Yas Links

Yas Links is our leading course in the Middle East. It is a typically winning combination of a terrific location maximised by an excellent design.

That tends to be what you get when you employ Kyle Phillips, who is arguably the safest pair of hands in golf course architecture.

It has been ranked in World Top 100s, but while I personally wouldn't quite have it in the upper echelons of a Great Britain and Ireland Top 100, it would do extremely well in a Continental European one.

For my money, it would be in the top 20 of that comfortably and more like the middle of the top 10.

It is visually majestic, whether you enjoy views across sparkling water or take pleasure from rolling terrain and rough-edged bunkers.

And there are a selection of all-world holes, from breathtaking short holes to sporty two-shotters to demanding par 5s.

The common ingredient in all the holes is the clever strategy employed by Phillips. You can be penalised off the tee but it is hardly unforgiving. But the most demanding aspect is the undulations on and around the greens, making the short game here a demanding, intriguing experience.

So, the drama of this spectacular gulf-side track is matched by its nous and nuance.

"Yas Links is a very authentic links course, not only because of its rumpled, all-sand base fairways, but also thanks to the Paspalum grass that runs through tees, fairways and greens, and the areas around the greens, which are firm and fast – similar features as the old fescue grass links courses of Scotland," Phillips told me at the turn of the decade.

It is located by the edge of the gulf but it isn't what we'd expect on our coastlines simply because of the grass type. In terms of topography, challenge and aesthetics, it is.

Host to the star-studded Abu Dhabi Invitational, it is located on Yas Island, 30 minutes’ drive along motorways from downtown Abu Dhabi.

And if F1 is your thing, you'll enjoy playing towards and alongside holes with the Yas F1 circuit in view.