Luxury developer Damac has announced plans to develop an 18-hole PGA championship golf course in its latest project in Dubailand.
Construction of the 7,205-yard, par 71 course, to be named Trump International Golf Club, Dubai is already underway and the course will be ready for play next year.
"By collaborating with Donald Trump, we are bringing the most elite name in golf and international luxury real estate to Dubai," said Hussein Sajwani, the chairman of Damac Properties. "This course will provide a unique challenge for golfers, while delivering the upmost luxury and refinement for which both Damac Properties and the Trump Organization have become renowned for."
Trump International Golf Club, Dubai will include a 30,000 square foot state-of-the-art club house and a luxurious Trump Spa and Wellness Centre, which will be managed by the Trump Organization.
The Trump Organization already has 14 award-winning courses under its ownership and management across the world, but this will be its first venture in the Middle East. The company's latest course, Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, has already been tagged as one of 'The World's Greatest Golf Courses'.
"We are thrilled to be expanding our portfolio of award-winning courses into Dubai with Damac Properties. Dubai is an incredible city that truly understands the meaning of luxury. Trump International Golf Club, Dubai will be built to world-class levels, exceeding all expectations - there will be nothing like it in the region and beyond," said Donald J Trump, the chairman and president of The Trump Organization.
The global accounting firm KPMG in a study last month placed the UAE into the top 10 global golf tourism league table for the first time, catapulted by the country's investments in championships standard golf courses. The study is watched closely by the travel industry as a barometer of trends in the sports holiday sector.
Global golf holiday sales grew by an average of 9.3 per cent to more than an estimated €1.5 billion (Dh7.17bn) compared with 2011, with as many as for 1.6 million golfers travelling overseas to play, according to KPMG.
"As with all of the courses we develop and manage, Trump International Golf Club, Dubai is being built to the highest standards of excellence and will become known as one of the world's finest courses," said Ivanka Trump, the executive vice president of development and acquisitions at the Trump Organization. "The combination of Damac Properties' local knowledge and expertise in the luxury market and our unrivalled experience with owning and operating a collection of the world's finest courses will result in a challenging golf course with stunning landscaping and superior quality."