United Arab Emirates

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Now the superpower in the Gulf, this ambitious member emirate now has three world-class courses to tempt you to its immaculate fairways.

If someone had said 10 years ago that the European Tour’s week in Dubai would become the weakest of the tournaments held in the Gulf, they would have been summarily dismissed.

Back in the day when it was still unusual to see tournaments outside continental Europe, the Dubai Desert Classic was the jewel in the crown of the early-season schedule. For confirmation of this scenario, we need merely recall it was the one place Tiger could be lured to from America.

In 2012, that has all changed. It wasn’t Dubai that Tiger made his European Tour destination for this season, it was Abu Dhabi. And he might not be world no.1 any more, but the movements of Woods remain a very good antennae in a wider sense; Abu Dhabi is now the superpower in the gulf.

The event there is as close as you can get to a Major; there is good reason to suggest it is more exciting than some WGC events and is right up there with the Players – certainly from a European standpoint. The action is played out when we are dealing with frosty early mornings over here and the sight of tanned golfers in shirt sleeves playing on a beautifully manicured course reminds one warmer and drier days aren’t too far away.

The morning slot might not suit all but it is in many respects less anti-social than trying to convince the family that watching a grind round Doral is a good idea on a Saturday evening. And then there’s the course. Abu Dhabi Golf Club began the golf story here and it remains an outstanding course. It is an incredibly difficult resort-style course with better conditioning than anything you’re ever likely to see elsewhere. The greens are lightning fast and true, the fairways and tees like carpets, and the rough thick.

Managed by Troon Golf, Abu Dhabi GC remains arguably the course with most appeal. Saadiyat Beach and Yas Links are stunning in their own right, but you could argue they are a lot less playable. The stand-out holes here are probably the mid-length par-3 12th that’s played almost totally over water with a stone wall behind the green, the 9th – a long par-4 with water either side of the fairway, leading up to the famous hawk clubhouse – and the 5th, a really difficult right-to-left dogleg par-4 risk and reward hole.

Saadiyat Beach opened in January 2010, and this Gary Player design is the Middle East’s first beach-front course. The course, which is also managed by Troon Golf, is stunning visually – even with the dozens of hotels being erected around some of the holes closest to the sea – and is very much a tough test when you go to the back tees and face a huge 7,806 yards.

Saadiyat has lots of protection besides its length and is littered with bunkers and hazards that look really intimidating on the tee. In reality, lots of them are not in play, but it’s hard to get that into your head when you’re standing on the tee. Many holes stand out here, but two live longest in the memory. The 5th, or Dolphin View as it is named, boasts scenery unlike any other on the course. A long par-4 that meanders right to left around crystal-blue water, it demands an arrow straight drive and a solid approach as the green is small and fast. It is very open and has views of the sea. Wind is therefore a factor.

The other stand-out hole for many is the driveable par-4 10th known as the Mousetrap. From where visitors play it is under 340 yards and reachable if you really get hold of one, but there is a lot of risk involved as the hole is packed with cavernous bunkers on all sides meaning an iron off the tee is the best bet for anyone low on confidence or with a card to protect.

One thing worth considering when playing Saadiyat is to invest in a buggy as some of the scenic walks from greens to tees are fairly long. Countless courses the world over claim to play like genuine Scottish links, but very few live up to the billing. One that very much does, however, is Yas Links.

Designed by Kyle Phillips – the highly-respected American designer who was the mastermind behind Kingsbarns – the course is built among impressive sand dunes that were manually dredged from the water alongside the course. It almost looks as though they’ve been airlifted from the Fife coast.

Yas has plenty of length (it measures 7,414 yards off the tips) but relies more on its rough (a mix between thick grass and sand that is tough to get out of) and wind than hazards to punish visitors. Several holes demand carries over water and play alongside the drink. As it is still maturing, its fairways can snag the ball on bump and run shots and prevent you from playing authentic links golf. But this will soon change as the course gets older.

The finish is a arguably the highlight, with the hardest hole on the course – the par-4 16th – preceding a tough 200-yard par 3 that could be mistaken for the 14th at Kingsbarns, and the extremely long 18th – a 646-yard par 5.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

www.adgolfclub.com
www.yaslinks.com
www.sbgolfclub.ae

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