10 Best Golf Courses in Dubai: The courses every golfer should play
From the iconic Emirates Golf Club Majlis to Jumeirah Golf Estates and Dubai Creek, these are the courses to know before your next golf trip to the UAE.
Golf in Dubai dates back to the late 1960s, when a nine-hole course was built in Ras Al Khor.
Two years later, Dubai Country Club was formed with nine holes and ‘Browns’ for greens, on which players would pick up their balls when they had found the rudimentary putting surface and add two shots to their score.
Tees were made from short lengths of plastic water pipe, players used an Astroturf mat to play from and there were no clubs available to buy anywhere.
Fast forward to today and Dubai is a thriving golfing hub that makes up one of the seven states of the UAE and is arguably the most well-known, both globally and in a golfing sense.
The European Tour is now known as the DP World Tour, with DP World operating as a ‘world leader in global supply chain solutions’.
Getting here is straightforward, reasonably affordable and caters brilliantly for golfing tourists.
In terms of size, Dubai compares roughly to somewhere like Suffolk and it is home to 14 courses, around 170 five-star hotels and some of the best facilities anywhere.
The city is built for golfers flocking in from overseas, while the condition of the courses is incredible and there are also various options to play after dark.
Best Golf Courses in Dubai
(All green fees are not included as they fluctuate depending on the time of year. Locations will all state 20 minutes - the city centre is obviously vast and hectic, so factor that in, although everything is very accessible in the right hands.)
Trump International
Location: 20 miles south of the city
Over the past decade, we’ve seen Tour stars sing the praises of one of Trump’s latest additions, designed by none other than Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, the duo behind Streamsong Black and Brazil’s Olympic course.
Located within a huge residential project close to Dubai Sports City, it also boasts a back nine that can be played under the lights, a nine-hole par-3 academy course, a floodlit driving range and short-game facility.
The most notable feature is a huge barranca or ravine, which forms the backbone of this par 71. It provides plenty of drama and elevation changes on a course that was carved out of 500 acres of desert.
When tasked with the project, this was something out of the norm for the design duo.
“I’d be lying if I say that we are going to have a minimalistic approach to this course,” said Hanse. “We will have to be very creative, but we will have to move a lot of earth. Most of the courses we have built are on great natural sites. Trump International Dubai will show a side of our creativity to take a site that lacks those natural advantages and to create something very special out of it. It will show another aspect of the talent that we possess.”
The result is one of the very best courses in the UAE, with an emphasis on short grass and sandy waste areas. The fairways are described as links-like in style, creating a very different experience to some of the more manicured layouts in Dubai.
Emirates Golf Club (Majlis)
Location: 20 miles south of the city
Emirates Golf Club was the very first grass golf course in the UAE.
One of the most recognisable courses on the planet, the Majlis features a collection of shots and holes that any golf fan could quickly single out.
The course was famously surrounded by very little when it first opened in 1988, but these days it is a very different setting. It is also somewhere Rory McIlroy has won four times, including his first professional victory in 2009.
“It's fantastic. I think the course set-up is wonderful. It's quite penal off the tee, it's quite penal when you miss your second shots and miss greens, and the putting surfaces are perfect,” he said before shooting 14-under in 2024.
The eighth tee shot is one of the most photographed drives all year, with the Dubai skyline dominating the background, while the 18th, which shares a huge bow-tie green with the ninth, has seen plenty of drama.
In 1996, Colin Montgomerie sealed his success by smashing a driver off the deck onto the putting surface.
Karl Litten was the designer of a course that has stood the test of time and remains a great curtain-raiser to the golfing season.
The Els Club
Location: 20 miles south of the city
Ernie Els’ creation opened to much fanfare in 2008, picking up plenty of notable newcomer awards, and it remains one of Dubai’s best offerings.
With elevation changes a feature and the course laid out in two loops of nine, the layout has characteristics of some of the South African’s favourite courses. For example, the greens take inspiration from Pinehurst No. 2, while the bunkering is influenced by Royal Melbourne, so expect something a little different here.
“The Els Club combines the best of all the great clubs that I have played worldwide. The golf challenge is second to none, whether you are an 18-handicap or a scratch golfer. It will be a great test of golf. This course is something very special,” explained Els at the opening.
At the seventh and 15th, water is the main hazard rather than sand, while the Lion’s Den is the course’s answer to famous stretches of golf such as Amen Corner.
These holes come at nine, 10 and 11: two lengthy par 4s followed by a 200-yard par 3. Members of The Els Club are able to win personal gifts if they are able to break par here. Again, choose your tee wisely.
Off the course, there is the opportunity to play and stay, with luxurious rooms in the phenomenal clubhouse, a swim-up bar, exceptional and varied dining and padel courts.
Jumeirah Golf Estates (Earth)
Location: 20 miles south of the city
The Earth course has been the stage for the DP World Tour’s season finale since 2009. Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick and Jon Rahm are all three-time winners on a course that was designed specifically for tournament golf.
As such, it is long from the tips at just over 7,700 yards, although the winning score is generally nudging around the 20-under mark, such are the skills and power of the world’s best players.
Expect some huge white bunkers and rapid greens on both Earth and Fire courses.
For Fitzpatrick, his newfound length has improved his chances around here.
“When I first came here in 2015, everyone said they didn't think that it would necessarily suit me because it is a big golf course. But there are things that you have to do well here. Putting is No. 1. That's the biggest influencer of playing well here, and driving is No. 2, and they are both my strengths.”
The closing holes are particularly well known, with the brilliant par-3 17th played out in front of the packed grandstands and the par-5 18th, where water snakes its way up the hole before a wickedly sloping green.
We’ve seen plenty of heroics here, notably when Henrik Stenson crunched a 3-wood to six inches in 2013.
Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club
Location: 20 miles north of the city
You’ll have seen photos of this course, quite possibly without knowing it. As you might expect from the name, water plays a part on four holes, with a platform tee out on the lake beginning the journey on the sixth.
But the real talking point comes at the closing two holes, which provide a brilliant test and one of the great stretches of golf in the UAE.
This is one of the most sumptuous settings in Dubai, with another iconic clubhouse mimicking the sails of an Arab dhow boat and a five-star Park Hyatt hotel with all manner of restaurants and facilities.
Back in 1999 and 2000, the Dubai Desert Classic was played here, with David Howell coming out on top in the first staging. The top 10 also featured Lee Westwood, Paul McGinley, Mark James, Wayne Riley and Colin Montgomerie.
“I was on the range on the Saturday evening, and I had this calmness about me,” the two-time former Ryder Cup winner told the DP World Tour. “It was probably the most confident moment of my life on Tour, funnily enough. I had a sense of inner confidence. I was right where I needed to be,” Howell remembers.
Dubai Hills
Location: 20 miles south of the city
This relative newcomer sits within the Mohammed Bin Rashid City quarter of Dubai, and the site was formerly a camel stable, which probably can’t be said for too many golf courses.
The course is surrounded by houses, but the holes are played on a lower level and in relative isolation.
European Golf Design’s Gary Johnston led the project and explained how the layout came about.
“The developer was keen to maximise the amount of golf frontage but maintain a degree of privacy for the homeowners. Being desert, there were no natural lakes and very few trees. The solution was to supplement the safety setbacks with a significant change in elevation created by lowering the course and using the resulting material to raise the residential platforms,” Johnston told Golf Course Architecture.
“The result is a course that averages five to six metres below the housing, and can be as much as eight to 10 metres, but has a genuine feeling of separation for both golfers and homeowners alike. An additional benefit is the increased safety that the elevation change creates, as stray shots need to be much higher and longer to reach the housing.”
But not everything is hidden away. When playing the fifth, the Burj Khalifa is your backdrop, while both nines return to the clubhouse.
The front half has more elevation changes and wadi-style features, while the back nine is more desert-like.
Jumeirah Golf Estates (Fire)
Location: 20 miles south of the city
The Fire opened not long after its better-known neighbour, the Earth, and this is a lighter test, although it remains plenty challenging.
Expect more native grasses and flora here, and the course is described as being more links-like in style. It is more exposed to the wind and will likely appeal to plenty of visiting golfers ahead of the more championship-like Earth course.
Both were designed by Greg Norman and the greens on Fire are more playable – not as lightning quick, but certainly quicker than most of us are used to. There are also more risk-and-reward holes and chances to take advantage of the slopes on the fairways.
This course has actually hosted a DP World Tour event. In the bleakness of 2020, it staged the Golf in Dubai Championship the week before the Tour Championship.
Andy Sullivan opened up with an 11-under 61, but it was Antoine Rozner who emerged victorious on a whopping 25-under.
Arabian Ranches
Location: 20 miles south of the city
Another to feature a links-like appearance and, if you were picturing golf being played in the desert, then this is it.
There are no artificial lakes, plenty of sand and some bouncy turf, hence the links description.
The fairways are generous but require some thought if your ball isn’t going to head towards the waste areas and, given its location, this is as close as you’ll get to a members’ club experience in Dubai.
If you don’t want to stay in the usual hotels, there are 11 rooms in the Spanish colonial-style clubhouse, so this is a little different to the other offerings. There is also a fun, floodlit par-3 course to keep you entertained.
Arabian Ranches, an Ian Baker-Finch and Nicklaus Design collaboration, has been part of the Dubai golf scene for more than 20 years now. In 2019, the club renovated all 18 greens to improve the surfaces and enhance the experience.
It is often referred to as an underrated challenge and one that perhaps deserves more attention among its better-known peers.
Emirates Golf Club (Faldo)
Location: 20 miles south of the city
Be honest, did you know there was a second course at Emirates Golf Club?
The Faldo was originally called The Wadi, the Arabic word for valley, and opened 30 years ago before Nick Faldo got involved in 2005 with a redesign.
The result is a generous layout, with wide fairways, no fewer than 14 lakes and the usual reliance on bunkering, but there is still the skill of placing your ball that you would associate with a Faldo course.
A great way to experience this is to play it at night, where you can escape the hotter temperatures, and the course is open for a very impressive 18 hours a day.
Don’t expect the sparkling condition of the Majlis, but you will have fun and it is worth a visit.
“I’ve been to Dubai many times and have always enjoyed playing in the Dubai Desert Classic, so this has been a very exciting project for me. Our brief was to breathe life into the Wadi by accentuating the unique Wadi theme and by adding a significant degree of drama and aesthetic quality to the course, and that is exactly what I think we have achieved. We’ve also made it a much more strategic, ‘thinking man’s’ golf course,” explained the six-time Major winner after completing the renovation.
Montgomerie Golf Club
Location: 20 miles south of the city
The par-3 13th here was once designed in the shape of the United Arab Emirates. Colin Montgomerie’s sidekick, the late Desmond Muirhead, liked to have some fun with his designs and made the par 3 a real talking point.
That has now been tweaked into a kidney-shaped island and this is another par 72 that can be played as long as 7,500 yards.
But it is generous, with more room here than on some of the other courses in Dubai, although you can expect plenty of water, with 14 lakes adding to the test.
The word ‘links’ again pops up – ‘Scottish links meets Arabian desert’ – which might well be a leap of faith and imagination, but the condition is generally regarded as being excellent.
That is complemented by some outstanding facilities, including a par-3 course, 21 rooms and a very impressive swimming pool.
W: montgomeriegolfclubdubai.com
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Mark Townsend contributes to the GolfMagic content team as a golf course freelance writer.
There are few golf courses in the United Kingdom that Mark hasn't played and he is considered one of the best course and travel writers in the game.
