EGYPT
Golf
in front of 4000 year Pyramid
-
Where
to play
Golf courses need water and Egypt, where rain is rare, has
only two sources: Nile and sea. That’s why the British
created their two Sporting courses in Cairo and Alexandria.
With the centennial Mena House 9-holes, they have been for
long time the sole golf courses in Egypt. The first modern
championship courses were the Katameya Heights in 1977at New
Cairo and Jolie Ville at Sharm el Sheikh in 1998. Today Egypt
counts a dozen courses (and as many projects) along the Nile
or the seas.
1
– Along the Nile : around Cairo
Till the mid of the nineties, desert dominated the surrounding
landscape of Cairo where lie today golf oasises of greenery
in the midst of sands and stones.
- Katameya Heights Golf and Tennis Resort.
With the pioneering vision to turn the desert sand into lush
green rolling hills, Katameya Heights became the first commercial
venture to combine golf and real estate in Egypt. It is one
of the most impressive Golf resorts in the Middle East and
North Africa. With its beautifully designed golf course, its
majestic clubhouse around the pool on the top of the hill
and its luxurious villas, Katameya Heights has influenced
the corporate landscape of Cairo.
The course is a championship design as all Bureau’s
courses where pros are used to play their national PGA qualification
competitions. Each hole is designed to test and challenge
the golfer's skills. There are no two holes alike and the
changes in elevation provide for spectacular views of the
surrounding scenery. It also provides for challenging stances
that demand creative shot making.
A breathtaking view from the highest point of Katameya Heights
gives a complete portrait of the whole estate project. In
the distance, the Pyramids of Giza highlight the horizon and
can be seen from the tee-off spot.Katameya has also a 9-hole
for higher handicaps and all golf facilities for beginners.
The club-house with a large pool and wide bars and restaurants
serving good food is very convivial for the 19th hole.
- Mirage Golf Country Club
Opened in November 1999, under the Marriott International
management, this course is located at less than 15 minutes
from the airport in the same business and residential suburb
than Katameya. Mirage City Golf club has been designed by
Peter Harradine in the Floridian style with palm trees even
cactus around ponds but with some hilly desert slopes offering
golfers constant choice and challenge with every shot.
Due
to very careful placement of four tee boxes, the course suits
both beginners as well as scratch players. It has and deserves
its reputation of excellence not only for its design but also
for its consistent maintenance.
Hole 12, par 3 over a pond surrounded by a stone wall with
vegetation and flowers is considered as the signature hole
but some other like hole 8 offers spectacular view of a narrow
fairway squeezed between water on the right and rough or even
out of bonds on the left. The 18th has the green on a top
of a sloppy hill and a par is a triumph! Mirage has a golf
academy with different clinics and programmes.
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Old
Sporting Club at Gezira island
In front of Cheops Pyramid
Katameya Heights
Poolside
at Katameya
Mirage hole 1
Mirage signature hole
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