Magic of the Majlis

skysports.com tackles the Majlis Course at Emirates GC ahead of the Dubai Desert Classic this week.

skysports.com takes on the home of Dubai Desert Classic

The Majlis Course, at the exclusive Emirates Golf Club, is widely regarded as the best course in the Middle East after being included in Golf World's Top 100 Courses in the World, so it was only right that skysports.com put it through its paces ahead of the European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic. The top three in the world of Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Tiger Woods are all tackling the course in the last event on the desert swing, but how does the course play for your average hacker? Click Here for photo gallery of our round. Nestled amongst the skyscrapers of an ever-expanding Dubai skyline, the iconic Emirates Golf Club houses both the Majlis and Faldo courses and is renowned for being the most exclusive facility in Dubai. The first course to emerge out of the Arabian desert, the Majlis (which means meeting point in Arabic) was the first grass course in the region when introduced in 1988, and it has gone on to become the home of the European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic. Having staged that event 18 times, it has also played host to the Ladies European Tour Dubai Ladies Masters, and it is right before this event that skysports.com had the privilege of playing the course as part of our very own 'Desert Swing' golfing tour organised by Emirates. The luxury of the course hits you as you drive through the private grounds up to the magnificent club house, and you knew this was a serious course with our caddies lined up waiting upon our arrival!

Facilities

Clubhouse redevelopments are almost complete, and inside the venue is akin to a luxury hotel and restaurant, as it should be given that it prides itself in being more of an all-round eating and socialising venue as well as a golf course (and since membership fees come in at around £6,000-a-year!). Preparations were almost complete for the Dubai Ladies Masters to be staged there just a week after our visit, and as such huge temporary suites had been placed on the 9/18th greens and a massive workforce was out on the course preparing it for the professionals to roll into town. A big downside of this was having to play off astro-turf mats from within 100 yards of the flag on the fairway, which was a bit off-putting, as was the abundance of ground staff watching almost every shot - definitely not an experience for those golfers who do not like to be watched. The par-72 Majlis championship course comes in at 7,301 yards and offers a real test with placement equally as important as length, and the greens proved as tricky as anything we encountered in Dubai. Being called up to the tee with only a few practice hits was not ideal, and after meeting my caddie Daniel and stepping forward with the honour, I all of a sudden found a few butterflies in the stomach when noticing just how many people were stood watching. However, a solid drive away with the Ping G10 and I was up and running, although it took a while to get used to handing the club back to my faithful caddie Daniel after each shot - but as we walked down the first with our caddies our group of four had a very smug smirk on our faces that this was going to be a good experience.

Desert Miracle

Known locally as 'the desert miracle' the Karl Litten-designed championship course is the most matured and grown-in course in the region, while it also offers spectacular back-drops of the city's skyscrapers. As with all courses around Dubai, sand is everywhere! Scrub land surrounds the tee and fairways, but unlike other courses nearby the Majlis has had 22 years of growth so more mature trees lay in wait for wayward drives, making escape a much more difficult prospect as the sand varies in depth and some recovery attempts are similar to a bunker shot. Seven lakes dotted around the course also offer another danger, as most of them are well-placed as you need to hit over the water to get to the protected greens. Up to championship speed, the greens provided a testing challenge, although on the first few holes my caddie Daniel provided a great read allowing me to sink a few putts - that did not last however! Teeing-off at 12.20 was always going to be a tougher assignment given the heat, an earlier tee time is very much recommended, but water stations are plentiful and the views really are incredible, especially on the 8th hole, which officials say is the most photographed on the course. Millions of images must have been taken of Dubai Desert Classic winners Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Rory McIlroy over the years of them teeing off on the dog-leg par-four, measuring 459 off the back tees.

Stunning view

Hitting from an elevated tee you are blessed with amazing views of the Dubai skyline, and you then, hopefully, see your ball sail towards the skyscrapers and safely on the fairway, or first cut of rough in my case. The second shot is tough, up the hill, and if you can't make it (like myself) then a tricky chip to a lightning quick green awaits, and this one is seriously quick when the pin is placed as it was on the right hand side on the slope. Another famous Majlis dome sits between the 8th and the 9th tee - and there is no let-up in the test as your back nine finishes with a tricky dog leg to the right again but with plenty of water to scare you off. Pros will take a three wood probably as a booming drive may go too far downhill and end up wet - no problem for us! But having found the fairway slicing your approach is not recommended. Probably scared of the water that guards the left I ended up down the back of a hill and chipping back in between water and the huge hospitality buildings erected at the back of the green shared by the 9th and 18th. A good hit, and a soft landing, but boy are these greens quick and it raced off and within a foot of getting wet. The three putts back were hardly enjoyable either as Daniel failed me this time and I struggled to get a handle on the pace of the putting surface.

Eased in

A decent par-five and short par-three ease you into the back nine, before the 12th hole looms up and at 467 yards is long but also requires an accurate straight drive as anything left, tempting as it is to go the short route, will be in deep trouble in sand, and palm trees. Another par five at the 13th and then par-four 14th represent a tough three-hole stretch that can really make or break a round, especially on a final round of a championship event. The heat really will be a factor in the warmer months, with only the bravest venturing out during the summer, and even then it is at the crack of dawn, and pasty Brits like myself will struggle as I did coming down the stretch with fatigue kicking in. Losing a ball in the desert wasteland at the par-three 15th did not help spirits, especially with a good chip and a putt with the second ball, but a solid par-bogey run on 16 and 17, despite a sliced eight iron on the penultimate hole, really put a spring back into my step. Last up, the 18th, and a great finishing hole to have especially if the title is on the line, with a 564-yard par five waiting, dog-leg to the left, and a green protected by water making it the classic risk-reward finisher.The Tiger line is to gun your drive over the trees on the left and cut off the dog leg - my line is to gun a drive into the trees on the left, splash it up against another tree, and finally hack it out down towards the water.

Lay up

A terrible lay-up meant I had to use the dreaded astro-mats for this crucial 80-yard wedge over the water onto not the longest of greens with a bunker and hospitality suite waiting in behind. The thought did cross my mind of the 'professional' trick of thinning it right over into the hospitality and taking the free drop, but not this time, I'm going for it! It looks good in the air, but has it got the legs, no, surely...phew! Safely over, but only just, and myself and Daniel the caddie are pegging it over to take the next shot before it decides to roll back into the drink. An impossible putt awaited, in fact two impossible putts awaited before a makeable one! And although a seven was a blow at the finish it was still an enjoyable experience dicing with the water and those greens. I'll be very interested to see how Michelle Wie and co do in the Dubai Ladies Masters before the men at the Dubai Desert Classic early February next year. A cold beverage in the luxurious bar afterwards as the sun starts to set behind the Majlis really did help to ease away any disappointment in the golfing standards however, but the golf doesn't stop there at the Emirates Golf Club with a floodlit driving range and par three course still doing brisk business as we leave. A redesigned Faldo course is also on offer at Emirates but the Majlis is the jewel in the crown and a pleasure to play if you ever get the opportunity. As a leading supporter of golf tournaments across the globe, Emirates is the Official Airline of 18 events, including the Ryder Cup, while in 2012 it is the Official Partner of the European Team. Ten of the 17 other tournaments it sponsors are on the European Tour International Schedule. The airline also extends its support of golf to passengers by allowing them to check in a set of golf clubs free of charge. See www.emirates.com for more.