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Earth: ‘A Captivating Combination’

Bob Knott, Senior Development Manager at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Talks through the Earth Course

The Dubai World Championship, Greg Norman and the Earth golf course at Jumeirah Golf Estates is a combination that is set to captivate the interest of the golf world.

The countdown has begun and the construction team spent the early part of this year working steadily to complete grassing of the course before the summer months rolled in. The hard work has paid off and the fully-grassed course will benefit from two growing seasons prior to the first staging of the world’s ultimate golf tournament.

To create the visually stunning course, Bermuda grasses have been used—all grown in Jumeirah Golf Estates’ very own on-site nursery. The Bermuda sprigs have been harvested as required and planted on the golf course in a topsoil of almost pure sand. Add a sophisticated irrigation system along with the latest agronomy management techniques, and you have the perfect conditions to construct and maintain a world-class golf course.

The startling contrast between the green sward of manicured turfgrass and the rich bark mulch installed throughout the peripheral landscaped areas is aesthetically beautiful and very pleasing to the eye. When you add an abundance of planted shrubs and the most wonderful selection of strategically-placed mature trees, many in excess of eight metres high that have been saved from projects under redevelopment throughout the UAE, you get a real “wow” factor that oozes quality from the moment you step onto the first tee.

This course is a tribute to the designer’s attention to detail and the enthusiasm and expertise of the international construction team. The greens complexes are superbly shaped with deep swale runoffs so typical of Greg Norman designs. Open-fronted greenside bunkers with steep faces and expansive greens with well-contoured putting surfaces require the deftest of touches. The feature bunkering is outstanding and they are now true hazards. An idly hit tee shot, pulled left into a fairway bunker, leaves the daunting task of smashing a four iron two hundred plus yards onto the green. These bunkers are real “take your punishment and move” hazards.

The decision to host the inaugural Dubai World Championship on the Earth course was taken after Norman visited the site earlier this year to monitor progress and make the final design enhancements to the course. Norman stretched the course out to more than 7,700 yards in length from the championship tees, relocated and reshaped greens complexes and added numerous additional bunkers.

The final four holes comprise a short, beautifully-bunkered par four; a thinking man’s long par four played to a tantalising, heavily-contoured green that sits on the edge of a lake; a showstopper of a par three across water to an island green; and a closing par five played uphill, generally into the prevailing wind, with a stream bisecting the fairway. The opportunity for a two- or three-shot swing over the closing stretch will cater to the best players and will be a defining moment for spectators and the television audience alike.

When asked about the ‘final four’ Norman said: “The entire course has great balance, but the finish will really stand out. The last four holes will measure almost a mile, and I expect it will be considered one of the most challenging and exciting miles in golf, in terms of risk and reward.”

Norman also commented on the influence of local conditions on the playability of the course on the day of The Championship: “The challenge is that the wind switches so much. So the variety of this golf course is going to change dramatically from 10 o’clock in the morning to 2 o’clock in the afternoon—and that’s why we had to be meticulous in the way we designed the course.

“There are going to be guys who will get through this golf course teeing off at 11 o’clock one way and then finishing off a totally different way. So they could really get the brunt of all the hard holes into the wind and that’s where this golf course could really change things.”

There is no doubt that the finishing four holes of the back nine will make for great television, but there are so many memorable holes throughout the golf course and the front nine has them in abundance.

After a challenging first three holes, the front nine’s magical stretch starts from the downhill, 245-yard, par three, fourth hole moving on to the fifth hole played uphill, requiring both tee shot and approach to be threaded through a myriad of bunkers.

The par three, sixth hole is played over water to the largest green on the golf course. And the seventh hole, a classic par five that requires the best of playing strategies and an even greater necessity of execution, is sure to leave the most skilled player battling to maintain par.

Earth is one of those unique golf courses where the players will remember each and every hole from the very first time they play it. The Earth course will demand patience and at times heroic play interspersed with conservative shot making; but above all, good thinking will be fundamental to achieve and preserve a sub par score.

The Earth course will be a stiff test for the Dubai World Championship and the top 60 qualifiers from The Race to Dubai will face a stern examination of their ball-striking skills, playing strategy and mental strength that befits such a high-profile tournament and a US $10 million prize fund.

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