Royal Club Bahrain

Bahrain's only 18-hole championship-standard course was designed by Ryder Cup legend Colin Montgomerie in association with European Golf Design. It was originally known as Riffa but closed in 2007 to be developed into Royal Club's new course by the Scotsman and EGD. Montgomerie took inspiration from his years of experience of playing on some of the world’s best known links courses to create the feel for Royal Bahrain. He has incorporated natural wadis, created sandy waste areas and included four lakes in his design - the latter hazard dominating the start of the home stretch. Managed by Troon, it is in terrific condition and hosted the European Tour’s inaugural Volvo Golf Champions tournament in 2011. It has also staged the Bahrain Invitational in 2012, which saw the architect and Paul Casey, Thomas Bjorn and Suzann Pettersen compete alongside former tennis player Tim Henman, American footballer Joe Montana and footballers Ruud Gullit and Gianluca Vialli.