Saadiyat Beach Golf Club

Opened in March 2010, the Gary Player-designed course at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is billed as the Persian Gulf’s first ocean course. Located at Saadiyat Island (ten kilometres to the north east of Abu Dhabi city centre) and routed along the azure coastline of the Arabian Gulf, Saadiyat Beach is set to become one of the Middle East’s most talked about courses.

The course routing weaves in and out of numerous five-star hotels that line the beachfront and six holes feature panoramic Gulf views. A saltwater lagoon, links-like sand dunes, lakes and strategic bunkering combine to make an eclectic golfing experience. The course is spread out across a site that extends to more than 300 acres, so there’s a genuine feeling of space at Saadiyat Beach despite the close proximity of its five-star neighbours.

Saadiyat Beach measures a whopping 7,806 yards from the tips, but with five tee positions, the course is enjoyable for all playing abilities. The pros certainly put the course to the test each year when the Gary Player-hosted Saadiyat Beach Classic comes to town. The charity event draws a strong field of top pros and the funds raised are channelled into numerous worthy causes.

Fatima bint Mubarak Al Ketbi is a champion of women’s rights in the UAE and she’s considered to be the mother of sheikhs and the Mother of the UAE, it’s therefore fitting that a Ladies European Tour event should be named after her. This promising new LET event was inaugurated in 2016 and has since been staged at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.

Dubai may well have more golfing history, but Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Abu Dhabi Golf Club's National course and Yas Links combine to make the emerging Abu Dhabi an Arabian golfing destination par excellence.