Golf Clubs and Courses � Why Dubai is Heating Up

Temperatures are rising � and we're not just talking about the baking Middle East sun. Golf clubs and courses in Dubai are the place to play.

Dubai is booming � the city is still only a few decades old, emerging from an outpost of 5,000 people in the 1950s. The discovery of oil in the 1960s gave the city enormous wealth and resources to build what has become a model city in many ways � modern, clean, no taxes, low crime and lots of luxury. And with that, the leisure pursuits of the wealthy, especially golf, has also been introduced, with a growing number of golf clubs and courses.

As money is no option, Dubai can afford to bring over the best people in their fields. And so everything from architecture to the design of its golf clubs and courses is the cream of the world's top talent.

Dubai's golf clubs and courses have been designed by some of the biggest names in golf - Robert Trent Jones II, Jack Nicklaus with Ian Baker Finch, Gary Player, Desmond Muirhead with Colin Montgomerie, and Thomas Bjorn.

One concern for many golfers however is heat. Dubai might be a hotspot for luxury lifestyles, but how bearable is it join golf clubs whose golf courses can bake under temperatures as high as 52 Celsius, or 125-degrees Fahrenheit. At least you'll never get rained off the golf course. Some of the golf clubs and courses such as the Nad al Sheebaa Club stay open till midnight, fully illuminated by floodlights, to avoid the problem. But it's expected that air conditioned golf clubs and courses will become a matter of course � especially when you take into account that Dubai already has an indoor snow-skiing hill.

Dubai is indeed a playground for the over-twenties, and you don't have to be wealthy to live there. In fact if you have talent, the city is eager to attract foreigners to create the ultimate �world city'. Over 150 nations contribute towards the 1.5million or so residents, whereas a mere 200,000 are estimated as United Arab Emirates nationals.

Looking at the city's golf clubs and courses it's easy to see the western influences with American greens superintendents and English tournament directors.

Of course, it is still Muslim and as long as you don't disrespect women or show intolerance to religion or do drugs, than the city is definitely the most liberal and progressive in the Middle East . And while many Muslim women wear traditional head scarves, in the golf courses and in the golf clubs it's perfectly okay to wear casual clothes.

Some of Dubai courses:

• Dubai Country Club
• Emirates Golf Club
• Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club
• Nad Al Sheeba Club
• Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa
• The Montgomerie Dubai
• Arabian Ranches Golf Course
• Dubai Festival City Al Badia Golf Resort

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