1994
says Mohamed Juma Buamaim, Chairman of the MENA Golf Tour. “His gesture to sign up for the event is a great advertisement for the overall development of the game in the kingdom. The tournament has already created a buzz with a quality fi eld going out to experience the golfi ng facilities at Dirab Golf and Country Club.” The host venue for the US$50,000
American Express Dirab Golf Championship, the Dirab Golf Club and Recreation Centre, is the pick of the country’s courses. The only championship-standard, 18-hole grass course in Saudi, its undulating terrain is located in the scenic valley near the moun- tain escarpment of Tuwaig. The oil industry, though, still
plays a role in the country’s golfi ng scene. The aforementioned Rolling Hills is one of several clubs located within Aramco compounds, while two of Saudi’s better players in recent years, Mohammed Fahad Al Khaldi and Ali Hamad Bin Harith, actually began their golfi ng careers as caddies for Aramco employees. Perhaps most notable, though, is the emergence of teenager Khaled Attiah, who fi rst rose to prominence in 2010 as a 15-year- old schoolboy and who is now continuing his golfi ng educa- tion in Dubai and the US in the search of becoming the country’s fi rst full-time tour professional. As with many things in Saudi Arabia, golf is rapidly learning to stand on its own two feet.
4
WHY NOT TRY?
INTERCONTINENTAL RIYADH HOTEL Tis could hardly be
more ideally placed for meetings and events for golf enthusiasts – local or international. Home of Te InterContinental
Palms Golf & Country Club, the recently refurbished InterContinental has, in addition to the usual
facilities that come with a five-star hotel, eight meeting rooms with
capacity from five to 1,500 people. Te Buraidah Hall is the largest room, while the mainballroom, the second largest, has a capacity for 1,400. Tere are also six other small meeting rooms.
+966 11 4655000
ihg.com
ABQAIQ AIN NAKHL GOLF CLUB Also dubbed Palm Springs, a direct translation of its Arabic name, this golf course in Abqaiq in the Eastern Province is regularly lauded for the quality of its fairways. The club is home to the
annual Abqaiq Open, which celebrated its 15th
year in
March 2013. The competition is open to all amateur and professional golfers with an established USGA or R&A handicap.
+966 13 5744340 18-hole (sand), par-72, 6,329 metres
3
RIYADH THE INTERCONTINENTAL PALMS GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB Riyadh’s fi rst green course when it opened back in 1994, ‘The Palms’ nine-holes double up to an 18-hole course that plays ‘out’ off the blue tees and ‘in’ off the white. Very handily located on a 40-hectare site just fi ve minutes from the main business district in the capital, the course landscaping has matured
beautifully in recent years, with lush fairways protected by a backdrop of trees and interspersed with several ornamental lakes. For experienced golfers, playing
‘The Palms’ does require a little adjustment in driving length as few of the holes play long. It’s a course that rewards accuracy and judgement as opposed to full-throated driving, but there are plenty of challenges on the undulating terrain to make this an excellent place to play year- round, enhanced by fl oodlights and 6am to 10pm opening times. The club has all the usual
facilities, including an academy, driving range and club profes- sionals for coaching. It also organises monthly tournaments along with three annual Golf Open Championships. Away from the course, the complex has a 12-lane bowling alley, pro shop, restaurant, health club, spa, three swimming pools, three tennis courts and three squash courts.
+966 11 4655000 ext: 6146 nine-hole (grass), par-56, 2,219 yards
69
Saudi Arabia welcomed its fi rst fully green course in 1994 when T e Palms Golf & Country Club, located in the grounds of the InterContinental Hotel, Riyadh,
opened. Its nine holes double up to an 18-hole course that plays ‘out’ off the blue tees and ‘in’ off the white
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