Golf in Dubai

[Ralphyboy84]

Has anyone here played any golf in Dubai? Looking to head over October/November time for 5 nights or so. Any advice on where to stay/play? Is there any way of doing it cheap or is it going to be expensive?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[crazy8golfer]

I am also interested in a trip to the region. I have some concerns with security, any thoughts ?

[Buckyb90]

I live and work in the region and you are more safe in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha than in most American cities. There is nothing to worry about with safety and security.

 

My personal ranking list of the courses in Dubai would be:

 

Emirates Golf Club (Majlis)

Jumeirah Golf Club (Earth)

Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club

The Montgomerie Golf Club

The Els Club

Jumeirah Golf Club (Fire)

Al Badia Golf Club

Arabian Ranches Golf Club

 

There is a new Jack Nicklaus design called Al Zorah Golf Club in Ajman, which is a 20 minute drive from Dubai. I have not played it yet, but it is on my list. I am told that water hazards will vary depending on the tide of the Arabian Gulf!

 

I would stay in the Al Barsha/Jumeirah Beach area which is more of a central location of Dubai. It is about the same distance from Dubai International (DXB) or Dubai Al Maktoom (DWC). If you get the chance, take a 40 minute drive over to Abu Dhabi and play Saadiyat Beach GC, Yas Links and Abu Dhabi National as well.

 

I live in Qatar, so I play here in Doha all the time, but I have played in Muscat, Oman as well as Bahrain too, so I have you covered for options :)

 

Please let me know if you have any questions and I will be happy to answer them.

[Ralphyboy84]

Thanks for the reply! would you recommend staying in a hotel? I had a look at Airbnb but I don't know if staying in certain hotels guarantees you tee times or gets you discount rates? Is there any websites that offer discounted tee times?

[Buckyb90]

I usually stay at the Holiday Inn Al Barsha as it's usually less than $100 a night and service is great. There is really a hotel for anyone's budget, so you have a ton of options at your fingertips.

[kejoal11]

I was in Dubai last year and stayed at the ramada plaza jbr. Great location and easy access to cabs to get you to and from golf courses. I played both Emirates courses, jumeirah earth, Arabian ranches, Els, Dubai creek and the montgomerie. Montgomerie and Arabian ranches have rooms you can book for stay and play. I also played saadiyat beach golf club and Abu Dhabi golf club in Abu Dhabi. You can't go wrong with any golf course in the area. Great facilities, great service and plush courses.

[toophewbirdies]

I live in Dubai and have been a member at JGE. I agree with the poster above about the various courses. Dubai ain't cheap, especially in the "winter" months, if you come over for golf. The courses though are fantastic!! OP if you come over in November you might find the Earth course closed, as the race to Dubai will be played on this course! My favorites in this area are: Yas Links in Abu Dhabi, Majlis at Emirates Golf Club,Earth at JGE, Els course and Al Zorah in Ajman.

 

The last course has been open for a little over a month, but is fantastic!! I've played it twice and it's completely different from the other courses in the area, as it is placed between the mangroves. Driving time from Dubai all depends where you stay in Dubai and time of travel. I would say anywhere from 35 to 60 minutes.

 

As stated before, the UAE is very safe and especially Dubai is a very modern cosmopolitan city. You can stay at various western hotels, depending on your budget!

 

I know Els Club, the Montgomerie and Al Zorah are all Troon courses, so don't know if you can make a package deal to cut cost?

 

You picked the right time of year to come over and you'll enjoy your golf tremendously!

 

Drop me a line if you need some more info.

[Crashhays]

Love seeing this thread. I'll be in dubai for two days next month. Staying at jeremiah creek. I'm thinking I saw somewhere I get a discount at the yacht club? Does anyone know if that's right? I am just passing through but I would love to play this course

[360_CS]

We just came from spending a couple of days in Dubai. We manged to play night golf at the Emirates Golf Club (Faldo Course). It was nice. I was disappointed in the quality of the course. The quality was poor for what you pay. We played with another guy who is a member at the Els club, he said they only really care for this course in the winter. He mentioned that The Montgomerie Golf Club is very nice.

[Kris Strauss]

Has anyone here played any golf in Dubai? Looking to head over October/November time for 5 nights or so. Any advice on where to stay/play? Is there any way of doing it cheap or is it going to be expensive?

 

Thanks in advance!

Has anyone here played any golf in Dubai? Looking to head over October/November time for 5 nights or so. Any advice on where to stay/play? Is there any way of doing it cheap or is it going to be expensive?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I went for business this past February and checked out:

Els Club Dubai

Montgomerie

Arabian Ranches

 

All are great, fun, offer "dynamic pricing" - ie based on demand so afternoon / lower demand times offer lower rates.

If trying to find value...the weekend in Dubai is Fri-Sat so play Sun-Thurs for weekday rates

 

Also fun is The Track at Meydan. Offers nine holes, championship length (3500 from the tips) all light up at night. In Feb i had a 7:50pm Tee time and played 9 holes..wrapped up around 10pm. Was pretty cool.

 

If you have time make the 1 hr drive to AbuDhabi and play AbuDhabi (where HSBC Abu Dhabi Championships are played) and Saadiyat Beach.

 

Dubai and Abu Dhabi were very safe! I was concerned at first to but nothing to be worried about. Its against the law to have guns/ammo so that destination has minimal crime...ie no school shootings, murders on the street etc. Amazing place. Would definitely go back again.

[Boogeyman]

I'm heading to Dubai in two weeks and have a chance to play Jumeirah Earth on the Thursday following European Tour finals. Does anyone have any ideas on what the condition of the course could be just a few days after such a big event?

[toophewbirdies]

The Earth course will be immaculate! Fairways and greens in amazing shape and rough pretty punishing.

 

You'll have a great time playing with some excellent weather to boot!

 

Enjoy it!

[NickJ]

I played the Els Club yesterday. What a great course. Reminded me a bit of the TPC Stadium course in Palm Springs with strategically placed fairway bunkers and rolling/undulating fairways. Greens are diabolical. Ernie must have been in a bad mood :)

 

Playing Arabian Ranch tomorrow. Will provide another update then.

[NickJ]

Arabian Ranch was also a great course. Wind was up @ 20mph and it certainly proved to make the course play long. Narrow fairways compared to Els.

 

I enjoyed the layout quite a bit but the greens were unbelievably slow. Could never get a real handle on them and I left many putts 6’ short.

 

Just like the Els, the greens have hidden character. Nothing around the pin is a gimme.

 

I wouldn’t hesitate to come back. Especially since it was $49 USD on teeoff.com

[Davidw]

I’ll be holidaying in Dubai in June.

 

Are there any current suggestions about the best course to play this time of year? We’re staying at the Atlantis so by the looks of things we’ve got a few courses reasonably close by.

[Francois]

Emirates Golf Club is the closest to The Palm. Two courses of which the Majlis is the standout. Most expensive course in Dubai though.

 

Others to have a look at in no particular order:

Jumeirah Golf Estates Earth Course.

Els Club.

Dubai Creek. Expensive as well. But good.

Dubai Hills. New course. Not a fan.

Trump. Good track. Reasonable price.

Arabian Ranches. Not a fan.

 

June is hot. Be prepared.

[Schley]

I'd rank them:

1. Majilis

2. Trump

3. JGE Earth

4. Everything else

You will really enjoy the new Trump course, I was pleasantly surprised.

The rest of the options are average to slightly above average IMO.

[Davidw]

Thanks guys :)

[Righty to Lefty]

Els is amazing and I played it last month and it was immaculate. I love middle east golf especially this time of the year even though it does get pricey if you play before 1:30 pm. I still need to play more courses in Dubai to have a full ranking but of what I played thus far my rankings would go like this:

Saadiyat BeachEls ClubYas IslandAbu Dhabi GCFaldo Dubai CreekAll really good courses with great conditions. The vibe around Emirates awesome as they were playing music on the range and everyone was out there putting in work and taking lessons and such. Yas had an over watering issue that washed away some of the course so I would not pay prime rates to play. Saadiyat is the best course to me with its combination of challenge 7800 yards from the tips, layout, bunkering, and location. I just flat out love that course. I did come across the best kept secret course in Doha, Qatar called Education City GC and words and pictures do not do it justice if you are in that region.