To understand my impatience, we have to go back in time to 2016. The golf design company Fry/Straka has completed plans for a new nine-hole golf course in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 2016. Yas Acres golf course is part of Aldar Properties’ $1.36 billion flagship development project.
Yas Acres will consist of 1,315 villas of between two and six bedrooms, with the company saying residents will have access to a golf course and clubhouse, parks, schools, and a waterfront. A 3-bedroom villa’s price is starting at $790,000 (AED2.9m).
Let’s not forget the near Yas Marina, the host venue of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Currently, under redesign. Formula 1).
Originally the project was scheduled to be completed in 2019. I suspect the COVID-19 epidemic didn’t help get the golf course ready on time.
The first nine holes at Yas Acres will open in September. The clubhouse will also open this Fall, according to Fry/Straka partner Dana Fry. The second nine is planned but construction has not yet begun.
The first nine holes sit on 156 acres. Construction is being handled by golf course contractor Desert Group with Joe Gomez managing the project and Tim McCloud the lead shaper. The golf course will have a Toro irrigation system.
Pure Dynasty seeded paspalum is being supplied by Atlas Turf International. Troon Golf will manage the course.
Dana Fry says
I have not set foot on the Yas Acres site since March of 2020, due to Covid, but this is why we, as a firm, insist on creating the most detailed construction and grading documents in the business.
First thing we did at Yas Acres was build a man-made ridge that runs right through the property that reaches heights of 30 feet. But before that, the entire site, which is 156 acres, was filled about 5 feet — to make sure all the turf and vegetation would not be affected by groundwater levels, which fluctuate because of the proximity to the sea.
All the holes interact directly with this ridge, via tee boxes, fairways or green sites. That sort of elevation also allows for lots of running water and streams.
The nearby Yas Links opened in 2010 and ranked by Golf Digest #48 among its Top 100 Courses in the World.