The Els Club, Dubai
ERNIE ELS (2008) • PAR 72 • YARDS 7,538 • TOTAL SCORE 62.95
IT’S A BANE OF modern golf, but celebrated designers often come with a healthy sadistic streak that they’re all too willing to unleash upon the general golfing populace. Island greens, winding creeks and enforced 250-yard carries off the tee may be meat and drink for your average tour pro but for the plucky weekend enthusiast, such layouts can be a soul-destroying journey through an industrial-sized quantity of golf balls.
This is why I love the Els Club. Eponymous designer Ernie Els, aside from being a legend of the game and an allround good egg, understands that regular golfers just want to enjoy their day and emerge unscathed. But the beauty of this track is that while the Big Easy makes this simple philosophy his priority, the course itself is endlessly challenging.
Ernie’s objective with this course is to get you in play off the tee, then bamboozle you with some of the trickiest approach shots to be found anywhere in the UAE. The par 4 1st is a shining example of this. A generously wide fairway, followed by a second shot to a two-tiered green that will funnel all but the most accurately struck shots into one of the trademark swales that surround the putting surface.
At The Els Club, you’re typically in play, but you’re never in cruise control. And that’s what makes it an endlessly fascinating and enjoyable challenge. Over the past 11 years the course has matured like one of Ernie’s fine South African vintages, and its tremendous condition, which is maintained to immaculate standards all-year round, sets it apart. There are courses in the Middle East that command a higher profile, but few that provide as enjoyable a day out as The Els Club, Dubai.