The Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates
- Gunnar Kobin
- Apr 22
- 5 min read
I count Greg Norman among my favorite designers. The Bluffs at Ho Tram Strip in Vietnam is one of the best tracks I've ever played. It's brilliant. If you're a real golfer and you haven't been there, you need to go as soon as you can. Norman's designs have become something I'm more aware of, and for the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, it's the place where the Shark did his Dubai stuff.
Fun is the most important thing to get here. Norman makes fun courses. Earth has that same quality. Hitting the shot is left to you on certain holes and on others you're sort of one the courses elementary improv. That's where the designs really shine. Earth is fun. You're going to be left with the sensation of playing a course that should probably be in at least one place on each side of the equator, let alone this Arabian desert.
Aren’t able to get pics that show how interesting and strange the desert is. You're in the desert. About a twenty min drive from Dubai in the middle of a desert in the middle of nothing and after you start playing it feels like you are in a jungle. The fairways are golden brown and are just hypernaturally high. There's so many big trees that are all lined up next to the many fairways. The water here runs like a small waterfall, which apparently is loved by just about everyone. The course has made you forget that you are in a desert. I've golfed in places like Vietnam and Thailand and Earth replicates that feeling, but in the middle of a desert. Not sure how they did it and I'm mad at myself for ignoring the water usage, but the effect is what it is! It's so amazing! It's so alive!
Now the bunkers. The bunkers are what people get excited about Norman. They're just about everywhere. Fairways, greens, and the target bunker placement. They have been placed so that no matter what tee box you are playing, the bunkers will catch you.
I say this lovingly. What bunkers do is provide strategy to this particular design. The bunkers require you to think more about placement as you stand on the tee box. Where to land on the fairway to stay out of trouble. Which club to use for the safest angle to the green. Earth is very particular about how smarter you play the game as the bunkers teach you how to play. Resort courses provide you the opportunity to play the game as you want to. That is an important distinction that separates the courses Norman has paid great attention to detail when designing to. Golf is very important to Norman. The formations of the fairways and bunkers are smooth. The slopes on the greens are challenging yet fair and require you to read them, not overpower you. They are versatile in function to play as a par 3, and various shaped bunkers act as par 5s.
The last few holes where Norman claims is the most challenging mile in golf, is some of the best golf in the world.
The 18th hole is a monstrous par 5 measuring 651 yards from the back tees. On your second shot, you’ll have the added challenge of a creek that cuts across the fairway. To make matters worse, the clubhouse overlooks a green nestled in an amphitheater-like setting. Each player, hailing from the DP World Tour, has their name etched on the winners' trophy has had to conquer this hole, in front of the largest gallery of the week, to earn their title. The DP World Tour Championship has one of the most prestigious collections of athletes. Stenson, McIlory, Rahm, and Fleetwood have all conquered this hole.
This hole requires careful consideration, and nobody has to go to the amphitheater to make the hard decision: after your tee shot, you’ll make your way to your shot. Do you go for the green and go for the ever-so-elusive risk-reward par, or do you come up short of the creek? You'd have to lay up short of the creek, just as I do on my rounds. The creek has most of my golf balls for a multitude of failed attempts. Just like that, I pull my PW, a layup short of the creek, add five to my score, and go home with a grin on my face from not losing another ball to the creek.
The clubhouse is big. They say it is the biggest in the area. I think they are right. It has so much inside. Several restaurants, a sports bar, a gym, a fairly stocked pro shop. Food is also generally better at most Dubai clubs, and I've had great food while sitting on the terrace watching the 18th. Lunch is always better than watching a ball splashing into a creek while it's one of the small pleasures of a place. It's actually great to eat here.
The other touch, and this is something I've heard about and seen before, is the named bag tag. The course has a feature. If you're lucky at the end of the round, a metal tag with one side having the Earth and the other side having your name will be handed to you. I still hang mine off of my bag. It's a small and nice thing.
I think it's one of the great clubs for a reason.
With the rates being premium but fair, you also get your money's worth. It's not the most expensive in Dubai, and also not the not cheapest. If you book on a weekday, you avoid the weekend's round.
It's a great course. It's a jungle. The bunkers are also great but you will hit in them. And the bag tag means you had a great round, so you should keep it.
I find that I respect Norman more and more with each of his courses that I play. In my opinion, The Bluffs is his best work. Although The Earth is more of a challenge being built on flat desert rather than a clifftop, the same strategic and fun thinking is necessary. The Shark is a knowledgeable man and I'll acknowledge the style of the course with his name on the scorecard. I'll give my attention.
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