YAS LINKS ABU DHABI REAFFIRMS ITS POSITION AS ONE OF THE WORLD’S MUST-VISIT NEW GOLF COURSES

(Yas Island, UAE – December 7, 2011) Yas Links Abu Dhabi (www.yaslinks.com), the UAE’s newest, award-winning golf course, ends 2011 on a high after being crowned the ‘Best Golf Course in the Middle East’ by Golf Digest Magazine, one of the world’s largest and most influential golf media brands.

Since opening to the public in 2010, Yas Links Abu Dhabi, the only true links golf course in the Middle East, has received rave reviews from influential global media, visitors and the travel trade, quickly establishing itself as one of the world’s must-play golf courses.

Its latest award follows a string of important accolades that have acknowledged the quality and challenge of the 7,414-yard golf course, designed by renowned architect Kyle Phillips. Yas Links has also been recognised for its exceptional food and beverage operation, along with its ambiance and friendliness as one of the Middle East’s most welcoming sporting clubs.

Chris White, General Manager of Aldar Properties (Golf Division), developer of Yas Links, said: “In a very short period of time Yas Links Abu Dhabi has established itself as one of the finest golf experiences in the world. The latest award from Golf Digest magazine crowns an incredible 18 months since opening.

“The Middle East is blessed with many great golf courses and it has been heartening to see Yas Links consistently ranked highly by the biggest golf media brands in the world. Our mission will always be to offer visitors a truly outstanding, unique golf experience and we look forward to 2012, and beyond, with huge optimism and excitement.”

In making Yas Links Abu Dhabi its No.1 golf course in the Middle East, Robbie Greenfield, Editor of Golf Digest Middle East said: “Historically, courses just don’t become this good, that quickly. But nothing about this place adheres to accepted wisdom. It is a rugged links course on an island in the UAE desert, overlooked by the gleaming super-structures of the Yas Marina Hotel and Ferrari World, and yet resolutely bound to the core principles of golfing tradition.

“It is fast becoming irresistible to passionate golfers who are charmed by the nuances of the linksland and blown away by the setting.”

The golf course is supported by the recently opened state-of-the-art Yas Links Golf Academy which features a wealth of high-tech teaching tools and a sophisticated custom-fitting centre that utilizes Trackman, the industry standard for accuracy in club and ball flight measurements.

The Academy boasts the UAE’s largest number of fully certified Trackman professionals – counting five of the region’s 10 PGA Professionals among its team of expert teaching staff.