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From a nine-hole course to a Championship destination: Al Ain’s golfing journey
Al Ain is unique in many ways. We are often referred to as the Garden City due to our lush greenery, and this is no different once you enter the gates of the resort. The golf course offers a unique desert experience, with the Jebel Hafeet mountains providing a stunning backdrop on many holes.
Our Championship course at AESGC is a par 70 that stretches to 7,117 yards from the back tees. The club hosted the 2024 Abu Dhabi Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour and will host it again this coming April.
Garrick Porteous – 2024 Abu Dhabi Challenge Champion – Octavio Passos / Getty Images
When it opened in 2007, we were initially a nine-hole course. A further nine holes were added in 2010, bringing us to an 18-hole Championship course. In 2015, the front nine underwent an extensive renovation and was reopened in late 2016. Additionally, European Golf Design recently visited the site to offer new design concepts for potential enhancements to the layout, which we are very excited about.
Both the back nine on the Championship course and the par-3 Academy course are fully floodlit, allowing for play into the late evening.
Al Ain Equestrian Shooting and Golf Club – Image supplied
Being the host club for the 2024 Abu Dhabi Challenge was an incredibly proud moment for the club and our members. It was by far the most significant event the club has hosted in our short history and something our members really supported. We had numerous members keen to help out as volunteers, and many members were out walking the fairways following the action, especially over the weekend when most had no work commitments. We are very much looking forward to hosting the tour again in April.
So many times, I hear from first-time guests that they didn’t even know a golf course existed in Al Ain and are truly taken aback by both the standard of the golf course and the quality of the layout they have just played.
I feel we are slowly changing this perception and have seen repeat business from both green fee guests and golf societies after their initial visit.
Al Ain has a small population compared to the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but when considering the relatively small expanse of land that the city covers, we have a population of more than 800,000 people. The biggest challenge we face in Al Ain is that it is very much a transient community, which makes growing a membership a difficult task. By hosting bi-weekly events on the Academy course, we have been able to introduce new golfers to the game and gradually transition them onto the Championship course and into membership. This has resulted in growth in all categories of membership over the past two years.
Key Holes
Al Ain Equestrian Shooting and Golf Club – Hole 10. Image supplied
Hole 10
The 10th hole at AESGC is the longest hole in the UAE at 678 yards!
For your tee shot, the ideal line is down the left side of the fairway to avoid the strategically placed fairway bunkers on the right. The landing area is relatively generous, but it narrows as you approach 300 yards off the tee.
Considering the length of the hole, ideally, the second shot should be advanced as far down the fairway as possible to leave a shorter club for your third shot. Keeping to the left side of the fairway is preferred, as the fairway on the right slopes towards the water on the front right, guarding the green.
With such a large green, any miscalculation in distance or mis-strike can almost immediately rule out a birdie four. The green slopes from back to front, with many subtle undulations throughout. Walking to the next tee with a five on your scorecard is never a bad result on this hole.
Al Ain Equestrian Shooting and Golf Club – Hole 12. Image supplied
Hole 12
The 12th is a challenging par four at 417 yards that requires a strategic play to navigate its unique features.
Favouring the left side of the fairway is preferred, as any tee shot leaked right will likely catch the fairway bunkers or desert, making the second shot incredibly difficult into its shallow green.
The green is very well protected by a stream running across the front. If you manage to avoid this but get your club selection wrong, many greenside bunkers await your ball, spanning from the front and around the back right.
Al Ain Equestrian Shooting and Golf Club – Hole 16. Image supplied
Hole 16
With the addition of a new tee, the 16th has really added some bite to the hole and sets up a potential dramatic finish to any round, measuing 456 yards.
The new tee, moving back, tightens the landing zone with the lake pinching the right side of the fairway, and the left fairway bunker now very much in play. There isn’t really a bailout area!
If the fairway is found from the tee, it’ll leave a medium to long iron approach to a green sitting at a slight angle away from the line of play. The green slopes from back to front and left to right, with a back-left pin being by far the most difficult to access.
If you safely make the middle of the green, followed by two putts, it won’t harm any scorecard approaching the end of a round.
This article was featured in the March 2025 issue of Golf Digest Middle East. Click here for a digital issue of the full magazine
More Where to Play:
Al Zorah Golf Club
Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club
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Yas Links Abu Dhabi
