As new golf courses continue to spring up around the world, Peter Ellegard picks out a selection of facilities making their debut, as well as some of the best recent openings
Jebel Sifah, Oman
Rising golf destination Oman’s latest offering, Jebel Sifah is part of a luxury resort spanning three miles of coastline south-east of the capital, Muscat. The initial nine holes of this design by Swiss architect Peter Harradine, his first seaside course, are laid out between rugged mountains and the sea, offering views of both from elevated tees and featuring natural wadis. The course is managed by Troon Golf and can be played as an 18-hole course, using a second set of pins on the greens.
Open: First nine holes spring 2017, second nine holes 2019
Green fees: £24-£40
jebelsifah.com
West Cliffs Golf Links, Obidos, Portugal
This stunning new clifftop links layout, situated an hour north of Lisbon on Portugal’s Silver Coast, is shortlisted for best new golf course in the world in the 2017 World Golf Awards. Designed by Cynthia Dye, niece of legendary course designer Pete Dye, it’s laid out in a pristine landscape of rolling sand dunes and natural vegetation with glorious Atlantic views, and is managed by nearby golf resort Praia D’El Rey. It’s already won plaudits for its sustainable ethos and is the first course in Europe to complete the OnCourse Developments programme by the Golf Environment Organization (GEO), as well as becoming a GEO Certified Development.
Open: Summer 2017
Green fees: £75-£119
westcliffs.com
Sand Valley, Wisconsin, USA
Sand Valley, Wisconsin, USA
Seaside links golf in the heart of America’s Midwest? Implausible maybe, but Sand Valley resort is laid out across 1,700 acres of rollercoaster central Wisconsin sand dunes. The development has a pedigree background. Owner Mike Keiser developed Oregon’s acclaimed Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, featuring four courses ranked among America’s top 15 public courses by Golf Digest. He’s turned to two of the design teams from there, with Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designing Sand Valley and David McLay Kidd crafting Mammoth Dunes, both walking-only courses.
Open: Sand Valley course — May 2017; Mammoth Dunes course — nine holes open, fully open 2018
Green fees: £64-£148
sandvalleygolfresort.com
King Robert the Bruce course, Trump Turnberry, Scotland
It may be the junior sister course to Turnberry’s wonderful Ailsa links, but this reworking of the old Kintyre course by Martin Ebert, who was behind The Ailsa’s recent makeover, has already garnered praise from critics. The course is a complete transformation, with the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th holes offering stirring views of the rocky coast, the island of Ailsa Craig, the famous lighthouse and the ruins of Turnberry Castle, in which the lighthouse sits and where Scottish king Robert the Bruce was born in 1274.
Open: June 2017
Green fees: £60-£120
turnberry.co.uk
Halong Bay Golf & Luxury Resort, Halong Bay, Vietnam
Halong Bay Golf & Luxury Resort, Halong Bay, Vietnam
Few golf courses can match the amazing vistas golfers will enjoy from some holes on this course, which overlooks the iconic limestone karst islands of UNESCO World Heritage Site Halong Bay in northern Vietnam. The first course by the famous tourist attraction, it forms part of a luxury resort being developed by Hanoi-based FLC Group and has been designed by US golf design company Schmidt-Curley, which designed all 10 courses at Mission Hills Haikou. The par-3 8th and 12th holes are set to be Halong Bay’s stars.
Open: Soft opening October 2017, official opening to be announced
Green fees: tbc
flchalong.vn/en
Streamsong Black, Streamsong, Florida, USA
Laid out amid sand dunes in a disused phosphate mine in the middle of Florida, Streamsong already boasts two highly-rated courses by leading designers — the Red layout by Coore/Crenshaw and the Blue by Tom Doak — both offering a links-style experience but with water hazards populated by alligators. They’ve now been joined by the eagerly-anticipated Black, a par-73 design by Gil Hanse — architect of the Rio Olympics course — featuring sand ridges, vast bunkers and waste areas akin to Melbourne’s Sandbelt region. It also has its own clubhouse, a two-acre putting course and a free-flowing practice area.
Open: September 2017
Green fees: £64-£193
streamsongresort.com
Great Northern, Denmark
The first golf course in Denmark by Nicklaus Design, Great Northern was designed to host international tournaments, but is playable by less-experienced golfers as well as by pros and low handicappers. It encompasses two areas: a higher section with holes laid out around a hill that give views to the sea, and a lower section set within wetlands that incorporates water features. Besides the main course, there’s a nine-hole training course and a hotel with 15 rooms, while a spa and wellness centre will be added later.
Open: July 2017
Green fees: £100
greatnorthern.dk
Valley course, The Els Club Desaru Coast, Johor, Malaysia
Valley course, The Els Club Desaru Coast, Johor, Malaysia
South African golfer and designer Ernie Els has teamed up with fellow Major winner, Fiji’s Vijay Singh, for the first time to create the second course at The Els Club Desaru Coast, in the south-east of Malaysia, joining his Ocean Course that opened in 2016. Both are on the shortlist for best new golf course in the 2017 World Golf Awards. The Valley course is laid out over an undulating rainforest site which is punctuated by streams and lakes, and has strategically placed white-sand bunkers.
Open: Spring 2017
Green fees: £117-£135
elsclubmalaysia.com
Grand Saint Emilionnais Golf Club, Saint Emilion, France
This corking course is set amid the woodlands, meadows and vineyards of one of France’s most famous wine regions and just six miles from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Saint Emilion. Tom Doak’s first design in France follows the natural contours of the land, with no earth moved during its construction, and fairways that weave through ancient trees. The first hole runs down a hill from a tee box just below the ruins of the 19th-century Chateau de Goffre, which is planned to become the new clubhouse once it’s renovated, replacing the current clubhouse.
Open: 2016
Green fees: £77-£96
segolfclub.com
Ba Na Hills, Danang, Vietnam
Ba Na Hills, Danang, Vietnam
Danang has become the epicentre of Vietnam’s golf scene in recent years and Ba Na Hills is the fourth course in an area promoted as Golf Coast Vietnam. It’s set high in the lush foothills above Danang, with the elevated tee boxes of some holes offering spectacular views of fairways and greens below and the surrounding, forested mountains. The first design by former world number one Luke Donald, this IMG-managed course was named best new golf course in the world at the 2016 World Golf Awards. All 18 holes are floodlit, allowing golfers to play at night.
Open: 2016
Green fees: £94-£124
banahillsgolf.com
