Robert Trent Jones Jr. lists course at Al Badia Golf Resort as amongst his most challenging

World-renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. says two of the holes on the championship standard course his firm has designed for Dubai Festival City, the ‘city-within-a-city’ being built on the banks of the Dubai Creek, are among the most challenging he has conceived to date.

Jones, whose company has designed over 220 courses in 38 countries and won over 100 awards, says holes 5 and 18 at the Al Badia Golf Resort will be amongst the most challenging in the world.

"Hole 5, a great par 5, runs uphill and through a watercourse that sweeps throughout and ends at a lake near the green," said the master designer, son of America's legendary course architect, the late Robert Trent Jones Sr.

The par 5, 18th hole, which measures approximately 490 metres, is, according to Jones, "a boomerang-shaped dogleg left, combining strategy with length."

"It wraps around the large central lake and the golfer's task is simple: challenge the edge of the lake as much as he dares The wind generally will work in his favour, making the green reachable in two. But players will need to judge carefully, as the two shots needed both play over water and the green is protected at the back by a meandering bunker which is shared with the ninth green."

Jones, who is personally involved in the design of the 7,250 yards, par 72, Al Badia Golf Resort, said the project set its own design demands starting from a flat piece of desert.

"The challenge presented was to create a golf course that was equal in vision to the richness and detail of the project as a whole yet seamlessly moulding this element into the overall quilt that combined is the Dubai Festival City property development," he said.

Jones said the Al Badia Golf Resort, which is due to open in early next year, will be unique in the UAE.

"The existing courses in the Emirates are either wall-to-wall green or green and desert," he explained. "The Al Badia Golf Resort's elaborate system of water features creates elevation change and interest for our golf design, and adds a calming effect like an oasis. We are also using salt-tolerant grass on the project of a type currently not used in the area at this time.

"In adopting environmental stewardship we have incorporated landscape design that reflects local climatic conditions and is representative of the geographic region."

Jones said the overall goal in the routing of the course was to achieve maximum variety.

"This had to be achieved keeping in mind the one existing site condition that was to remain untouched, the wind. This general consideration guided the creation of the route plan, which is responsible for developing the  rhythm, or the unique personality of the golf course. Key to this unique personality is also the extensive incorporation of water throughout the course. The presence and movement of water is one of the encompassing statements of the Dubai Festival City project in its entirety. Water is seen, heard and felt almost everywhere on the course and also off.

"Though extensive in its incorporation, water is constantly being presented in differing manners, from large bodies of water that must be played along or across, to gently flowing streams meandering through golf holes, to spilling falls adjacent to green sites. Variety is paramount."

The Al Badia Golf Resort will boast no fewer than 11 lakes and numerous smaller ponds which create a river-like effect as the water runs down to the Dubai Creek. Strategically, water is used as lateral hazards as well as carry hazards on 12 holes.

Water is also used as a safety buffer between the course and the adjacent planned golf course residential development, and as a visual asset for both.

Robert Trent Jones II LLC has introduced a ‘Rivers Of Sand’ concept, which runs throughout the Dubai Festival City course adding texture and colour and creating elevation change.

"These ‘Rivers of Sand’ present a visually crisp hazard that, unlike a body of water, provides the golfer with an opportunity to recover from an errant golf shot. They also create shadows across the sunny, open course, which will give golfers definition and allow them to decide the line they want to play on for their game. In fact, as golfers play all 18 holes, they will need to  use all 14 clubs in their bag. The holes are varied, interesting, offer change of pace and change of direction," he explained.

Despite the challenges of the course, the master architect says it has been designed for play by golfers of all skill levels.

"Multiple tees can be found on every hole with most offering a variety in teeing angle, so the course can be played from a maximum of just over 6,600 metres for championship quality players, down to roughly 5,400 metres for players with less skill or strength. Fairways are generous for the majority of players, narrowing as golfers move through the landing areas. Extensive practice facilities will be present for both the novice and the skilled player."

The Al Badia Golf Resort is to include a clubhouse, a golf academy, executive town homes, apartments and a 150-room boutique hotel.

About Dubai Festival City

Dubai Festival City is being developed on 1,600 acres on the banks of Dubai's historic Creek. Comprising 15 distinct development zones, Dubai Festival City is a property development by the Al-Futtaim Group and is one of the Middle East’s largest mixed-use real estate project. The privately-funded  property will comprise a unique mix of entertainment, dining, shopping, edutainment, sport and leisure facilities, automotive dealerships, hotels, a marina, residential and office components. In addition to the Robert Trent Jones II LLC-designed golf course, other world-class sporting facilities are being incorporated in the overall development.