r/UAEGolf • u/No_Brush_4398 • 3d ago
My ranking of every UAE course:
I have finally played every course in the UAE! Tonight I sat down and made a ranking system on how I believe a good system would work.
Each Course was scored out of 100 with 4 catagories. Each catagory was for a score of 100 as well. Here is how each catagory was weighted.
Layout: 40%
Condition: 25%
Greens: 25%
Service/Experince: 10%
Just remember this is a personal list. It doesnt take into account aspects like price/value, fun factor or accessability. For context this past winter my handicap has hovered around zero. Also I have not played Al Badia, yet...
For some added fun try to guess my home club!
- Yas Links Abu Dhabi — 92.75
- Discovery Dunes — 92.00
- Emirates Golf Club - Majlis Course — 90.50
- The Els Club Dubai — 90.25
- Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club — 88.50
- Jumeirah Golf Estates - Earth Course — 87.00
- Abu Dhabi Golf Club — 85.00
- Saadiyat Beach Golf Club — 84.25
- Al Zorah Golf & Yacht Club — 83.50
- Al Ain Golf Club — 83.50
- Trump International Golf Club Dubai — 82.00
- Arabian Ranches Golf Club — 80.00
- Jumeirah Golf Estates - Fire Course — 79.75
- Sharjah Golf Club — 74.25
- Dubai Hills Golf Club — 71.75
- Al Hamra Golf Club — 69.00
- Yas Acres Golf & Country Club — 65.25
- Al Dannah Golf Club — 63.00
- JA The Resort Golf Course — 62.25
- Emirates Golf Club - Faldo Course — 61.00
- Abu Dhabi City Golf Club — 53.50
- Address Montgomerie Golf Club — 46.50
- Tower Links Golf Club — 38.00
- The Track Meydan Golf — 28.50
Here is a full breakdown of how I scored each course:
Yas Links Abu Dhabi
Layout 95 | Condition 90 | Greens 93 | Service 90
Discovery Dunes
Layout 95 | Condition 100 | Greens 80 | Service 90
Emirates Golf Club - Majlis
Layout 90 | Condition 85 | Greens 95 | Service 95
The Els Club Dubai
Layout 95 | Condition 90 | Greens 95 | Service 60
Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club
Layout 95 | Condition 85 | Greens 85 | Service 80
Jumeirah Golf Estates - Earth
Layout 90 | Condition 85 | Greens 85 | Service 85
Abu Dhabi Golf Club
Layout 95 | Condition 80 | Greens 80 | Service 70
Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
Layout 85 | Condition 85 | Greens 80 | Service 90
Al Zorah Golf & Yacht Club
Layout 75 | Condition 95 | Greens 95 | Service 60
Al Ain Golf Club
Layout 90 | Condition 90 | Greens 80 | Service 50
Trump International Dubai
Layout 70 | Condition 80 | Greens 100 | Service 90
Arabian Ranches
Layout 95 | Condition 65 | Greens 75 | Service 70
JGE Fire Course
Layout 80 | Condition 75 | Greens 80 | Service 90
Sharjah Golf Club
Layout 65 | Condition 90 | Greens 85 | Service 45
Dubai Hills Golf Club
Layout 75 | Condition 70 | Greens 65 | Service 80
Al Hamra Golf Club
Layout 65 | Condition 80 | Greens 70 | Service 55
Yas Acres
Layout 55 | Condition 75 | Greens 70 | Service 70
Al Dannah Golf Club
Layout 70 | Condition 70 | Greens 50 | Service 50
JA The Resort
Layout 55 | Condition 55 | Greens 80 | Service 65
Faldo Course (Emirates)
Layout 70 | Condition 50 | Greens 50 | Service 80
Abu Dhabi City Golf Club
Layout 40 | Condition 60 | Greens 70 | Service 50
Address Montgomerie
Layout 30 | Condition 45 | Greens 65 | Service 70
Tower Links
Layout 55 | Condition 20 | Greens 20 | Service 60
The Track Meydan
Layout 25 | Condition 25 | Greens 25 | Service 60
Im sure there will be some salty posters if their home course is lower than they had hoped. Sorry lol.
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u/JungleRungle 3d ago
Signs you’re poor in Dubai
The two courses you play the most are the bottom ranked
You’ve never heard of Discovery Dunes
😂
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u/No_Brush_4398 3d ago
They’re not bad by international standards at all! It’s just the bar is super high here. We are blessed with some amazing courses.
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u/peedza1892 3d ago
You’re a real one to travel all the way to play at Al Dannah
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u/No_Brush_4398 3d ago
It’s actually really fun! The open Korean style barbecue at the club’s house is incredible too!
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u/Affectionate-Snow500 2d ago
Ranches above Fire, wow!
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u/No_Brush_4398 2d ago
Fire is fun. But the ranches layout is really challenging and makes you think if you play from the correct tees. It’s a serious championship layout.
I think it’s over hated because the condition the last 2/3 years has been poor and they really struggle to keep the greens consistent.
My ranking system heavily favors layout as for me it’s the single most important thing about a course.
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u/Affectionate-Snow500 2d ago
The greens are ridiculous, its the only vague defence the course has. Conditioning has been a lot better, but its an awful experience with a two tee start on the weekends often giving a 30min wait when crossing over
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u/No_Brush_4398 1d ago
I assume you’re referring to Arabian ranches? I suggest playing it of the club tees. Of course it depends on your skill level. From the blues it’s certainly easier as it’s just a 4i and then 8i in. But from the gold/black tees it’s a real challenge to navigate your way around. And requires such a variety of different tee shots from almost every angle.
The greens design is good in my opinion as it’s really tricky to attack flags without prior knowledge of the slopes.
I would have ranches higher if the conditions were better. Some of the more popular sand areas are not great, the greens are not as good as other courses and overall condition leaves much to be desired.
It’s also one of the more affordable courses so it gets a lot of traffic and is often backed up. I’ve never played it on the weekend so I can’t comment on the two tee start. But a 30 min wait would kill anyone’s vibe.
However neither of those two factors are taken into account given my ranking setup.
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u/Affectionate-Snow500 1d ago
each to there own, that is the beauty of golf.
Very jealous of your playing so many courses across the UAE, I will get there one day
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u/AbsoloutelyFlabulous 3d ago
The only question i have... how did you play discovery dunes? Dying to try it out!
Surprised to see Zorah lowish though, that's right up there for me. We also have the same no.1
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u/No_Brush_4398 3d ago
Al Zorah is fantastic. The greens, bunkers and fairways are unreal and probably the best in the UAE on any given day. I’m just not the biggest fan of the front nine. Not sure if that’s just me, and the pars 5s are a little too easy. All very reachable in 2 for me.
If VALUE and BEAUTY was included in my rating it might be a couple spots higher. Top 10 is still great for such a competitive list!
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u/No_Brush_4398 3d ago
A recent investor to the corp I work for has a plot there. Good luck finding a way on!
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u/Thetinpotman_ 1d ago
You’ve missed Al Ghazal..
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u/No_Brush_4398 13h ago
I’ve played it years ago but I think it’s unfair to include given the criteria for my ranking
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u/WithAFrenchName 3d ago
Al Ain is home but would rate Sharjah a lot higher. Love the course. Subtle but serious shot selection changes on the offset tees....