Eco-Friendly Water Use at Saadiyat Golf Course

Published: 25/01/2010

Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is set to be launched this week, the first component of the Saadiyat Island development in Abu Dhabi. The cultural island will eventually be home to 160,000 people, and will be home to the Guggenheim and Louvre museums. There will be 9 hotels on the Saadiyat Beach strip, The St Regis, Rotana and Park Hyatt resorts are expected to open next year. The entire development will be completed in phases up to the year 2020. The beautiful 152 hectare golf course, designed by South African champion Gary Player, has been innovatively designed to be environmentally-friendly – with lower maintenance costs, the course will use 60% less water than other courses in such an environment. It can cost as much as $250,000 or Dh918,262 each month to maintain a golf course in such a harsh climate. The Saadiyat Beach Golf Club has 10 hectares of sand bunkers, 3 lakes and 34 hectares of indigenous grass for areas of rough to help minimise the volume of water consumed by the course. It has 4 desalination plants to produce the large amounts of water required to maintain the lush grasses on the greens and fairways. Another course is also planned for the Island, this one designed by Robert Trent Jones. The sport’s profile has grown substantially in the UAE in recent years.