Yas Links Abu Dhabi
Ranked · 8 courses · reviewed June 2026

The Best Golf Courses in the UAE

In three decades the Emirates have built one of the most concentrated collections of championship golf in the world, from the Majlis that put Dubai on the map to a links on the Abu Dhabi coast that tops the Middle East rankings. Here are the eight we rate most highly, ranked, with our verdict on each and how to play it.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Yas Links Abu Dhabi, Yas Links Abu Dhabi, via Google

How we chose them

The UAE built its golf from desert in barely a generation, and the result is a remarkably deep field across two cities an hour and a half apart. Dubai gave the region its first grass course in 1988 and now holds a cluster of tour venues and modern desert designs, while Abu Dhabi has the course that has anchored the Middle East rankings for over a decade and the Gulf's first true ocean course. We weighed design quality, conditioning, championship pedigree and the strength of the wider resort, and we leaned toward courses a visiting golfer can readily play, because almost all of these welcome visitors year round.

Every fact here, from designers and opening years to host events and yardages, was checked at the time of writing in June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Green fees in the Emirates swing hard with the season, peaking in the cooler winter months and falling sharply in the summer heat, so treat any figure as a guide and always confirm directly before booking. The verdicts are ours. If you want any of these built into a costed Dubai or Abu Dhabi trip, that is exactly what our concierge does.

The 8 best golf courses in the UAE

01

Yas Links, Abu Dhabi

Kyle Phillips · par 72 · around 7,400 yards

The course that has held the number one spot in the Middle East rankings for well over a decade, and on most measures the finest golf in the region. Kyle Phillips, the architect of Kingsbarns, built a genuine seaside links on a man made spit between the Arabian Gulf and the Yas Marina Formula 1 circuit, with firm turf, blowing fescue and water in play on more than half the holes. It plays past 7,400 yards from the tips, hosts the DP World Tour, and is the one course in the Emirates that feels truly windswept and links like. The clear pick for the centerpiece of any UAE trip.

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02

Emirates Golf Club, Majlis Course

Karl Litten, 1988 · Dubai · par 72

The course that started it all, the first grass course in the Middle East when it opened in 1988 and the long time home of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. Karl Litten routed a classic, generous championship layout that winds through palms and desert scrub past the famous Bedouin tent clubhouse, finishing with a reachable par 5 that has decided many a tournament. At around 7,300 yards it is a fair, enjoyable test rather than a brute, and playing the same closing holes the tour plays each January is one of the great Dubai golf experiences. The historic heart of golf in the Emirates.

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03

Jumeirah Golf Estates, Earth Course

Greg Norman · Dubai · par 72 · over 7,700 yards

The home of the season ending DP World Tour Championship and the most televised course in the Emirates after the Majlis. Greg Norman designed the Earth, a muscular, tree lined par 72 stretching past 7,700 yards, with broad fairways, deep bunkering and a dramatic island green finish that crowns the tour's year. It is championship golf on a grand scale, set among the villas of one of Dubai's premier golf communities, with the Fire course alongside for a second round. A must for anyone who wants to play where the tour ends its season.

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04

Trump International Golf Club, Dubai

Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, 2017 · par 71 · 7,205 yards

The most architecturally interesting modern course in the Emirates, opened in 2017 to a design by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, the team behind the Olympic course in Rio and the restoration of countless classics. They built crumpled, links like fairways, native grasses and a cavernous central barranca that gives the desert ground genuine movement and strategy, a welcome contrast to the manicured resort norm. At par 71 and just over 7,200 yards it rewards the thinking player, and it is comfortably the most natural feeling round in Dubai.

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05

Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Abu Dhabi

Gary Player · par 72 · Saadiyat Island

The Gulf's first true ocean course, a Gary Player design laid out along the beach and dunes of Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, where several holes run hard against the sea and gazelles roam the natural areas. The setting is the headline, a genuinely coastal round in a region where most golf is inland desert, and the course backs it up with strong bunkering and well defended greens. Paired with Yas Links a short drive away, it makes Saadiyat and Yas islands the best two course base in the country.

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06

Abu Dhabi Golf Club, National Course

Championship venue · par 72 · falcon clubhouse

For two decades the home of Abu Dhabi's marquee DP World Tour event, a polished, generous championship parkland recognizable from television by its vast falcon shaped clubhouse. The National Course rewards bold, aggressive play, with water and sweeping bunkers framing wide landing areas and a stadium feel around the closing holes. It is mature, immaculately conditioned and very playable for a visiting group, and its tournament history makes it a satisfying tick on an Abu Dhabi golf week.

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07

Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club

Dubai · iconic sail clubhouse · creekside parkland

One of Dubai's original and most photogenic courses, set on the banks of the historic creek beneath a clubhouse shaped like a billowing sail that has become a city landmark. The parkland layout, since modernized, runs through mature landscaping with the creek and the skyline beyond, and a former host of the Desert Classic, it carries real pedigree. Central, characterful and easy to combine with a city stay, it is a fine choice for golfers who want their round close to old Dubai rather than out in the new desert communities.

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08

Dubai Hills Golf Club

Dubai · modern parkland · skyline views

A sleek, modern parkland in the heart of the Dubai Hills Estate, with manicured fairways, generous bunkering and views back to the Burj Khalifa and the city skyline from several holes. It is conditioning and presentation rather than wild architecture that define it, a smooth, enjoyable round wrapped in a contemporary clubhouse and a smart residential setting. Convenient to the city and very playable, it rounds out a Dubai itinerary nicely for groups who want polish and proximity.

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Designers, opening years and yardages verified June 2026 by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course profiles are added across the site as the directory grows. Always confirm visitor access and fees directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Where they are, and indicative costs

The UAE golf scene splits between two cities about ninety minutes apart on a fast highway. Dubai holds the Majlis, Jumeirah Earth, Trump International, Dubai Creek and Dubai Hills, all within easy reach of the city. Abu Dhabi holds Yas Links, Saadiyat Beach and Abu Dhabi Golf Club, with Yas and Saadiyat islands sitting close together. Many visiting golfers base in Dubai and make a day trip south, or split a week between the two, with both served by major international airports and an excellent road between them.

ItemIndicative 2026Notes
Green fee, marquee courses (winter)Around AED 700 to AED 1,300Roughly 175 to 320 euros, far lower in summer
Twilight and summer ratesSignificantly reducedEarly and late tee times beat the heat
A week, all inAround £2,500 to £5,000 per personFour or five star hotel, several rounds, transfers, excluding flights

Indicative third party figures for the 2026 season, shown to set expectations only. We are a guide, not an operator, and never quote our own pricing. Always confirm directly before booking.

Plan your UAE golf trip

Tell us whether you want Dubai, Abu Dhabi or both, the courses on your list and roughly when. One concierge arranges the tee times, the hotel and the transfers, costs the whole trip to the head, and replies within one working day, with no obligation.

UAE golf questions

What is the best golf course in the UAE?

Yas Links in Abu Dhabi, Kyle Phillips' genuine seaside links on the Gulf, has topped the Middle East rankings for well over a decade and is our pick for the best course in the country. In Dubai, the Emirates Majlis and the Jumeirah Earth course lead the way on tournament pedigree, while Trump International is the most interesting modern design. Reasonable people reorder the top three.

When is the best time to play golf in the UAE?

November to April is the golf season, with warm, dry, comfortable days and the major tournaments staged in January and February. From June to September it is extremely hot, so play is limited to early morning and twilight, when green fees fall sharply. Always confirm tee time availability and conditions before you travel.

Can visitors play the championship courses in Dubai and Abu Dhabi?

Yes. Almost all of the leading UAE courses, including Yas Links, the Emirates Majlis, Jumeirah Earth, Trump International and the Abu Dhabi courses, welcome visiting golfers year round by booking ahead, which is one of the region's great strengths. Tee times are busiest in peak winter, so book early. Always confirm directly before booking.

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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course designers, opening years and yardages verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.