Saadiyat Beach

A short drive from our Middle East No.1, Yas Links, along the E12 motorway that links the islands dotted around Abu Dhabi is Saadiyat Beach.

There is something of a Lee Sharpe syndrome here, with Yas Links playing the role of Ryan Giggs.

Because despite miles of coastline in the UAE there are almost no water's-edge courses. In fact there are none in Dubai while Al Zorah in Ajman and Tower Links in Ras Al Khaimah are in mangroves rather than beachside.

So without Yas, Saadiyat would stand out even more and would probably be even more revered than it is.

This Gary Player design mixes strong, exceptionally well-bunkered holes among residences along with spectacular seaside ones. The views on those are as good as those at Yas Links but there are much fewer of them as a result of far more residences.

The front nine has several stand-out holes with sea views and on the back nine there is a splendid gulf-side stretch including one of the top par 3s in the Middle East. Chris Bertram