Saadiyat Beach Golf Club

On Saadiyat Island, which is just 500 metres off the coast of Abu Dhabi, sits Saadiyat Beach Golf Club and its neighbour, The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort. The facilities here are simply breathtaking. Should there be anything amiss from your short game, there are two chipping greens, a putting green and a vast practice ground where there are various bunkered and sculpted greens with a backdrop of an ever-changing skyline. And it’s laid back too with music being played to accompany your rhythmical swings.

Overview

Designed by Gary Player and opened in 2010, Saadiyat Beach is an awesome layout. Many of the 18 holes are defined by the huge sandy waste areas found just off the edge of the fairways. As you play towards and alongside the Arabian Gulf, you are treated to a spectacular setting. Look out for local wildlife, including mountain gazelles, dolphins and hawksbill turtles. The names of the holes are taken from notes made by Gary Player when designing the course and he said it was akin to having 18 little children so was unable to single out one hole. His best looking offspring is surely the 5th, Dolphin View, where our aquatic friends are regularly out in force in the mornings of the cooler months. There are 67 bunkers, spread over an incredible 10 hectares with one at the 10th running the entire length of its 350 yards. Mention should also be made of the 17th, Arabian Oasis, the shortest and most blissful hole.