Putting on the 'browns' at Dubai CC

The Club House

Food:
A fine dining restaurant serving continental food plus a café serving breakfast and lunch and a number of bars.

Changing rooms:
Separate changing rooms for the golf course, plus additional ones for the pool and sports hall.

Ladies facilities:
Try Aerobics, aqua aerobics and spinning classes for women plus golf classes and tennis tournaments.

Pro-shop:
Well stocked with all the top brand golf clubs such as Titlese and shirts for men and women.

Pegs note the division between the fairway and the desert

Background to the course

Type: Desert

Landscape:
Sand for miles around. It's amazing to visit at sunrise or twilight for blood red or hazy purple views of the city skyline against the palms and pale sandy dunes.

Course facts
- Dubai Country Club has always been host to the Dubai's Men's Open, Dubai's oldest championship, dating back to 1976.
- While other golf courses in Dubai need up to a million gallons of water a day to stay green, this desert course only requires 10,000 gallons a week.
- Dubai CC is the region's oldest golf club - even though it only opened in 1971. It currently has over 500 members.
- The club was named in Golf World as one of the world's most unique golfing destinations.

Tee off from a piece of Astroturf which you carry round the course with you

Playing the Course

Playing off the tees, two lines of pegs denote the edges of the fairway. Land within those markers and you can place your ball on your mat and play on as normal, but landing outside means you have to play the ball as it lies, which is invariably off the sandy scrub ground. Once the green, or rather brown, is reached, you putt onto a mixture of sand and second hand engine oil compressed with rollers. This surface holds a pitching ball surprisingly well; although the putt is quite slow it will run true. After putting, the golfer is expected to brush around the hole with brooms to smooth out footprints for the players behind. Players have to contend with numerous dhubs - burrows dug by desert lizards.

Score Card

Address:
Dubai Country Club, PO Box 5104, Dubai, UAE

Website:
dubaicountryclub.com

Telephone:
+971 4 333 1155 FAX:+971 4 333 1409

Course length & holes:
Two courses: Al Awir, a par 71, 6,346 yards 18-hole course, and the Creek Course, a par 32, 2,270 yards 9-hole course.

On the course dress code:
Rubber but no metal spikes allowed. Shirt with collars and sleeves.

Tee times:
From 8am until twilight (around 7pm in summer or 6pm in winter) but tee times can be booked earlier if requested.

Handicap:
No certificate required.

Green fees:
Non-members can only play at the invitation of a member and payment of a fee of around $25. Group of non-members can play Sunday to Wednesday from 8am to 10am, by prior arrangement.

Dress code:
No spiked shoes.

Packages:
Three golf packages are available ranging between AED 100 ($27) to 200 ($54), all inclusive of food.

Other costs:
Buggies are 75 AED ($20) for 18 holes or 50 AED ($14) for 9 holes, a bucket of balls is 10 AED ($3), Club hire is 20 AED ($5.50). No caddies allowed.

Facilities:
A 24 bay floodlit driving range, practice 'brown' for putting, a well-equipped pro shop, club repair centre and PGA pro tuition. Outside of golf, there's a sports hall offering badminton, squash and a gym; one family and two sports training pools; and outdoors there are tennis courts and football and rugby pitches.

Location:
Ras al-Khor Road, Ras Al-Khor, just south of the Dubai Creek and a mile southwest of the city center. It's a 15 minute drive from the city center or 30 minutes from Dubai International Airport.

More Information

Desert Golf in Dubai
Adventure Golf: Dubai