AL BADIA GOLF CLUB

Don't let the moniker "Championship" put you off from playing golf at Al Badia if you're a higher handicapper. You'll be missing a real treat, and this stunning layout by the world famous golf course architect, Robert Trent Jones II, may stretch to a major championship-like 7,303 yards but with four sets of tees it can also be played over as little as 5,500 yards, making it enjoyable for just about every ability level.

If you're a lover of desert golf courses, you'll love Al Badia. Trent Jones has managed to incorporate water hazards and plenty of indigenous plants to give this course a real flavour of an Arabian oasis. The course is visually stunning with its use of water, sculpted fairways and rivers of sand. These so-called  'rivers of sand' that run throughout the course add texture and colour and create elevation change, Trent Jones says. They also present a hazard that, unlike a body of water, provides the golfer with an opportunity to recover from an errant golf shot.

You can combine rounds at Al Badia with games at Arabian Ranches, Jebel Ali, Emirates, Dubai Creek, The Montgomerie and The Els Club for a superb golf holiday.

Al Badia Golf Club is among the best equipped of them all, with tennis and squash courts as well as beauty, spa, massage, wellness and lifestyle rooms on site.

The world-class golf academy comes with swing analysis and club fitting systems, an indoor putting laboratory, floodlit driving range, chipping area and practice putting green.

Luxurious men's and women's relaxation areas feature lounges, saunas, steam rooms, heated Jacuzzis, rain showers and private VIP suites with exclusive lounge, wardrobe and shower facilities.

• After your round you can also enjoy an array of eclectic dining options in the strikingly-designed clubhouse.