World Notes THE GULF

One day in 1985, Stephen Trutch, an engineer employed by Dubai's royal family, caught the country's Defense Minister watching golf on television. "Why don't we have a golf course in Dubai?" asked Trutch. He was given the go-ahead, and last week (some $10 million later) the Persian Gulf got its first grass golf course.

The Emirates Golf Club, with a clubhouse resembling a group of Bedouin tents, features quick-growing Buffalo grass imported from Georgia, four artificial lakes and countless natural sand traps. No one in the royal family actually plays golf. So Pakistani President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq, a demon golfer, was invited to hit the maiden ball with a gold-inlaid golf club. After Zia managed a 240-yd. drive on his first swing, his hosts allowed him to keep the club and tossed in a solid gold tee.