Golf News: - Posted 24th March 1998

Montgomerie and Norman to create two new courses for Dubai

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Colin Montgomeie and Greg Norman are joining forces to create two new golf courses for Dubai. They are combining their considerable professional experience in designing two new signature courses within the 'Emirates Hills' residential community for local developer Emaar Properties PJSC in Dubai.

The Emirates Hills project is a five star Dhs 900 million ($245 million) residential community with two 18-hole golf courses as its centre piece.The project is said to be planned to be adjacent to the existing Emirates Golf Club where Jose Maria Olazabal won the ninth Dubai Desert Classic earlier this month.

Emaar chairman, Mr Mohamed Ali Alabbar, speaking about the scheme said "The William F. Schultz Company, an international firm of landscape architect and master planners based in Irvine California, will develop the project. the design and construction of the exclusive gated community will be executed by international experts with world-class credentials and will be ready within the next two years."

"The project will play an important role in changing and upgrading the lifestyle of UAE and Gulf citizens and strengthen Dubai's position as an international class golfing capital. For non-golfers, Emirates Hills offers its residents a garden lifestyle and standard of excellence unseen elsewhere in the region."

The area chosen for the two back-to-back courses contains a series of low ridges. The golf corridors will be wide tracts on interconnecting turfed and landscaped fairways with a number of strategically placed water hazards and sand bunkers with generously sized tees and greens perfectly plotted to form part of the overall design pattern.