"Play the back nine at dusk under the floodlights if you can — it's a different, faster-playing test than the daytime front."

What began as a nine-hole sand course in 1977 became Swiss architect Peter Harradine's grass National Course in 2000: 7,600 yards, par 72, paspalum fairways and saltwater lakes on nine holes — an irrigated oasis watched over by the famous falcon-shaped clubhouse, wings outstretched, with a meeting room in the beak. For sixteen years (2006-2021) it hosted the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship: Martin Kaymer won three times, Tommy Fleetwood went back-to-back, and Shane Lowry opened with a 62 to win wire-to-wire in 2019. It also hosted the 2023 Eisenhower Trophy.

Tour-history buffs who spent sixteen Januarys watching leaderboards here, and anyone who wants a flat, honest championship test where the water does the arguing.

Holes 7-9 — par 3, 5, 4 — are the course's self-styled Amen Corner. The par-3 12th over a lake to a rock-wall backdrop is the signature, and the 9th and 18th finish beneath the floodlit falcon clubhouse, the best set-piece view in Abu Dhabi golf.

Long from the tips and wet on half the holes, but it's flat, the resort corridors are generous, and multiple tee sets keep it honest — the pros' verdict of 'tough but fair' holds for amateurs too.

The HSBC Championship moved to Yas Links in 2022, so this is the event's storied former home, not its current one.

Almost no elevation trickery — this is a pure ball-striking and water-carry exam. From 7,600 yards it's a full session; add a steady breeze for the desert feel.

Fully public pay-and-play with membership tiers; rates from roughly AED 785 (~$210). Book online, or bundle stay-and-play through the on-site Westin resort.