Jumeirah Golf Estates – Earth Course

Earth is an expansive golf course with an equally giant reputation. Home to the season-ending flagship event on the European Tour and the culmination of the Race to Dubai, each November the top 60 players battle for glory on this spectacular manicured layout.

Greg Norman’s use of bunkering in the middle of certain fairways (like the first and fifth holes) initially bemused some of the top pros, but having grown familiar with the course, they are now unanimous in their praise.

You only have to look down the list of champions here to see that Earth is a course for big players, too. Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson (twice) and, of course, Rory McIlroy (twice) have all performed heroics down the stretch. For four straight years between 2009 and 2012, the Race to Dubai trophy was lifted by a player who was either World No 1 or would soon go on to claim that status.

Earth measures 7,706 yards from the tips and has a personality to match. With its cavernous marbled bunkers, rolling fairways and mature, verdant landscaping, Earth is one of the most aesthetically impressive courses in Dubai. There is a sense of golfing drama here that only a course purpose-built to host a tournament of the DP World Tour Championship’s magnitude could possess.

Choices will confront you on every hole here, no matter your skill level. Should you take an aggressive line or bail out? Go for it or lay up? Earth will lure you in, just as it does the world’s top players.

The entire layout is packed full of variety and fun holes, but Earth is rightly known for its finishing stretch. The short par 4 15th offers a good birdie chance but can bite you too, if you take on too much. The tough 16th has ended the title hopes of many seasoned professionals, while the island par 3 17th calls for your best iron shot of the day. Much has been said and written about 18, with its snaking creek that bisects the fairway, but when all is said and done, it is an exhilarating par 5 that has witnessed plenty of golfing history in its short lifetime.

Earth is a golfing experience that is not to be missed.

On the premises: