One such heavenly example is The Montgomerie golf course. Brought to Dubai by the Scottish professional player Colin Montgomerie, the golf club is a mixture of traditional and extravagant design.

Montgomerie grew up playing golf at Royal Troon, Prestwick, Muirfield, Carnoustie, Turnberry and St. Andrews in Scotland and it was here where he developed his golfing skills and got the basic principles of designing a golf course. Montgomerie’s first collaboration with designer Desmond Muirhead resulted in a stunning site for golf lovers who also have a taste for eccentricity. The club is simply named The Montgomerie and it is a success that reminds players of the golfer’s twenty-year career.

With fourteen man-made lakes and eighty-one bunkers unfolding on more than 200 acres, the course is a par 72 championship course that also offers a 360-degree teeing ground. This gives the player the chance to try a different hole each time he tees off. One hole is shaped in the form of the United Arab Emirates.

The reversed history of the sport is once again sensed: links land style fairways that the Old Course at St. Andrews is famous for make their appearance in Dubai as well, adding European touches to the Dubaian extravagance. The fusion of cultures that turns the course and its fairways into such a challenging game add a little bit of adventure rarely found due to the flat landing area.

A different type of fairway is the Snake hole named after the “eye-shaped” bunkering behind the green, which is the world’s largest. It comes as no surprise that it can be found in Dubai. Rolling mounds, long holes, shorter holes, majestic views, a black pearl tee, a hand-shaped bunker and green surrounded by water come together in an Arabian painting, making the game much more challenging at the same time.

A few miles away from Dubai International Airport, another outstanding course, Al Badia, spreads its offerings: 18 holes, 11 lakes and waterfalls feeding into the creek, and a 7250 suit-club.