Think of golf in the Middle East and your mind usually wanders to luxury, with good reason. We take a look at Qatar, Oman, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, to discover different ways to indulge on and off the course
QATAR
With its gilded reputation for lavish boutique hotels and sumptuous fashion brands, Qatar is a seductive proposition to discerning holiday-makers. Home to a high-flying international community of ambitious, monied expatriates, it offers a VIP lifestyle built on vast gas and oil reserves.
Doha’s dazzling skyline is growing at a breakneck pace with signs of new wealth evident everywhere. Decadence abounds in Qatar’s select handful of shopping choices with Western designer names at the Villagio, Landmark and City Centre Malls. Grab a Champagne cocktail at the Strata Lounge, smoke a fine Cuban cigar at the wood-panelled Library Lounge or indulge in a 10-course tasting menu at one of Doha’s highly starred restaurants.
Chi chi hotels provide the most popular dining options, including celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s eatery and the Market at the trendy W Hotel in downtown Doha — Qatar’s hippest place to be and be seen. Set in palm-scattered buzzing West Bay, the signature-styled 442-room W Hotel offers red carpet insider access to the hottest hang-outs in Doha on the edge of the blue Arabian Gulf.
Just minutes from the city’s contemporary-styled venues, bygone Qatar begs to be discovered: with its vibrant cafe culture, traditional hospitality and spice-filled market stalls. Sip robust Arabic coffee or sweet mint teas and feast on lightly spiced skewered meats fresh from the grill, in the cosy sheesha joints at the Souk Waqif.
The golf
Head to the 18-hole Championship course at Doha Golf Club: a lush scenically landscaped facility set around expansive lakes. Tough from the back tees, the layout offers enough tests to give even a scratch golfer a headache. Curvaceous fairways trimmed with vibrant blooms rise up to a palm-tufted peak where the Arabic-styled clubhouse commands mesmerizing views across the 150-hectare site. Green fees are around £84.
Almouj Golf
OMAN
Rugged, unspoiled landscapes coupled with a distinct national culture and incredible wildlife, have earned Oman a place in the hearts and minds of adventure lovers across the world. Oman has welcomed legions of explorers, including the legendary Lawrence of Arabia.
A glorious, and uniquely diverse, topography includes the highest mountain range of the eastern Arabian Peninsula as well as innumerable canyons and fjords.
From scuba diving on bubblegum-coloured reefs to star-gazing inky skies at wilderness desert camps, Oman has become the go-to destination for desert safaris, fossil hunting, turtle watching and exploration. An unusual topographical mix runs from the Empty Quarter’s arid sands to verdant fruit plantations rich in wild oryx and gazelles. Marshlands are feeding sites for migratory birds while deep waters are renowned for their humpback and blue whales.
Thrill-seekers head to Wahiba Sands to dune-bash in a 4×4, or take a camel trek. Hikers head to mountains to venture along ancient donkey paths. Rock climbers ascend cliffs galore riddled with fossilized shells, coral and burrows. Musandam, a secluded enclave of rocky outcrops, tiny hilltop settlements and deserted beaches is perfect for a 1,001 Arabian Nights-style escape. Cruise in a dhow, watch dolphins and seek out prehistoric rock paintings among the fjords.
Hotels in Oman are just as enchanting as its terrain with the spectacular Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort built to appear as if it has bubbled up out of the rock. For pure simplicity with a five-star twist choose the Bedouin-style tents at Desert Nights Camp and Dunes by Al Nahda — the ultimate boutique adventure.
Shopping in Oman’s southern Dhofar province Salalah is centred on decadent age-old luxuries, with aromatic frankincense, produced since antiquity from the resin of Boswellia sacra trees, at the top of every visitors’ shopping list. Muscat, with its trading history stretching back millennia, is where the malls are congregated yet the capital of Oman retains its port city character noted for its dates, mother-of-pearl and fish — not its Dior, Gucci and Chanel. There are also plenty of hilltop village markets shaded by banana trees and palms.
The golf
Looking for great golf? Then be sure to book 18-holes at Almouj Golf. The 7,342-yard links-style course follows the natural lines of a 6km stretch of Muscat’s pristine coastline and offers amateurs and professionals alike a challenging, yet rewarding, round of golf with its umpteen bunkers, water hazards and natural dunes. Green fees from £87.
Abu Dhabi skyline
ABU DHABI
As the more sedate sibling of fast-paced neighbouring Dubai, Abu Dhabi has long enjoyed relative anonymity, well away from the party scene. With its neat, master-planned infrastructure, civic buildings and strict legal system, Abu Dhabi is orderly with plenty of green space, wide roads and tree-lined streets, and half the population of Dubai.
Though it has just a few VIP nightclubs and bars, genteel Abu Dhabi does have a stunning collection of parks, bloom-filled gardens and powdery beaches where gourmet Champagne picnic hampers, luxury sunset cruises and hot air balloon flights are enjoyed.
Safe, spotless sands and a wide range of family-friendly hotels have seen Abu Dhabi grow in popularity with holidaying families. The appeal of the grandiose Emirates Palace Hotel, on the landmark Corniche, is obvious: opulent interiors, Michelin-starred dining and armies of smiling staff plus a menu that, basically, contains everything a faddy under-two could possibly fancy. Together with hundreds of golden domes, a collection of fine art and tons of marble, the hotel has flawless sands, bath-warm clear waters and world-class facilities for children.
An hour’s drive away, Dubai’s gleaming malls are popular with shoppers in Abu Dhabi — dozens of shopping tours run each day. Of the half-dozen or so homespun shopping arcades the Abu Dhabi’s Marina Mall is the best.
The golf
Play golf at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club, home to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and the impressive Peter Harradine-designed national course. At 7,334 yards, par 72, the course is famous for its aesthetically pleasing lake-protected par-three 12th hole; Sergio Garcia spectacularly aced it as the world’s photographers snapped away. Green fees from £75.
DUBAI
Bold, brash and glitzy, Dubai mixes no-expense-spared luxury and OTT fun-fuelled extravagance. This is a place that built a ski slope in the desert, and is home to the tallest building on Earth, the 154-storey Burj Khalifa. Police drive Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Bentleys, McLarens and Bugattis. There’s even high-class vending machines stocked with designer perfume, Cristal Champagne and one-ounce gold bars.
Visitors can choose from more than half-a-dozen caviar restaurants, and around 20 Champagne bars, in which to dine like a king and pop the bubbly. There are also some 50 limousine firms and plenty of private butlers and chefs.
For shopping, head to the Dubai Mall – one of the world’s largest retail areas with more than 1,200 stores and shops. Attracting a staggering 52million visitors in 2012, more visitors than the whole of New York City, it’s a shopaholic’s dream at over 13 million sq foot (the size of 50 soccer fields).
For the ultimate splurge book a room at the indulgent Burj Al Arab Jumeirah. With its distinctive sail-shaped silhouette, this stunning symbol of modern Dubai is repeatedly voted the world’s most luxurious hotel. Money to burn? Opt for chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce or take off from the iconic helipad.
The golf
Expectations are high for golf, so book a round of golf at the Emirates Golf Club, host to the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters. The EGC, built in 1988, was the Middle East’s first all-grass championship golf course. The par 73, 7,348-yard Faldo, one of two options at the club, is currently the only 18-hole course in the region to offer “nightclubbing” (floodlit golf). Green fees from £120.
