Golfing In Dubai: It’s Becoming a Habit

By Habeeb Salloum

A few decades ago, one would hazard to say that very few in Europe or North America had heard of Dubai - the fast evolving state in the United Arab Emirates. Today, a good number of people in the West are very familiar with this most exciting and cosmopolitan city edging the Arabian Gulf. The sand dunes of the past have been replaced by lush greenery and super 21st century sky-reaching structures. This sophisticated metropolis is now the most popular tourist destination in the Middle East.

Strange as it may sound, Dubai is fast becoming a golf destination par excellence. It has come a long way from the time when the first championship course was built in the late 1980s. The host to the PGA European Tour sanctioned Dubai Desert Classic it has become noted for its superb golfing facilities. Golfers of all levels enjoy the distinct and different challenges presented by each course, as well as the accompanying warm Arab hospitality. A unique golfing destination it is the only golfing centre in the world to host major international tournaments on both the European and Asian PGA circuits.

What put all the golfing action in motion in Dubai was the Emirates Golf Club, the first championship grass course in the Middle East. Sparkling like an emerald inlaid with white gems, this flagship of Dubai golfing, appears like a green postage stamp on a very ornate Middle East postcard. Its stunning clubhouse, a cluster of white Bedouin tent-shaped structures, shimmering in the sunlight, the most recognized landmark in international golf, brings a desert mirage into reality.

The Emirates Golf Club is the only golf club in Dubai with two 18-hole courses. In 1996 the second 7,100 yard Wadi, a 18 hole par 72 championship course, dominated by a spectacular landscaped wadi (valley) was added to the original 7,211 yards Majlis (meeting place) 18-hole championship course, playing to a par of 72. Both courses, with their lush fairways, large greens and superbly placed water hazards and bunkers, are skilfully designed for a serious test of golf.

Virtually since its inception, the Emirates Golf Club became the home of the European PGA Dubai Desert Classic, attracting the world’s top players. Every year, (with the exception of 1999 and 2000) the Dubai Desert Classic, held annually, has drawn an ever-increasing number of famous golfers. The event, which is eagerly awaited by golfers, has made Dubai one of the most important sport centres in western Asia and has given the city international renown as an upmarket holiday destination.

The second most important golf course is the Dubai Creek Golf & yacht Club. A centrepiece of this sports and leisure complex, its golf club was the second world-class golf championship course built in Dubai. Its unique and imposing clubhouse, 45 m (148 ft) high, mirrors the sails of the traditional Arab dhow. It captures the essence of Dubai 's seafaring traditions - its huge billowing-sail style overpowering the first time traveller. Its image has become a landmark on the Dubai skyline and is today to be found on postage stamps, banknotes and remembered by the many thousands of photographs visitors take back home with them.

The golf course of the Dubai Creek Golf & yacht Club is a green carpet laid at the foot of the imposing city of glimmering skyscrapers and architecturally attractive buildings filling the landscape. Located on the edge of a broad seawater inlet, called the Dubai Creek, near to the Dubai International Airport, this golfing gem opened its doors in January 1993.

The club’s original 18 hole par 72 Championship course rolls 6,857 undulating yards along well groomed fairways, lined with palms and shrubs giving it a tropical air. Great skill is needed to play, challenging the amateur and professional alike - bringing out the best in any golfer. During the past few years, this appealing golf oasis has undergone a complete redesigning and rebuilding, including a new 9-hole course.

Vying with these two clubs is Nad Al Sheba Club, home to the Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest horse race, which boasts the Middle East’s only 18-hole fully floodlit championship course. Located just 20 minutes away from the luxury Jumeirah Beach hotels, the Club opened its doors in 1993 and has become very popular with the older crowds.

Designed by Karl Litten with ten lakes and more than 110 pot bunkers in the Scottish Links style, the 6,569, Par 71 course provides a particular challenge, with emphasis on accuracy, not length.

Its clubhouse, now under renovation, offers a panoramic view across the racetrack and golf course and the Club has an interesting feature - the rear 9 holes sprawl inside the racetrack itself.

Besides these three major golf clubs, there are five others in operation and five more will open their doors within the next two years.

The Montgomerie, Dubai combines the traditions of Scotland, the home of golf, with the warmth and hospitality of Arabia. Covering more than 81 ha (200 ac), it claims to have the largest single golf green in the world. Its 18-hole par 72- championship course incorporates 14 lakes and 79 bunkers.

Al Badia Golf Resort, a new 18-hole par 72-championship golf course, is noted for its extensive use of water, running across the course and down to the Dubai Creek. The Resort will form the centre of Dubai Festival City’s golfing community, which will include a clubhouse, golf academy, executive town homes, apartments and a 150- room hotel.

Superbly designed with 9-hole par 36 and 18-hole courses, Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa is located on idyllic grounds. Each hole is uniquely designed with trees, shrubs, gazebos and panoramic views.

The Desert Course at Arabian Ranches is a desert 18-hole par 72-course that uses the natural terrain with no landscaping. The feature of this course is the desert-sandy waste with its indigenous shrubs and bushes. Its rolling fairways are a test for the best of golfers.

Lastly, the Dubai Country Club offers a different golfing experience. The oldest course in the United Arab Emirates, it features ‘browns’ instead of ‘greens’. Golfers carry a small piece of artificial turf and use it to play on an 18-hole par 71 or a 9-hole par 32 when on the fairways.

Visitors to Dubai, a metropolis of the future, have an excellent selection of challenging golf courses from which to choose. With new golf courses springing up in and around the city on an on-going basis, a golfer’s paradise is in the making. Golfers from the four corners of the globe are, in ever-increasing numbers, eying this Arabian Gulf city.

For the future:
A vast new complex housing a fully integrated ‘Golf City’ in Dubai’s is in the works. It will house five themed signature courses, a golf academy, a six-star resort hotel and spa, golf communities, golf villages and retail souks. The ‘Golf City’ will be the largest and most unique projects of its kind in the region, if not the world.