It is interesting to find countries, in this case Egypt, that are hardly mentioned in the daily golf business media, but somehow are able to attract such well known golf course architects as Gary Player, Greg Norman and Nick Faldo.
I tried also to find figures about the golf business in Egypt in KPMG‘s latest Golf Resorts in the Mediterranean Region study, but in vain. Although, Egypt’s golf roots date back to the 19th century, when the British built the first golf courses. The Egyptian National Open is the oldest professional competition in the Middle East dates back to 1921.
Golf started to revive in the late 1990s. This is how Egypt began to attract the above mentioned former golf architects who designed the following golf courses:
- The Allegria Golf Club (managed by Troon; on the outskirts of Cairo) by Greg Norman
- Katameya Dunes by Nick Faldo (on the outskirts of Cairo)
- Palm Hills Golf Resort by Nicklaus Design (in the Cairo area)
- The Cascades Golf & Country Club) by Gary Player (at Soma Bay at the Red Sea)
- Other golf architects who worked in Egypt: Peter Harradine, Karl Litten, Yves Bureau, John Sanford
To find out who designs a new golf course in the Soma Bay (see picture below) continues below…
Thomson Perrett & Lobb’s new golf course project
Probably, Thomson Perrett & Lobb (TPL) is the only company who built more than one golf course in Egypt. They had designed El Ein Bay (Sokhna Golf Club is a par-72 golf course, which sits within a 237 acre plot of land in the heart of El Ein El Sukhna Beach Resort) in 2010 and New Giza in 2008 (+ Barwa New Cairo).
Thomson Perrett & Lobb has just announced that they are designing a new golf course in the Soma Bay, not so far from Gary Player designed The Cascades Golf & Country Club. It will be an 18-hole golf course (see picture above). The new golf course will be a central part of a new community at the exclusive holiday resort destination.
Their intention is to preserve the indigenous flora and fauna of the region, and will occupy a slightly elevated hillside position, approximately 30 meters above sea level. The construction of the golf course is likely to begin only next year.
Now they just have to convince European and other golfers that the Sinai is a safe place where usually airplanes are not attacked or shot down…and ISIS will not conquer that region…
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