Yas Links named among ‘Top 10 New International Golf Courses’
Yas Links Abu Dhabi has been named among the ‘Top 10 New International Golf Courses’ by the influential Golf Magazine, USA.
The highly regarded New York based magazine, www.golf.com attracts more than two million unique users per month, ranked the course 5th in its international listing and praised the design for its “daunting, dynamic holes along the Arabian Gulf.”
The layout, which has already been named the “best golf course in the Middle East,” by Golf Course Architecture magazine, is the first design in the region for architect Kyle Phillips.
Phillips didn’t just design the course, however – he was also responsible for shaping the three-kilometre long coastline, employing some of the 1.8 million m3 (cubic metres) of fill dredged from the sea to construct the golf course to create dramatic links holes and no less than nine seashore greens.
Chris White, General Manager of developer Aldar Properties, said: “Yas Links has been referred to as a ‘game-changer’ for golf in the Middle East, and that is precisely what it is because it takes the entire region to a new level with an exceptional experience and world class quality.
“To be recognised by such a prestigious, global title at Golf Magazine is very humbling, yet we are also certain that our architect, Kyle Phillips, who has been responsible for some of the most outstanding golf courses in the world, has created something very special here at Yas Links.”
Just a few days before taking on and beating Tiger Woods at the Chevron World Challenge in California, US Open Champion Graeme McDowell visited Yas Links and experienced for himself the course that he and World Number One Lee Westwood will compete on in January 2011 as part of The Invitational Tournament, the world’s most prestigious Pro-Am, hosted by Abdullah Al Naboodah.
McDowell said: “Kyle Phillips is obviously highly regarded as a designer and Kingsbarns is a good enough start. I am really looking forward to The Invitational next year.”
Yas Links is part of a world-class leisure development on Yas Island, created by Aldar Properties, and is home to the Yas Marina Formula 1 Circuit, venue of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and the spectacular Ferrari World, the world’s largest indoor theme park.
