Emirates Golf Club named among world's best in global poll

The ballot, which included 1,005 of the best courses around the planet, was decided by a panel numbering over 800 course rating specialists, 22 editors of Golf Digest and its affiliates and an undisclosed number of other informed golf industry-related panelists.

And the announcement that the Emirates Golf Club's Majlis Course has secured a place in Golf Digest's 100 Best Courses Outside the USA - ahead of major names such as Wentworth's famous West Course - is a major boost for golf in a region that continues to make rapid progress in the development of the sport.

"Obviously we are delighted that Golf Digest has named us among the world's best," said Emirates Golf Club General Manager Mohamed Buamim. "In the Gulf - and in Dubai in particular - golf courses and resorts are going from the planning stage to full development at a rapid pace. But while we are delighted to see the sport grow, we also believe that the Emirates Golf Club remains the heartbeat and the original home of golf in the Middle East."

The Golf Digest award comes just days after Business Traveler magazine named the Emirates Golf Club Best Golf Course In The Middle East for the third consecutive year and is the latest in a long list of awards for the venue.

The brainchild of UAE Minister of Defence and Crown Prince of Dubai HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Emirates Golf Club was carved from the Dubai desert in the mid 1980s and stunned those who were sceptical as to the possibility of an all-grass championship golf course in the heat and arid environment of the Middle East.

But today, some 17 years after its 1988 opening, the Emirates Golf Club boasts two 18-hole grass courses - The Majlis and The Wadi (currently undergoing a redesign at the hands of six-time Major winner Nick Faldo - and has played host to the PGA European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic on 14 occasions.

The stunning clubhouse is one of the icons of modern Dubai, while among the big names to have experienced the unique nature of this desert oasis are Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Colin Montgomerie, Mark O'Meara and Greg Norman. Earlier this year, Els became the first man to lift the Dubai Desert Classic trophy for a record third time.

Now officially ranked among some of the world's most famous courses outside of the USA including the Old Course at St Andrews, Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia, and Royal Portrush in Ireland which took the top three spots, the Emirates Golf Club has once again underlined its position as the Middle East's premier golfing venue.