What do legendary British comedy duo, Ant and Dec, four-time F1 World Champion, Alain Prost and little old me all have in common? The answer most certainly does not involve high fame or rich golfing ability, I can assure you - I'm quite confident I let the group down (badly) in that regard.

Instead, it's that we all experienced the breathtaking new clubhouse at Al Zorah Golf and Yacht Club in Ajman earlier this year - the first GEO-certified establishment in the area. We didn't go together, I should quickly point out, but instead happened to briefly cross paths during late March.

Officially opened in February, just in time to host a successful HotelPlanner Tour event - won by Italy's Renato Paratore - Al Zorah GC's fresh jaw-dropping structure is both eye-catching yet subtle and sits proudly at the golf course's highest point.

The positioning and grandeur of said clubhouse makes it the obvious crown jewel in Al Zorah's golf complex. Neatly tucked away inside the spacious multi-purpose building, guests can make use of a chic lobby, dining area, boutique-style pro shop, meeting rooms, changing rooms and gym as well as the beautiful patio or balcony which overlooks the outdoor pool.

Located on the outskirts of Ajman, a 30-45-minute drive up the coast from Dubai International Airport, Al Zorah possesses the ideal level of tranquility without feeling isolated from the major city hubs nearby.

As well as entertainers and racing drivers, golf-enthused cricketers and soccer players are also known to have stopped by in a bid to enjoy the serenity this authentic slice of the UAE has to offer.

If you're looking for the luxury of Dubai but with a slightly more peaceful tone, Ajman and Al Zorah are the places to go.

Another key element to the site's appeal is its award-winning golf course and one million square feet of surrounding mangrove forest, with Ajman neatly tucked in behind. Best experienced from the clubhouse balcony, it's the kind of view which gives you a clearer picture of what a golfing nirvana might look like, especially during the golden hour.

Opened in 2015, the par-72 course is a Jack Nicklaus design which examines every part of your game courtesy of 88 bunkers, two lakes and a host of elevation changes. It was named the Middle East's Best Golf Course at the 2024 World Golf Awards and - unsurprisingly - was far too tough for this mid-handicapper. But then again, most places are...

My favorite hole was the long par-4 ninth. The view up towards the clubhouse is simply sublime and almost makes you forget what a long and tough hole you have in front of you. For what it's worth, I think the two nines are the wrong way round and the course should finish with said view, but I won't argue with the experts and Al Zorah is a wonderful place to play nonetheless.

A vital part of the aforementioned wonderment involves the comforting blanket of mangroves which wrap around much of the golf course. The shrubs are particularly important to Al Zorah as the circa 400,000 plants with roots in the ground store vast amounts of carbon and thrive in a climate most other timber could barely cope with.

Central to the Golf and Yacht Club's passionately-executed sustainability initiative includes the doubling of that current number, and thanks to the dozen or so more that our group of 12 added, it has already made steady progress.

Said trees and multiple interconnected natural lagoons are also home to a plethora of various wildlife species, from birds to fish and small mammals. The changing tides, which stretch from the nearby Persian Gulf, help enrich life in the area and ensure wildlife lovers can enjoy their trip as much as the avid golfer. The moving waters also give two contrasting looks to large parts of a course which is already incredibly special.

In the coming months and years, Al Zorah plans to greatly expand its nature reserve while continuing to operate ecological initiatives four times a year. As someone who not only loves golf but is incredibly conscious of the environment and climate change in particular, Al Zorah's attempt at striking this balance provides me with a huge amount of comfort.

And as if I had any doubt, the golf club's quest to put the natural environment first was perhaps summed up when I enquired whether the increasingly-popular night golf would be implemented at some point in the future. Al Zorah's General Manager, Philip Henderson, told me that aside from the club's 350m floodlit driving range, golf would not take place after sunset while he was in charge as the excess light and noise pollution would upset the very ecosystem he takes such great pride in overseeing.

After sampling almost everything that the golf club had to offer - including the immense food and a much-needed on-course lesson with the club's gem of a pro, Charlie Dell - we headed back to the outstanding Oberoi Hotel, just a five-minute drive away and down far quieter roads than the ones we had painstakingly navigated when departing the airport.

Stay-and-play rates at the Oberoi, which include breakfast at the hotel and 18 holes at Al Zorah, start from AED405pp per night, an absolute snip when you consider the quality of the accommodation on offer.

Ocean view apartments with more than enough space to house a family, two restaurants, the longest pool in the UAE (75m) and a private beach are just some of the luxuries on offer at this sublime location.

While I can't guarantee that you will bump into any celebrities while you're there, I can promise that Al Zorah possesses a wonderful mix of privacy and style which will make you feel like a star. It's an absolute must-visit in the United Arab Emirates and somewhere I will remember forever.

For more information, visit the Al Zorah website.

Since 2019, the DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship has been one of the most prestigious of the season after it was elevated to a Rolex Series event.

In 2024 it was destined to generate even more attention than usual, with the tournament becoming the first of two season-closing Play-Offs before the traditional conclusion with the DP World Tour Championship at the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.

However, even though the DP World Tour now has a UAE double-header as its season finale, the host of the first of its Play-Offs events owes as much to courses almost 5,000 miles away as its Middle East location.

In 2022, it was announced that the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship was leaving its regular home of Abu Dhabi Golf Club to head to Yas Links, which is situated on Abu Dhabi's Yas Island.

The course was designed by Kyle Phillips, the man responsible for a modern-day Scottish classic, Kingsbarns. Yas Links, which opened 10 years later, takes plenty of inspiration from the rugged beauty of the earlier masterpiece as well as other famous British and Irish links courses.

Yas Links is rich with rolling fairways, clever strategical bunkering, challenging green complexes and breathtaking views of the sea to offer a sublime mix of tradition and contemporary design.

The closing three holes are particularly special. The par 4 16^th has water running along the left side, a huge bunker guarding the right of the fairway and bunkers around the green.

The par 3 17^th is arguably the best of the lot, and it's all carry over the water from tee to green. Finally, the 18^th is a par 5 with the water along the left of the fairway.

If it all sounds as though Phillips somehow pulled off the implausible task of creating an authentic Scottish-style links experience against the backdrop of the Arabian Gulf, it’s because he did, making the course very unique for the region and one that has to be experienced to be believed.

Luckily, members of the general public can. Depending on the time of year, green fees range between around 880AAD (approximately $217) and 1100AAD (approximately $300) if tee times are booked via the Viya Golf official website.

Yas Links Location

Abu Dhabi Golf Club was designed by Peter Harradine in 1998 and opened to the public in 2000. 

Set on 162 hectares, there are two courses at the site – The National, which is the traditional home of the DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship (and, in 2023, the inaugural Hero Cup), and The Garden, a floodlit par 36 nine-hole course.

Harradine was also called upon to implement some changes in time for the 10th anniversary of The National's hosting of the DP World Tour (then European Tour) event in 2015 and, today, the course, which is considered one of the best in the Middle East, offers a tricky but fair challenge. On it, players navigate lush fairways set among palms, with lakes on nine holes providing plenty of forced carries. Meanwhile, there is strategic bunkering around its generous greens.

Standout holes include the par-4 sixth, with water on either side of the fairway as you approach the green. Further on, the par-3 12th offers players another tricky challenge, as they play over water towards a green guarded by bunkers at the back and a wall beyond. 

The 18th offers a suitably memorable conclusion to the round. It’s a 567-yard dogleg right par-5 with a sizeable lake to the right of the fairway and bunkers to negotiate on the way to the green, all with a backdrop of the imposing clubhouse - one of the most recognisable and iconic features of the venue thanks to its distinctive and memorable falcon shape.

The course is open to the public, and there are stay-and-play options at the Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa, with those interested invited to email the club for details. You can also book a tee time online, with prices from around AED785 (approximately £175 or $210). Meanwhile, several memberships are also available, with an individual premium membership costing AED36775 (around £8,200 or $10,000).

Since 2009, the DP World Tour has concluded each season with the DP World Tour Championship, and Dubai's Earth Course has been its host throughout.

Unlike many other courses, which begin hosting high-profile tournaments within a few years of opening, the inaugural DP World Tour Championship (then named the Dubai World Championship) marked the Earth Course's debut, meaning that, as the players teed it up in that first year, they weren’t familiar with the course.

The course had been completed considerably earlier than its big-stage debut. Indeed, it was fully grassed in April 2008, while in January 2009, several players were invited to experience the final four holes. However, to leave time to allow it to mature and maximise the "wow" factor at its great unveiling, it would be another nine months before the Tour’s best players finally got to experience it.

As players worked their way around the Greg Norman-designed course, they may have found some characteristics typical of many other PGA Tour and DP World Tour (then called the European Tour) courses. That’s because Norman took inspiration from the great parkland courses of the USA and Europe for the design despite its desert surroundings.

The course has over 100 bunkers scattered over its 7,706-yard length, while there is rolling terrain and plenty of water to negotiate. However, it is the final four holes – described by Norman as "the most difficult mile in golf" – where the course comes into its own.

The par-4 15th is deceptively difficult, with seven bunkers, including across the fairway. That can easily lead to indecision off the tee – go for the green or lay up? While the 15th is tricky, it is the quartet’s most straightforward. The 16th is a 486-yard par four with a pond to the right and beyond the tiered green. Next, the par-3 17th features an island green guarded by four bunkers. 

The signature hole, though, is saved until last - a par-5 651-yard beast with bunkers to the left of the fairway and a stream further on that continues until it meanders around the left-hand side of the green. Players aiming right to avoid the stream must also be mindful of the sizeable bunker guarding the green on that side.

The Earth Course – and its sister course, Fire, also designed by Norman – are open to the public. You can book tee times online, with green fees of around 1,135AED (£260 or $308).

There are also several membership packages, including Full Golf, Corporate, Weekday, and Country Club. Joining fees are reportedly between 3,000AED (£689 or $817) and 5000AED (£1,148 or $1362), with annual fees of between 18,800AED (£4,318 or $5,123) and 32,600AED (£7,489 or $8,886) for a Full Golf and Leisure membership for a single player.

Al Hamra Golf Club Course Review
GF Round: £125wd, £150we
Par 72, 6,703 yards
Slope 134
GM Verdict A challenging but constantly engaging course with water regularly in play
Favourite Hole The magnificent closing hole, a par 5 with the lagoon lapping up on the right all the way

Al Hamra Golf Club is about an hour’s drive north of Dubai in the city of Ras Al Khaimah. It was designed by Peter Harradine who is something of a local specialist having also been responsible for the famous National Course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. It opened for play in 2007/8, and it runs alongside and through purpose-built lagoons and housing.

My visit was hampered a little by early-morning mist which made my camera redundant on the front nine. The opening five holes work their way round in a loop to the 18th tee, each of them either flirting with or propositioning water. This includes the super-scary par-5 3rd which has it on both sides and which you must then cross. Not being able see clearly was probably a help!

The 6th and 7th are the first two dry holes, a strong par 4 and a lovely short hole. These opening seven, along with the 17th and 18th, also have floodlights for evening golf and make a perfect 9-hole loop.

A very long par 5 and a maximum-distance two-shotter take you to the turn before the back nine begins with a trio of very scary holes. 

The 10th and 12th are probably the two hardest par 4s on the course, both with greens perilously close to the lagoon, and they sandwich a very scenic par 3 with a green that juts out into the water.

There is some respite from the water over the next five holes and hopefully the chance to pick up a shot or two on the card.

The closing hole is a wonderful long hole, a kind of mirror image of the 18th at Pebble Beach in that you must not go to the right.

For all but the strongest, it’s a genuine three-shotter with a lay-up to the widest stretch of the fairway.

Even when safely on the green, you can be left with a very long and/or curvy putt. Regardless, it should be a thrilling and very scenic conclusion to an enjoyable and testing round of golf.

Although the course had hosted three Challenge Tour events, it was not so much on the golfing radar before 2022. The hosting of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship featuring the likes of Danny Willett and Bernd Wiesberger, and subsequent staging of the Ras Al Khaimah Classic, have changed all that. Following a round on one of the best golf courses in the UAE, you can enjoy very tasty food and drinks in The Bay Sports Bar. Managed by Troon Golf, Al Hamra Golf Club has an excellent course that looks sure to become better-known.

The United Arab Emirates has become a major golfing hub of late and it is not hard to see why.

UAE Golf Destination Guide

The UAE is home to a fantastic and ever-growing collection of remarkably varied, top-quality courses. From Dubai, to Abu Dhabi the country offers a unique experience both on and off the course. 

Here, you can follow in the footsteps of your golfing heroes by playing at Emirates GC, home of the Dubai Desert Classic, Jumeirah Golf Estates, which hosts the DP World Tour Championship, or a few miles down the coast at Abu Dhabi GC, where the year kicks off in style with the HSBC Championship.

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Each of these courses offers a spectacle of exciting and superbly manicured golf, and the supporting cast includes some equally strong designs such as Dubai Creek, Saadiyat Beach and Yas Links. Low-season flights offer particularly good value, and it’s not just the golf that draws families and golfing groups to this amazing country. Along with guaranteed sun, the hotels, water sports, restaurants and shopping facilities are among the best in the world.

Dubai

Much like everything in the region, golf in Dubai has shot to prominence thanks to the quality of golf there. Just some of the top-notch courses on offer include Dubai Creek, the Emirates Course (Majlis), the Els Club and the stunning Jumeirah Golf Estates with its Earth and Fire courses.

Abu Dhabi

Like Dubai, golf in Abu Dhabi has also been on the rise with the incredible Yas Links, Saadiyat Beach and Abu Dhabi Golf Club (home of the HSBC Championship) taking centre stage.

Ajman

Perhaps not as well known as the regions of Dubai and Abu Dhabi in terms of golfing pedigree, Ajman can still deliver largely thanks to the presence of The Troon Golf managed Al Zorah Golf Club. An excellent golf course, this is also supplemented with the nearby five-star Ajman Saray Hotel which overlooks the Arabian Gulf.

Ras Al Khaimah

The main golf course to talk about in this region is Al Hamra Golf Club which sits just a stones throw away from the lavish Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah Hotel as you can see above.

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Each of these fantastic destinations has its own share of bucket-list courses, and a popular option is to combine a few rounds with actually attending one of the tournaments in the area. Each also offers far more than golf, so is ideal for a family holiday with something for everyone. 

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In addition to some of the most spectacular locations for golf, Dubai boasts luxurious clubhouses, a wide choice of of restaurants and award winning golf academies

Golf In Dubai - Full Of Eastern Promise

Emirates Golf Club boasts two of the city's finest must-play courses - The Majlis and The Faldo.

Both these layouts combine the natural rolling desert terrain with a serious test of golf.

The Emirates Golf Club also offers a nine-hole par-3 course, golf academy and a variety of superb restaurants.

The Majlis Course

The par 72, 7,301-yard Majlis course plays host to both the European Tour-sanctioned Dubai Desert Classic and the Dubai Ladies Masters. the men's tournament has welcomed some of the world's best golfers over its 26-year history and past winners include Ernie Els, Tiger Woods, Rory Mcilroy and Severiano Ballesteros.

The Majlis was the first grass course in the middle east when it opened in 1988.

One of its most challenging holes is the par-4 dogleg 8th.

Stroke index three and playing a full 434yards, it runs uphill and requires a long, well-directed drive to leave a reasonable second shot to its small undulating green where the dreaded three-putt is always a threat.

The Majlis has developed a reputation worldwide as a testing layout for even the best golfers.

This 'desert miracle' features hundred of indigenous species of flora and fauna, beautifully complemented be meandering fairways and seven freshwater and saltwater lakes.

The Faldo Course

Emirates golf Club's second course was opened in 1996 and was christened The Wadi , the Arabic word for valley.

In 2005, it was redesigned by Nick Faldo and re-opened as the Faldo Course in 2006.

Faldo's trademark tees and bunkers combined with the naturally rugged terrain to create a unique golfing experience over its 7,348 yards.

In 2010, the Faldo Course became the only 18-hole championship course in the UAE to be fully floodlit, offering golf until midnight.

In addition to the championship courses, Emirates Golf Club incorporates the Dubai Golf Academy run in association with Peter Cowen, with two driving ranges, two short-game areas and putting greens and a nine-hole par-3 course.

]The academy is staffed by fully qualified PGA professionals who offer one-hour individual lessons and group clinics.

The club also offers world-class recreational opportunities at Fit Lab, which offers a state-of-the-art gymnasium, tennis, squash and padel tennis courts, fitness studio and resort-style swimming pool.

A host of dining options are also available from all-day dining in the Spike Bar to fine dining French cuisine at Le Classique.

Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club

Voted one of the world's 'Top 100 Must-Play Golf Courses', Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club is a golfer's paradise in the heart of the city.

The resort incorporates an 18-hole championship course, a nine-hole par-3 course, golf academy, seven restaurants, the 225-bedroom Park Hyatt Dubai, 92 residential executive villas and a 121-berth marina.

The par-71, 6,967-yard layout is a memorable journey from first to last. The manicured fairways are undulating, demarcated by mounds, date and palm trees, and water.

Apart from the creek, in play on four holes, several lakes add to the beauty and difficulty of the course.

Multiple tees ensure golfers of all standards can enjoy their day.

The premium is on accuracy, especially on the approach shots as most of the greens are multi-tiered with subtle burrows.

The Dubai Creek Course sets up for a thrilling finale with its two par-4 closing holes.

The 17th and 18th have the creek guarding the entire left side of the fairway.

While the 17th can be conquered with some smart play, the 18th requires two well-struck shots to find the multi-tiered green, which is guarded at the front and right by a body of water.

Managed by qualified PGA professionals, the Dubai Creek Golf Academy boasts excellent facilities.

A comprehensive range of tuition services are available whilst the floodlit par-3 course is ideal for beginners to test their skills and for experienced players to improve their short game.

The 18-hole Pearl Putting Course was introduced in 2013 and is perfect for all ages and all levels of golfers to enjoy a fun golfing experience.

Related: check out what else the UAE has to offer

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Roderick Easdale takes a tour of the six golf clubs now available to the travelling golfer in the bustling Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Golf In Abu Dhabi: Drama In The Desert

It has long been puzzling to me why so many courses have a picture of the clubhouse on the scorecard.

Who plays a course because of what the outside of its clubhouse looks like? Well, one club that might have an excuse to resort to just such a picture is Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

Its clubhouse is a glorious design statement crafted to look like a falcon taking wing as if about to fly over the 9th and 18th greens. This dominates the golf course, and its interior has been designed to provide, in the words of the club, “an atmosphere of relaxed elegance”.

This 27-hole club is 15 minutes from the city centre and ten from Abu Dhabi International Airport. The 1st hole of the par-72, 7,334-yard Championship course gives you a good idea of what is to come.

It is a dogleg to the right with huge expanses of sand (there are 90 bunkers on the course, some sprawling away to massiveness), and a water hazard (the course weaves around seven saltwater lakes) on the inside of the dogleg. A quirk of the layout is that the doglegs normally turn right.

Related: Golf In Barbados: A Caribbean Dream

The 3,299-yard, nine-hole Garden course offers a less severe challenge. It also offers more green fee availability as it is floodlit, so play can continue when it has long since been abandoned for the day on the Championship course due to nightfall. The last tee time on the Garden course is 9pm.

The practice facilities include a fairway practice bunker, six target greens, a 160-yard long and 45-yard deep grassed teeing ground, and a short-game area to practise those approach shots from inside 75 yards.

The V1 pro-swing analysis training system, a state-of-the-art fitting system and an Explanar training aid will help you hone your equipment to perfection. The club has six specialist club fitters.

Abu Dhabi Golf Club, which is managed by Troon Golf, has hosted the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on the European Tour every January since 2006. This year, eight Major champions and 88 European Tour winners teed it up in the tournament.

Rickie Fowler won it, with Rory McIlroy finishing tied third. For McIlroy, this event has been a case of so near yet so far... he has played on eight occasions and been runner-up four times.

McIlroy has had more success at Saadiyat Beach where his team won the inaugural Saadiyat Beach Classic at the grand opening of the club in January 2010. Another Troon- managed course, this is the handiwork of Gary Player. It was named last year as the best golf course in the UAE at the World Golf Awards.

Related: A guide to golf in Bermuda

Player is a big fan of his design and its setting, a 317-acre coastal site with three lakes and 67 bunkers: “The course delivers a real sense of drama by contrasting natural features with bold design statements.

Saadiyat Island is truly breathtaking and the sensory elements of the landscape along with the sweeping Arabian coastline and deep green fairways give the course a real edge.

“It is a gift to nature. Even after designing so many courses around the world, there’s something unique about this one which excites me.”

When you get to the 6th hole, a message pops up on the GPS screen in your cart: “Beautiful view, please keep on cart path.”

This is a par 3, played from anywhere between 114 and 236 yards depending on which of five teeing options you choose. The view on this hole, which is played over sand dunes to a sloping green, encompasses the sea and beach and, if you are very lucky, dolphins.

Saadiyat Beach can be played from the tips at 7,806 yards. The middle of the five teeing options reduces the course to 6,733 yards; the nearest tees to 5,290 yards.

Yas Links is another course with some glorious coastal stretches – eight of its holes hug the coastline, including three of the par 3s.

As with that other great Kyle Phillips links design at Kingsbarns in Fife, a heck of lot of earth moving has gone into creating a natural-looking links course out of land which was not linksland.

In this instance, the course took three years to build, and nearly two million cubic metres of dredged sand went into constructing it. Many people will say that it was well worth the effort.

The par-3 13th requires a precise tee shot as four bunkers arc around the green on the left, with water to the right. The par-3 17th, in the middle of a trio of fine finishing holes, requires a carry over water to a green surrounded by half a dozen bunkers.

The 18th is then a risk-reward hole, a mirror image S-shape with water on the left.

As well as the 18-hole course, Yas also has a nine-hole academy course and floodlit practice facilities.

Related: Golf Monthly UK&I Top 100 courses

Floodlit golf is also on offer at Al Ain, as in 2012 floodlights were installed on the back nine of the 18-hole Al Ain Equestrian Shooting and Golf Club. Al Ain is known as the Garden City due to its greenery, and is the second largest city in Abu Dhabi.

The golf course was opened in 2007 as a nine-holer, giving the Garden City its first grass golf layout. It was extended to 18 in 2009, with water hazards coming into play on 11 holes. At the same time a separate a nine-hole par-3 course was built, and this is also floodlit.

Abu Dhabi City Golf Club began life as the Abu Dhabi Golf & Equestrian Club – an 18-hole sand course – in 1976. But in 1998, it was transformed into Abu Dhabi’s very first all-grass course, a nine-holer with one par 5 and two par 3s.

Water comes into play on most of the holes on this flat course, which had to be flat to accommodate spectator sightlines on the racecourse, inside which it is laid out. In the heart of the city, the course is floodlit with tee times available from 6am until 9pm.

To play sand golf in Abu Dhabi you must now head to Al Ghazal, which features browns rather than greens, as the putting surfaces are compacted sand with oil rolled into them. The greens are contoured – some two-tiered – and play very true.

Golfers take a mat round to play from the fairway. The 6,711-yard course has water on seven holes.

ESSENTIALS

WHERE TO PLAY

ABU DHABI W: adgolfclub.com

ABU DHABI CITY W: adcitygolf.com

AL AIN EQUESTRIAN SHOOTING & GOLF CLUB W: aesgc.com

AL GHAZAL W: alghazalgolf.ae

SAADIYAT BEACH W: sbgolfclub.ae

YAS LINKS W: yaslinks.com