Fire course 'heats up' Jumeirah Golf Estates progress

Fire joins sister course Earth in being fully constructed, and will open in November this year when Earth hosts the inaugural Dubai World Championship.

With the grassing of Fire finished and more than 98 acres of hydro-seeding completed through the months of January and February, all that remains is for the final touches to be added to the landscaping.

This will include the planting of more mature trees to add to the 3,000 already planted over both courses, before the summer sun will provide the ideal climate for the course to begin maturing. A full summer growing season will be allowed before the two courses are considered ready for play.

Progress on the residential communities at Jumeirah Golf Estates continues at pace, and the development received recognition this week with the Whispering Pines district being named Best Residential Development (built) at the Middle East Cityscape 2009 Awards.

The first of the Tuscan style villas running through this district, which share stunning views over the Fire and Earth courses, have been completed, with many others due to be completed soon.

Leisurecorp unveiled the final four holes of Norman's Earth course in January with stars Sergio Garcia, Darren Clarke, Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer, Robert Karlsson and young Emirati golfer Khalid Yousef previewing 'the most challenging mile in golf', which is set to host the inaugural Dubai World Championship and culmination to the season-long Race to Dubai from November 19-22, 2009.

As designer of both the Fire and Earth courses, the legendary Norman works closely with Leisurecorp and his Dubai-based team from Greg Norman Golf Course Design (GNGCD), closely monitoring the progress of both courses, focusing on the opening in November.

Greg Norman said:

"Fire will offer a completely different golf experience to its close neighbour Earth. While the Earth course resembles playing conditions often found in North America and Europe, with broad fairways, lush vegetation and fast flowing water, Fire will be a stark contrast and is designed to reflect the local surroundings."

"Features include vast areas of informal bunkering, narrow fairways, and wall-to-wall varieties of grass. I believe these elements will combine to create an equally stunning golf course, but also an equally challenging course from a player's perspective."

David Spencer, Leisurecorp CEO-Golf, said:

"This is a fantastic milestone for Jumeirah Golf Estates which can now claim two Championship golf courses. Both courses are testament to Greg Norman's legendary talents and incredible eye for detail and both offer completely different looks and challenges.

"Jumeirah Golf Estates is arguably the world's most anticipated golf course development and while Earth will host the first Dubai World Championship, Fire will also provide a fitting test for the world's finest golfers. It's quite possible that we could consider it for future stagings of the season-ending spectacular."

Of the progress of residential districts at Jumeirah Golf Estates, and the winning of the Middle East Cityscape Award, Abdul Wahid Al Ulama, Leisurecorp Vice Chairman, said:

"It is an honour for Leisurecorp and Jumeirah Golf Estates to receive this award for the development of the Whispering Pines district, which is the latest in a string of achievements that continue to demonstrate the incredible quality of the development.

"2009 is a huge year for Leisurecorp with the hosting of The Open at Turnberry, the delivery of the first homes at Jumeirah Golf Estates, and of course the staging of the Dubai World Championship. These are three major milestones which we remain focused upon and we look forward to welcoming the world of golf to Turnberry and Jumeirah Golf Estates in the near future."