Race to Dubai sister golf courses put on hold

The Wind and Water golf courses at the Leisurecorp project, where the first Dubai World Championships will be held later this month, have been put on hold.

The world's top golfers will play the Earth course at the Dubai development on November 19-22, the culmination of the Race to Dubai. The Fire course, also designed by Aussie golf legend Greg Norman, will open as planned.

But plans to add further courses have been put on hold until further notice amid the difficult market conditions, a spokesperson for Jumeirah Golf Estates confirmed to Construction Week Online.

The spokesperson added that the courses were still part of the long-term plan for the development but would only be considered when it was deemed economically appropriate.

“Wind and Water are still part of the long-term plan, but we’re evaluating when we’ll begin on those, according to market conditions,” he said.

Wind was designed by Sergio Garcia, Greg Norman and Pete Dye, while Water was designed by Vijay Singh.

The spokesperson said that the company had not sold anything on the proposed courses, saying that efforts had been focused on the Greg Norman-designed Fire and Earth courses, both of which open on December 1.

“We’ve decided it’s not wise to sell on Wind and Water yet, so we won’t be doing so,” he said.

The spokesperson also confirmed that the first residential developments on Earth and Fire at Jumeirah Golf Estates were expected to be ready for handover during H1 2010, and that 90 percent of properties had already been sold.

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