Hassan,
The precious and bejeweled scimitar,
Evokes Dar-Es-Salam’s bright legacy
Morocco’s blessed ever-shining star.
Why wash away the wondrous work of Jones-
Can’t three great champions create their own?
Dar-Es-Salam is not a Hermes scarf
Or Gucci fashion statement come from Rome
Before the eucalyptus burn away,
And green kikuyu fairways fade to grey,
Recall the vision of our gracious King,
Preserve the course he championed, we pray.
Friends of Royal Golf Dar-Es-Salam
Inspired by Omar Khayyam
May 2011
© Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and Jay Flemma, 2011, All Rights Reserved.
