Mariano Ochoa is the head golf coach at the Royal Golf Club in Bahrain. He is Spanish, Andalusian to be precise. Last Saturday, he was giving a lesson on the practice range when shortly after eleven in the morning, the sirens of the city of Riffa sounded. A couple of days earlier, the same thing had happened, and within seconds, an official government message of reassurance arrived on mobiles, warning that it had only been a drill. This time it wasn’t. Two minutes later, he saw and heard the thunderous sound of two interceptor missiles streaking across the sky. He started running…
The sirens were warning of an attack. The target was the United States naval base in the north of the country. The Fifth Fleet of America is located there. “Seeing it live, the sound, the fright doesn’t go away, and the impression. Bahrain is a very peaceful country, very family-oriented, with very peaceful, noble, easy-going, friendly people. It’s a very social country. I always leave the car unlocked, I don’t know how many times I’ve lost my mobile or wallet and always got it back. There are no crimes. They live well, simply, they convey happiness. I had been living in a bubble for three years and now I’m a bit in shock. It’s something you can’t expect,” he explains to Ten Golf.
Having said that, Mariano’s message, brother of Juan Ochoa, coach of Ángel Ayora, is one of utmost calm. Life has somewhat come to a halt, but there is no sense of danger. It must be made clear that Bahrain is not at war, and given its tradition, it is likely to remain on the sidelines. The target was the American base, and it had been evacuated before the attack. “The golf course has been closed for two days and until further notice. Everything that is not essential is currently inactive, but I was able to go out this afternoon without any problems to buy supplies and food,” he notes.
There is unease because it is inevitable, but there is no fear. The messages sent by the Bahraini government via mobile phones are of calm and reassurance. They trust they will be able to return to normal in a few days. Perhaps the main concern is that the conflict will escalate, involving more countries.
Mariano, whose Instagram account is @ochoagolfpro, arrived in Bahrain three years ago as a personal venture and has integrated perfectly into society. In fact, from practically his arrival in the kingdom, he found his life partner, a Bahraini who has become the main reason he likes the country so much. “As they say, I came for economic reasons and stayed for love. The initial idea was to stay for five years, and now we’ll see. The truth is I’m very comfortable. The people are incredible. My grandmother was here recently and was impressed by the respect Bahrainis have for the elderly,” he states.
The situation is tense, but Mariano insists on sending a message of calm, especially to his family and friends in Spain who mainly get their information about what is happening from the media. “I’ve received about a thousand messages in these two days. It’s normal for there to be concern, but the situation is fine. We don’t live in fear, although hopefully normality will return soon.”
By the way, Bahrain, beyond the Royal Golf Club, the course that successfully hosts the Bahrain Championship of the DP World Tour each year, has a couple of sand courses that are unique in the world. The practice of golf continues to grow. It is a booming sport, especially promoted by the government. It is estimated that there are already about a thousand amateur golfers and rising. Not bad at all for a population of around one and a half million.
