Golf in Dubai

It wasn't so long ago when Dubai was frequently referred to as one of the world's best-kept golfing secrets by golf travel publications and tourism brochures. Now, of, course, the cat's out of the bag thanks to one the biggest and best golf tournaments in the world, the Dubai Desert Classic.

The opening of the Emirates Golf Club in 1988 heralded the start of the golfing revolution in Dubai. Host to this year's Dubai Desert Classic and many more beforehand, it was voted the players favourite venue on the European Tour.

Although the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club has hosted just two of the sixteen Dubai Desert Classics staged so far, the city-based club is also a popular venue for tourists and is a landmark in this bustling metropolis.

Situated in the heart of the city on the shores of the creek, Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club has recently undergone a major redevelopment, transforming it into a true golfers’ paradise. The club’s 18-hole, par 71 course rolls 6,857 undulating yards along well-groomed fairways lined with date and coconut palms, attractive water hazards and shrubbery that lend a distinctly tropical air. The course boasts a new front nine, re-designed by Thomas Björn, providing an even greater challenge for residents and tourists alike. There is also a new nine-hole Par 3 course, a hi-tech studio, a floodlit driving range, and extensive short game practice facilities.

At the Nad Al Sheba the accurate golfer is rewarded with lush, rolling fairways and gently undulating greens, but wayward golfers may need to watch out for the nine course lakes and deep pot bunkers. Moreover, the course presents an additional experience for golfers under floodlights and the cool, Arabian night sky. Nad Al Sheba Club was the first fully floodlit 18-hole course in the Middle East region, and golf can be enjoyed until midnight, every night of the year.

To illustrate just how far Dubai has come in terms of its current standing, its oldest golf club, the Dubai Country Club, only opened in 1971. Here, you play on sand fairways and oiled putting surfaces which are known as "browns". The members are mainly expatriates and the course is still referred to as the local course and visitors are more than welcome.