GRANITE BAY, Calif. -- With the debut of Yas Links Abu Dhabi, traditional links style golf has arrived in the UAE and the semi-private course has garnered rave reviews from local aficionados, as well as discriminating international players, who have been fortunate to preview this stunning gem on the Arabian Gulf. Kyle Phillips, the world renowned golf course architect and master of such modern British links designs as Kingsbarns and Dundonald, has created an engaging coastline circuit of bunkers, swales, rugged dunes and ridges that promises quickly to rise to prominence as the finest course in the region.
Yas Links is situated on Yas Island, an unparalleled sports and entertainment venue just 15 minutes from Abu Dhabi’s city center that was specifically developed as a unique destination to attract international tourism. The 18 hole course measures 7,394 yards from the back tees and four other sets of tees offer golfers a variety of challenges. Yas Links is not short on the memorability factor with eight dramatic holes hugging the coastline and 109 bunkers to negotiate along with shifting winds. Five of the last six holes play along the sea, while the 15th through 18th already are deemed an exacting four-hole journey test home. A strategic game plan is key to negotiate this course where Phillips used Paspalum for all the playable turf areas, in order to allow for firm fast surfaces all year round.
“What makes Yas Links so intriguing is how traditional it is because nothing like it has ever been attempted before in the UAE,” says Phillips. “There are a lot of very good courses in the UAE but up until now there hasn’t been anything that would feature on a golf connoisseurs ‘must play’ list.” Phillips has made a dozen trips to the site since February 2007 overseeing the construction details. Presented with a flat desert wasteland devoid of vegetation, Phillips turned Yas Links into a dunescape evoking a Scottish links flavor. “It was a tough challenge and we had to work out where we could find the material to build the landforms necessary to create a true, traditional-style links course. We also had to take great care in preserving the ecology and every aspect of the course design took this into account,“ he explains. “Any good golf course has to have a big finish,” Phillips adds, “and I believe the three closing holes at Yas Links are three of the best closing holes of any course in the world I know.”
The club also includes a par-3 academy course with generous floodlit practice facilities and a majestic clubhouse. An air conditioned indoor studio allows practice year-round.
Yas Links is yet another likely modern classic designed by Phillips, whose reputation is burnished with each new project and demand increases for his minimalist design and sensitive regard for the environment. For more information about Yas Links Abu Dhabi visit www.yaslinks.com and for Kyle Phillips Golf Course Design go to www.kylephillips.com.
Kyle Phillips Golf Course Design
Kyle Phillips Golf Course Design is a full service international design firm with projects spanning the globe. Founded in 1997 and located in Granite Bay, California, the company provides a full range of services, including world-class golf course design, golf course construction and construction bid documents, studies and renovation and historical restoration. A member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, Kyle’s better known international courses include: Kingsbarns Golf Links, St. Andrews, Scotland; The Grove, London, England; Dundonald-Loch Lomond Golf Club, Scotland; Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, Sicily; Golf Eichenheim, Kitzbuhel-Aurach, Austria. Kyle’s design work has taken him to more than 30 countries on behalf of some 70 clients. New projects are located in Sweden, Morocco, Holland and Korea.
Contact:
On Course Strategies
Pat Norton/Jane Dally
Tel. (203) 454-0232
info@oncoursegolf-pr.com
