The Best Luxury Golf Resorts in the Middle East
In a single generation the Gulf has built some of the most lavish golf on earth, championship courses by the great designers wrapped in five star beach resorts and lit for play after dark. Our ranked eight, with the verdict on each, the designers and indicative 2026 green fees.
How we chose
The Middle East came to golf late and arrived with a flourish. Where there was desert thirty years ago there are now full grass championship courses by Kyle Phillips, Gary Player, Greg Norman and Jose Maria Olazabal, set beside the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea and paired with some of the finest resort hotels in the world. The winter climate is the draw, warm sunshine from October to April when northern Europe is frozen, and the service and infrastructure are second to none. We have weighed the quality of the course first, then the standard of the resort around it, the pedigree and tournament history, and how complete a luxury golf escape the whole makes.
The result is a top eight led by the links at Yas Links and the beachfront drama of Saadiyat, and spanning the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. All are paired with five star hotels and welcome visiting golfers, several stage European tour events, and most offer floodlit evening golf to beat the midday heat. Pick a base in Dubai or Abu Dhabi for the densest cluster, or build a longer tour across the region for the newest courses of all.
The ranking
Yas Links Abu Dhabi
The finest course in the Middle East, a Kyle Phillips links from 2010 routed along a natural saltwater inlet on Yas Island, the same architect who built modern Kingsbarns. Firm, rumpled fairways and water on nine holes give it a genuine links feel rare in the Gulf, and it ranks among the best courses in all of Asia. Paired with the W and Hilton hotels on Yas Island and the wider attractions of the island, it is the regional benchmark.
Indicative 2026 green fee, winter peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
The Arabian Gulf's first true beachfront course, a Gary Player design from 2010 that runs along the dunes and sea of Saadiyat Island beside the St Regis and Park Hyatt resorts. Wide ocean views, gazelles on the fairways and a links influenced layout make it one of the most relaxing luxury rounds in the region. With the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the island's beaches alongside, it is a complete five star escape.
Indicative 2026 green fee, winter peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Jumeirah Golf Estates, Earth Course
The grand finale of the European tour season, a Greg Norman design from 2009 that has hosted the DP World Tour Championship since 2009 amid a luxury residential estate in new Dubai. Tree lined and lake guarded with a thrilling water finish, it is the most tournament tested course in the Emirates and a polished, championship test for the visiting golfer. The estate clubhouse and Dubai's hotels put five star comfort minutes away.
Indicative 2026 green fee, winter peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Emirates Golf Club, Majlis Course
The course that started it all, Karl Litten's Majlis, the first grass course in the Middle East when it opened in 1988 and the long time home of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. The famous par 5 eighteenth, framed by the Dubai skyline and the wave shaped clubhouse, is one of the most recognisable finishes in world golf. Central, storied and immaculately kept, it is a piece of Gulf golf history every visitor should play.
Indicative 2026 green fee, winter peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Education City Golf Club
Qatar's flagship, a Jose Maria Olazabal design that opened in 2019 with a championship eighteen, a six hole short course and a floodlit par 3 layout, all wrapped around the Mandarin Oriental hotel. Sculpted from the desert with bold bunkering and excellent conditioning, it brought world class resort golf to Doha and complements the modern marvels of the city. A pristine, contemporary luxury experience.
Indicative 2026 green fee, winter peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Royal Greens Golf & Country Club
The home of professional golf in Saudi Arabia, a European Golf Design course that opened in 2017 on the Red Sea coast and now hosts a regular professional event each winter. Sea views, palm framed fairways and a polished clubhouse sit within the new King Abdullah Economic City north of Jeddah, the centrepiece of the kingdom's fast growing golf scene. An intriguing, well run luxury course at the frontier of the game.
Indicative 2026 green fee, winter peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Ayla Golf Club
The most striking new course in the region, a Greg Norman design at the Ayla Oasis development on the Red Sea at Aqaba, with a sculpted, dune like landscape and a celebrated modern clubhouse. Floodlit for evening golf and framed by the desert mountains of the Jordanian coast, it pairs naturally with a trip to Petra and the Wadi Rum. A bold, design led luxury escape away from the Gulf crowds.
Indicative 2026 green fee, winter peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Trump International Golf Club, Dubai
Dubai's most acclaimed modern course, a Gil Hanse design from 2017 at the heart of the DAMAC Hills community, the rare desert layout shaped by one of the most admired architects in the game. Rugged sand, native planting and clever strategy give it a more natural feel than the manicured Gulf norm, and it is floodlit for cool evening rounds. A serious architectural highlight on any Dubai golf itinerary.
Indicative 2026 green fee, winter peak season. Always confirm directly before booking.Designers, opening years and tournament history verified June 2026. All fees are indicative for the 2026 winter season and move with demand. Rankings reflect our editorial view. Course profiles are added across the site as the directory grows.
How to play them
The easiest luxury golf week sits in the United Arab Emirates, where Dubai and Abu Dhabi hold six of these eight courses within an hour or two of each other. Base in Dubai for Jumeirah Golf Estates, the Emirates Majlis and Trump International, then move to Abu Dhabi for Yas Links and Saadiyat, or simply day trip between the two on the fast motorway. Doha adds Education City on a short flight, while Royal Greens in Saudi Arabia and Ayla in Jordan are the destinations for golfers chasing the newest frontiers of the game and pairing golf with culture and the Red Sea.
The season runs from October to April, when the Gulf is warm and dry and the northern courses are shut. Heat builds quickly even in winter, so most resorts offer early tee times and floodlit evening golf, and the leading hotels arrange transfers and tee times as part of a package. Tell us your base and the courses you want, and we will assemble the resorts, the rounds and the transfers into one seamless trip.
Plan your Middle East golf trip
Tell us the courses and resorts you want and roughly when. One concierge costs the whole trip to the head and replies within one working day, with no obligation.
Middle East luxury golf questions
What is the best golf resort in the Middle East?
Yas Links Abu Dhabi, Kyle Phillips's 2010 links on Yas Island, is widely regarded as the finest course in the Middle East and is paired with five star hotels on the island. For a pure beach resort, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club by Gary Player and the St Regis Saadiyat are hard to beat, while Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai offers the most tournament pedigree as host of the DP World Tour Championship.
When is the best time to play golf in the Gulf?
The Middle East golf season runs from October to April, when daytime temperatures are warm and comfortable and northern courses are closed for winter. From May to September the heat is extreme and best avoided for golf, though resorts offer early morning and floodlit evening tee times year round. Fees peak in the winter months, so always confirm rates and tee times directly before booking.
Can you play golf in Saudi Arabia and Jordan?
Yes. Royal Greens Golf and Country Club on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia opened in 2017 and hosts a regular professional event, while Ayla Golf Club at Aqaba in Jordan, a Greg Norman design, pairs golf with trips to Petra and Wadi Rum. Both welcome visiting golfers as the region's golf scene expands, so confirm access, visas and fees directly before you travel.
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Hero photograph of Yas Links Abu Dhabi via Google Places, courtesy Yas Links Abu Dhabi.