Golf In Jeddah
For those who are looking at positions in Jeddah, and who also happen to be avid golfers, the place to be is the Desert Lakes Golf Course (http://www.desertlakesgolfcourse.com/). Located on the northern outskirts of Jeddah near the airport, Desert Lakes is an 18-hole sand course.
A sand course, you ask?
At Desert Lakes, the fairways are constructed of compacted and rolled sand and the greens – which, in this case, are “browns” – are made of a mixture of sand bonded with waste oil. Players carry a small, flexible rubber, plastic, or fiber mat on which to place their ball. Water hazards – when not an actual patch of water – are defined by colored stakes, and conical piles of sand represent trees. The course’s website has plenty of pictures.
However, Don Caple, a golfhaholic who is also the Director of Clinical Services at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Jeddah, says, “The pictures do not do the course justice. While a sand course, it plays surprisingly like a true grass course. My handicap there is the same as it would be on a grass course.” It is a par 72 course, men’s tees at 6,443 yards and women’s tees at 5,126 yards. Desert Lakes also has a driving range.
Desert Lake’s collection of golfing enthusiasts include Americans, Canadians, Germans, Swedes, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Koreans, Filipinos, and Malaysians. The course has monthly competitions Medal, Stableford, and Par/Bogey, as well as periodic sponsored tournaments in which people can test their mettle and win prizes, some of which, Caple says, include LCD TVs and golf trips to foreign locations. Cost of membership ranges from 1000SR (US$267) to 1750SR (US$467), depending on member status, and deals are available for families of golfers.
“Overall,” says Caple, “It’s an excellent little club.”
