Taba Heights Golf Resort Championship Course
In completion to the myriad of leisure and sports activities offered at Taba Heights, the professional golf course offers yet another option for serious and novice athletes. Unmatched by any other course in the region, the brand new Taba Heights Golf Resort offers golfers the opportunity to tee off under a crop of desert mountains overlooking an incredible expanse of blue water with a view of three countries.
The Experience
It is rare to find a
course that affords a view of three countries while playing a round of golf in
the middle of the desert. And yet this is exactly what you will find at the
prestigious Taba Heights Golf Resort. Located on the East coast of the Sinai
Peninsula, golfers will appreciate the course's impressive views across the Red
Sea to the Arabian, Jordanian and Israeli coastlines.
With sunshine a
given during all seasons, the Taba Heights Golf Resort will be open every day of
the calendar year, allowing serious golfers the opportunity to enjoy this golf
course.
The Course
Designed by
John Sanford, a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, the
course meets American and European architectural standards for golf courses. The
gentle slopes of the fairways take full advantage of both sea and mountain views
and the course offers an impressive 7100 yards between the 1st and 18th hole.
The total course area cleverly spans the central section of the resort's overall
property, linking the different hotels and future developments.
Gently
nestled between the Red Sea and an impressive mountain range, the course
provides an exciting game with various rolling elevations ranging from 4 to 70
meters above sea level. Due to this terrain, the Golf Resort management is
adopting a rule outlining the mandatory usage of golf carts for all
players.
Playing the Course
With five sets of tee locations on each hole, golfers have
ample opportunity to improve their game or simply abide by their actual handicap
level. The multiple sets of tees impose on individual players of all skills a
unique strategy at each hole.
Three challenging lakes, as well as
several sand bunkers, native desert areas, and elevated fairways will test
players' abilities. Each hole has five sets of tees and three holes offer plays
alongside the Red Sea's waves.
The course is considered more challenging
when the back tees are used, and less difficult when the remaining tees are used
accordingly. Golfers should expect many target fairways and approach shots over
lakes, flood canals or wells surrounded by desert green complexes. Poorly played
shots can be severely penalized or nicely rewarded, making the Taba Heights Golf
Resort course a true game of sport in an awe-inspiring setting.
Environmental Considerations
A professional golf
course set in a desert location is by no means an easy feat, and a number of
challenges must be met in order to provide a stimulating course also in line
with international player standards. To do so, the resort's environmental policy
calls for careful planning and ingenuity on the part of the engineering team.
The grass type utilized, Seashore Paspalum Salam Var, was chosen for its
environmentally friendly nature in that it requires less water, reduced
fertilization and pesticides applications and does deliver a great surface for
golf playability.
To ensure that the grass is well maintained and to
meet the Taba Heights policy of environmental care, miles of irrigation piping
have been underlain. This piping has been produced by the resort's own recycling
plant utilizing discarded plastics from the hotels.
The course's lakes
provide a watery challenge while serving a double purpose as reservoirs. The
water is actually treated wastewater filtered and cleaned at the resort's own
water plant and mixed with fresh water drawn from deep natural desert wells. In
all, the golf course is a remarkable feat and an indication of just how
self-sufficient Taba Heights is as a development project.