Yas Links Golf Course

Yas Island – the location of a multi-billion dollar project by Aldar, Abu Dhabi’s foremost property, investment and management company – occupies an area of around 6,000 acres in the Arabian Gulf and it’s the site of a number of world-class attractions that include a Formula 1 Grand Prix racing track, the Ferrari World theme park and, of course, the Yas Links golf course, which opened in 2010.

The golf facility extends to an 18-hole layout, a 9-hole academy course and floodlit practice area. It’s the first project that architect Kyle Phillips has worked on in the Middle East and he was involved right from the outset when it was decided to shape nearly two miles of coastline (during the construction phase of an access route to the marina) and use almost 2 million cubic metres of dredged sand to cap the golf course.

Extending to 7,450 yards with five tee positions at every hole, Yas Links was over three years in construction and it lies across the highway from the Yas Marina car racing circuit with eight of the holes – including three of the four short holes on the card at 8, 13 and 17 – located right against the coastline.

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Many think the “Cape” hole at the 9th is the best of the par fours because the tee shot has to carry water on the right and the more length that’s gained from the tee, the shorter the approach is to a green that falls away at the back.

The 18th is a fine finishing hole where the shoreline snakes along the left hand side of the fairway, threatening shots all the way from tee to green. The safest option is to play away from the water, avoiding first a central fairway bunker off the tee then a long waste bunker down the left side of the narrow green.