Yas Links amongst Golf Digest USA top 25 Golf Courses
Inspirational Abu Dhabi course edges out some of golf’s most renowned names garnering significant worldwide attention.
Yas Links, The Middle East’s only links golf course, has been named one of the world’s top 25 by influential US magazine, Golf Digest. A highly-respected voting panel of experts ranked the two-year-old course 24th in the world, making it the best new golf course outside the US.
““This testimonial from one of golf’s most influential publications highlights Abu Dhabi’s growing presence on the sport’s global stage. The experts that make up Golf Digest’s prestigious judging panel are among the industry’s most respected, adding significant gravitas to Abu Dhabi’s golf and leisure propositions,” said Dayne Lim, Product Development Director, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority.
Designed by one of golf’s most creative and innovative designers, Kyle Phillips, Yas Links represents a milestone for golf course design. The testing Par 72 course measures 7,414 yards off the back tees and boasts one of the game’s most spectacular finishing stretches, sitting opposite the Yas Marina Circuit F1™ race track and in view of the iconic Ferrari World Abu Dhabi theme park.
The combination of Yas and the emirate’s other two championship-ready courses – Abu Dhabi Golf Club and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club – create a distinct and differentiated golf experience.
“Much like he did with Kingsbarns 10 years ago, Kyle Phillips has created a golf course from scratch that feels and plays like a completely natural site he just happened to stumble upon,” said Robbie Greenfield, Editor of Golf Digest Middle East.
“Not least of his achievements is that Yas Links has somehow managed to capture the mysteries and nuances of a classic links course in this very untraditional of desert environments. In an emirate famed for the high standard of its golf, Yas stands apart as a course featuring a stunning sequence of back nine holes, which demand course management and creativity in equal measure.”
According to Chris White, General Manager Yas Links, the recognition is a major boost to both the course’s and Abu Dhabi’s international golfing credentials.
“Golf Digest represents the benchmark for golf course rankings,” commented White. “To be recognised so soon in their international rankings is a huge achievement and one we are all humbled by. The course is magnificent and we are proud to be playing a key role in Golf in Abu Dhabi’s development.”
This is the third golfing accolade Abu Dhabi has scooped in the past six months. In March, the emirate was named ‘Newcomer Destination Of The Year’ by Germany’s Golf Journal while the International Association of Golf Tour Operators earlier voted it ‘’Destination Of The Year Middle East & Africa 2012.’
To woo guests, the recently launched ‘Golf in Abu Dhabi’ one-stop-shop initiative optimises the emirate’s impressive golfing assets to a domestic and international audience with a diversity of playing options and special promotional packages making it easy for golfers to visit one of the sport’s most exciting destinations.
Each January Abu Dhabi Golf Club hosts the annual European Tour-backed Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship which Tiger Woods contested this year. Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, a golf hedonist’s paradise that hugs the crystal blue Arabian Gulf, was designed by golf’s international ambassador Gary Player and rounds off the emirate’s trio of championship ready courses.
With six clubs within a 90-minute drive, Abu Dhabi has a wealth of golf offerings – from parkland to beach and links courses – for all types of player. Seasoned veterans and beginners can take their pick of sea, dune, oasis or mountain backdrops and are welcome at all clubs.
