Special Places - the Earth Course

The 47 tournaments leading up to the season ending Dubai World Championship are over, and the top sixty players on the order of merit make their way to the Earth Course, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for the biggest payday of the season on the European Tour.

There is a mouth-watering $15 million up for grabs for the elite field - $7,500,000 in regular prize money and a further $7,500,000 bonus pool split between the top fifteen finishers. The current strength of the European Tour is evident not just by the fact that the Ryder Cup was recently won back from the Americans, but also because three of the year’s Major Champions – Greame McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer - are here in the field for this flagship event, together with newly crowned world number one, Lee Westwood.

Jumeirah Golf Estates is a work in progress and when complete will have four courses – Fire and Earth by Greg Norman, Water by Vijay Singh, and Wind - a collaboration between Norman, Sergio Garcia and iconic architect Pete Dye – with each course being the inspirational centrepiece for different residential communities.

The Earth course was completed in early 2008 and was allowed to bed in and mature for almost two years before hosting last year’s inaugural championship. Immaculately manicured and presented, this parkland style layout has wide fairways, rolling terrain and an abundance of water on the home holes. Since last year’s event the trees are growing well, shrubbery has thickened, and there is a well-defined depth to the Bermuda rough. The par 72 layout plays just over 7000 metres and has two par 5s over 565 m on the back nine. The first hole is a straightforward downhill par 4 played to a well-bunkered undulating green sloping left-to-right. The short par 3 sixth has water in front and left and a large bunker in the bail-out area to the right. A well-struck shot in the ever-present crosswind is required to find the green.

The signature hole is the 175m island green par 3 17th that is also well protected by four bunkers. The final hole is a 590m par 5 with water in play from tee to green and presents a classic risk and reward option for the player who chooses the shortest route to the raised back-to-front sloping green. A worthy finish to a challenging course which will only improve with age.