Ernie Els to design championship standard golf course at Durrat Al Bahrain

The 18 hole Ernie Els Signature golf course is set to become one of the region's leading golf destinations.

Situated within Durrat Al Bahrain, Bahrain's largest planned mixed use residential, leisure and tourist destination, the golf course will cover 96 hectares of land and be set against the impressive back drop of Durrat Al Bahrain's marina and the stunning crystal clear waters of the surrounding sea.

Ernie Els Design, the company which will design the course, will create an environment that will offer much more than just a golf course for Durrat Al Bahrain residents and course members. The golf precinct will consist of a club house, a driving range, a hotel complex and 1400 beautifully designed luxury residential villas and apartments. With its innovative design, including water ways and green space, and with many of the villas fronting onto the course itself, an entire lifestyle community will be created.

Commenting on the agreement with Durrat Al Bahrain, Ernie Els said, "We have been speaking with the people at Durrat Al Bahrain for two years about becoming involved in the project, so I am pleased to officially join the team. I've been very impressed with the whole lifestyle ethos of Durrat Al Bahrain and its ambition to create an entire city community in the south of Bahrain. This approach will be firmly planted in all of our design to help create a world leading golfing destination for Durrat Al Bahrain and for Bahrain."

Jassim Al-Jowder, Chief Executive Officer, Durrat Al Bahrain, added, "We're extremely honoured to be working with a world champion like Ernie Els. His passion for creating classic golf courses with distinction is very clear. We believe that by working with Ernie we will create a world class course and lifestyle choice that will attract players, residents and ultimately international championships to Durrat Al Bahrain. The project will help to attract additional investment into Bahrain's economy and tourist sector, as well as creating employment opportunities."