White flamingoes, impeccable fairways and futuristic clubhouses make playing in Dubai a unique experience. Minty Clinch reports.
DUBAI CREEK GOLF AND YACHT CLUB
WHERE IS IT? Dubai city centre.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? Wherever you are in the downtown area, this jewel of a clubhouse, with its ingeniously linked white sails invoking an Arab dhow, is both an icon and a reminder of how good local architecture was before the build, build, build extravaganza that is contemporary Dubai. The course, which opened in 1993, has undergone radical surgery to free up land for villas and the low-rise waterfront Park Hyatt Dubai hotel (on-site accommodation in 225 rooms). Return visitors will be familiar with the back nine, but the front nine were devised from scratch by Thomas Bjorn in 2005, no expense spared. The lakes are ringed by quality stone walls and humped bridges link greens to tees. The holes loop behind the marina with its yacht-shaped clubhouse, returning to join the original tenth. The course climaxes with two celebrated creek-side challenges. At the narrow 17th, hitting the tee shot towards the righthand bunkers – and hoping you miss them – may be the least dangerous option, while the 18th, framed by the clubhouse sails, is trouble all the way to the drink – in the pond in front of the green or, more propitiously, in the bar behind it.
ADDRESS PO Box 6302, Dubai.
CONTACT DETAILS Tel +971 4 295 6000; [email protected]; dubaigolf.com.
PRICE £106 (Thurs-Sat), £100 (Sun-Wed). Price includes buggies (cart paths only at all times) and range balls. The academy course costs £10.
CLUB HIRE Ping, £24.
CLUB HOURS 6am-midnight.
MINIMUM HANDICAP 28 for men and 36 for women.
FACILITIES 18-hole course (par 71, 6,270m), floodlit 9-hole course (par 3, open until 10pm), floodlit driving range and extensive practice area.
AFTER THE GOLF The Lakeview terrace bar-restaurant (open 6.30am-11.30pm) has panoramic views over the creek and the Dubai skyline and Legends restaurant serves lunch (12pm-2.30pm), dinner (7pm-11pm), and Friday brunch (11.30am-3pm, £14). The Aquarium restaurant at the Yacht Club has tables laid out around a central glass pillar filled with tropical fish and serves Pacific ocean seafood (open 12-11pm). All-day use of swimming pool is included in the green fee. Sport fishing – king and sail fish – can be arranged.
DUBAI EMIRATES CLUB
WHERE IS IT? 18 miles down the coast from Dubai city centre.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? All Dubai golf courses are green oases reclaimed from desert sand with the help of massive irrigation. But the best of the best is the Emirates, with its complementary courses the Majlis, home to the Dubai Desert Classic, and the Wadi, redesigned by Nick Faldo in 2006. They share an outstanding clubhouse made up of linked tents resembling a Bedouin encampment. The Majlis, became the first grass course in the Middle East when it opened in 1987, and has since grown into its Championship status while remaining true to its desert origins with great swathes of sand scrub. The start is deceptively encouraging, but only low handicappers should attempt the risk-reward options on the long par fours further down the line. Imagine playing golf in Manhattan’s Central Park and you’ll get the feel of the Wadi, overlooked at close range by 90 skyscrapers built over the last four years. There are water hazards on 16 holes, but the greatest danger is a skyline which invites heads to be raised dangerously before the ball is struck.
ADDRESS PO Box 24040, Dubai.
CONTACT DETAILS Tel +971 4380 2222; [email protected]; dubaigolf.com.
PRICE Majlis £113 (all week); Wadi £105 (Thurs-Sat), £98 (Sun-Wed). Price includes buggies and balls. Academy course £13.
CLUB HIRE Callaway, £22.50.
CLUB HOURS 6am-midnight.
MINIMUM HANDICAP 28 for men and 36 for women.
FACILITIES Two 18-hole courses: the Majlis (par 72, 6,954m), and the Wadi (par 72, 6,700m). Academy 9-hole, par-3 course, driving range, practice and putting areas.
AFTER THE GOLF The Spike Bar (open 6am-11pm) offers à la carte breakfast and buffet lunch from 11.30am (£8.50). The Sports Bar (open 11am-11.30pm) shows Sky Sports on seven flatscreen TVs and Le Classique restaurant, masterminded by chef Francois Porte, offers haute cuisine.
THE MONTGOMERIE
WHERE IS IT? 20 miles from the centre.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? Even by Dubai standards, this is an immaculate layout.
It is also quite forgiving – an excellent option for groups of different standards because everyone will find their level, and given reasonable luck with the water, you should score fairly well. The par-three 13th, a circular lake with a green in the middle and a range of tee boxes on the perimeter, is unforgettable for all the wrong reasons. As soon as someone comes up with an alternative, it will go, but it hasn’t happened yet.
ADDRESS PO Box 36700, Dubai.
CONTACT DETAILS Tel +971 4 390 5600; [email protected]; themontgomerie.com.
PRICE £97 (until May 31), £55 (from June 1 to September 15). Price includes buggy (compulsory) and use of driving range.
CLUBS Callaway, £26.
CLUB HOURS 6am-9pm.
MINIMUM HANDICAP 28 for men and 36 for women.
FACILITIES 18-hole course (par 72, 6,682m), floodlit Academy course (9-hole, par 3), driving range, practice and putting areas.
AFTER THE GOLF Bunkers spike bar (open 6am-11.30pm) offers reasonably priced meals, and restaurant Nineteen serves lunch and dinner from the Pacific Rim menu. There is also Monte Cristo’s cigar bar (open 12.30pm-1am) and the Angsana Spa for relaxation.
ARABIAN RANCHES GOLF CLUB
WHERE IS IT? 20 miles from the centre.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? Independent travellers will need the red-letter day of the year to find the club, which is cunningly concealed in a villa complex housing 10,000 people. Once there, they can enjoy an informality unusual in Dubai – less than impeccably green fairways, golfers pulling trolleys, an absence of defined bunkers (though there is lots of sand) and no lakes in play. The self-styled Desert Course is the work of Ian Baker-Finch, the Australian who crashed and burned after winning the Open at Royal Birkdale in 1991. The only time he played here, he got round in par. Low handicappers may feel they could equal or beat him, while hackers may have the impression of being back at home, but in a much better climate. Either way, there’s a lot to love.
ADDRESS Arabian Ranches, Emirates Road 311, PO Box 36700, Dubai.
CONTACT DETAILS Tel +971 4 366 3000; [email protected]; arabianranchesgolfdubai.com.
PRICE £82 (Thurs-Sat), £70 (Sun-Wed) from January 1-May 31, with range balls. Buggy (not compulsory) £7.50. Twilight (from 13.30) £60 with balls and buggy.
CLUB HIRE Callaway, £22.
CLUB HOURS 24 hours a day; golf is available during daylight hours.
MINIMUM HANDICAP 28 for men and 36 for women.
FACILTIES 18-hole course (par 72, 7,033m), driving range and practice area.
AFTER THE GOLF The clubhouse has 11 guest rooms from £120 per person per night ([email protected]). Ranches restaurant and bar (open 6.30-11pm) has a new international menu and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
FOUR SEASONS GOLF CLUB
WHERE IS IT? Four miles from the centre.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? The most recent addition to the Dubai golf portfolio may also be the shape of things to come in the not-so-distant future when the groundbreaking Ernie Els and Tiger Woods layouts are unveiled. This golf course is well designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr, handsomely executed and manicured to perfection. White flamingos stalk the fairways and tinkling waterfalls are built into lake hazards. With four tee boxes, it is playable at all levels and has wide desert horizons marred only by its grandiose clubhouse. In no way does this huge shiny circular building with its exterior dark glass wall and coronet suggest golf. It could more easily be the headquarters for a progressive software company with money to burn, but the Four Seasons branding gives the corporate game away. Although there is no on-site accommodation, the clubhouse fulfils all the other functions expected of a top-level hotel chain: conference suites, ultra-contemporary décor and a choice of four restaurants ranging from casual to gourmet. Would a bit of golf with a spa bath in the locker room enhance your business plan? If so, this is the place to go.
ADDRESS PO Box 79126, Dubai Festival City, Al Badia, Dubai.
CONTACT DETAILS Tel +971 4 601 0101; [email protected]; fourseasons.com/dubaigolf.
PRICE £106.50 (Thurs-Sat), £94 (Sun-Wed). Price includes shared buggy and unlimited range balls.
CLUB HIRE Taylor Made, £22.
CLUB HOURS 6.30am-1am.
MINIMUM HANDICAP 28 men, 36 women.
FACILITIES 18-hole course (par 72, 6,678m), high-tech golf academy, driving range, practice area and putting green.
AFTER THE GOLF Spikes serves breakfast from 7am, and other meals until 11pm. For a drink or light snack there is the Tee Lounge (open 10am-1am) and for multicultural cuisine there is Blades restaurant (7pm-1am). Alternatively, Quattro offers Italian fine dining and is open 7pm-midnight.
Minty Clinch’s programme was arranged by Dubai Golf. The best way to arrange tee times on all the courses is on dubaigolf.com. For more details go to dubaitourism.ae; tel +44 (0)20 7839 0580
