Location: Dubai, UAE | Ranking: #65 — The Global Golfer Top 100
Type: Desert Parkland | Designer: Karl Litten (1988)
Editor’s Note: The Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club was the first grass course in the Middle East — a genuinely revolutionary act in 1988. Karl Litten created an oasis of championship golf in the Dubai desert; the Bedouin tent-inspired clubhouse, now iconic, was radical architecture for its time. Nick Faldo won the inaugural Dubai Desert Classic here in 1989. The Dubai skyline from the 8th tee — looking back toward the city’s towers with the course green in the foreground — is golf’s most dramatic urban landscape.
Contact & Booking
- Website: dubaigolf.com | Green Fees: From AED 600 (approx. £130) | Rating / Slope: 74.7 / 134 | Best Season: November–April | Airport: Dubai (DXB) — 20 mins.
Championship Scorecard
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | OUT |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 |
| Yards | 415 | 560 | 188 | 422 | 405 | 430 | 195 | 550 | 428 | 3,593 |
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | IN | TOTAL |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Yards | 410 | 425 | 183 | 540 | 420 | 428 | 185 | 555 | 432 | 3,578 | 7,301 |
Key Notes & 19th Hole
- Faldo & the Dubai Desert Classic: The inaugural 1989 tournament is one of golf’s landmark moments — the first professional golf event ever played in the Arab world. The tournament has run every year since; virtually every world number one has won it.
- The Bedouin Tent Clubhouse: One of golf’s most architecturally distinctive structures — seven white peaks inspired by desert tents, visible from the 18th green. The clubhouse restaurant provides exceptional views of the finishing hole.
- Atlantis The Palm (5★GL): Dubai’s most spectacular hotel — 20 minutes from Emirates Golf Club. Book via Expedia →
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