The Els Club

The most exacting greens in Dubai await at this course by the South African icon, which sits outside the main hub of Dubai near Jumeirah Estates. You need a good short game round here, because the greens are huge and are genuinely four or five putt territory when they get quick. There are also lots of run offs that are so acute you can be hitting almost a three-quarter wedge to get back to the green! A Troon golf venue, it is laid out on an undulating topography of wide fairways, waving wispy rough and very little in the way of trees and foliage... almost Castle Stuart-esque. Houses can be tight to the fairways and there are times you are very conscious of them. Host of an Asian Tour event, it was initially very expensive but is now more in line with what you’d expect.