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Located at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, on Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, Taba Heights is soon to open the area’s newest
championship golf course in October 2006. With the dramatic Sinai Mountains providing its backdrop, the course will overlook the azure waters of
the Red Sea, offering views of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel.
Designed by John Sanford, a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, the new 18-hole championship golf course complies with
all PGA standards and regulations, offers a full practice and driving range facility, club house, bar and pro shop.
The course itself will measure 7,100 yards (6,450m) and is designed to suit and challenge golfers of all levels. As part of this philosophy, each hole
will offer the option of five different tee placements, allowing golfers to either undergo exciting challenges or stick within their handicap levels. The
course is considered to be the most challenging when the back tees are used and becomes progressively easier when the remaining tees are used.
Golfers can expect many target fairways and approach shots over lakes, flood canals or well surrounded desert green complexes. Offering a mix of
up- and downhill fairways, large undulating greens and pot-like bunkers, the diversity means that even badly hit shots can provide either a severe
penalty or nice reward.
Due to its position nestled between the Sinai Mountains and waters of the Red Sea, the Taba Heights course offers elevation ranging from 4m to
70m. Such landscape is what makes the course so striking and beautiful; and what made the course’s management make it mandatory for all
golfers to use golf carts at all times.
Located in the desert, the course’s design contrasts the natural non-grass arid environment with grassed areas that provide the lush appearance
common to most courses. A number of special measures have been put in place, which combine to ensure the course is protected from the
different effects the arid environment may create. Four large lakes and three flood diversion canals channel the water coming from the mountains to
the sea during the rainy/flood periods, in order to protect the course and surrounding area. In addition, the course uses a special grass type which
can withstand brackish water up to 8,000ppm in concentration. Such a grass type is now being used on many golf courses as it is environmentally
friendly, requires less water, reduced fertilisation and pesticide applications, yet still offers a great surface for golf playability. Additionally, the
irrigation system is computerised using a sophisticated weather station which calculates the right amount of water using evapotranspiration data
from the surrounding atmosphere. A variable frequency drive state of the art pumping system is also in use.
Taba Heights as a destination provides guaranteed year round sunshine, offering a great environment for golf and also ensuring that the course
will be available to guests all year round. For those who just wish to incorporate golf as part of their holiday rather than making it a focus, however,
the resort also offers a range of other activities to be enjoyed. Sports such as diving, snorkelling, wakeboarding, sailing, parasailing and quad
biking through the desert are available; while so too are cultural excursions to nearby sites in Petra and Jerusalem.
The resort also offers a total of
five hotels to choose from, many of which participate in the special dine around program, meaning guests, on a half-board and full-board basis, can
make the most of the 32 bars and restaurants located in the resort, regardless of the hotel they are staying at.
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