COURSE · HYBRID · BUCKET LIST · TIER B
Ras Al Khaimah, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates · The most natural golf course in the Emirates
Where the Hajar Mountains meet the mangroves — a desert course unlike any other in the Gulf.
01 · Overview
~2 min read
Tower Links Golf Club occupies a stretch of Ras Al Khaimah terrain unlike anything else in the Emirates. Designed by Gerald Williams and completed in full by early 2005, its 7,200-yard layout navigates a protected mangrove reserve, plays beneath the shadow of the Hajar Mountains, and finishes on an island green surrounded by water. It is, quite deliberately, the most naturally situated course in the UAE.
Williams's routing is the course's central achievement. Where most Gulf golf clubs impose manicured grandeur onto flat desert, Tower Links leans into its environment. The back nine — floodlit and available for night play — threads through the mangroves with a quiet insistence that the natural world is part of the game. Flamingos are an occasional gallery. The Jebel Jais range, the highest point in the UAE, rises in the distance throughout the round, giving the course a topographic drama that its flat terrain alone could never produce.
The front nine transitions from an open, links-inflected stretch on the coastal side of a major highway — crossed via underpass — into the mangrove interior, where water flanks entire holes and precision off the tee becomes non-negotiable. The par-3 8th, with a crescent-shaped green protected by a tidal channel on its right flank, is a good early measure of what the course demands. Hole 9 asks for a second-shot carry over the mangroves themselves to reach the putting surface.
A slope rating of 141 and a course rating of 75.2 confirm that Tower Links plays harder than it might first appear. The scorecard holds space for short, driveable par 4s alongside a 565-yard par 5 and a stroke-index-1 par 4 at the 6th. The closing hole — a par 5 with a water carry to reach either the fairway or the near-island green — distils the course's character into a single finishing test: commitment rewarded, hesitation punished.
THE TERRAIN
Eleven or more holes wind through a protected mangrove reserve, with the Hajar Mountains providing a constant backdrop. The landscape does the decorating; the designer simply routed between the trees.
THE HAZARDS
Tidal channels, lakes, and the mangrove waterways are ever-present. Water flanks the entire right side of the 5th, protects the 8th green on its tidal curve, and virtually encircles the 18th.
THE RATING
A course rating of 75.2 and slope of 141 demand a valid handicap certificate to play. The numbers are earned by tight corridors, strategic water carries, and greens that reward precision approaches.
THE LIGHT
The entire back nine is floodlit, making night golf on the mangrove holes a genuine possibility. It is one of the few courses in the region where a round can begin after sunset and still feel unhurried.
02 · The Holes
5 of 5 · tap any hole to watch creators play it
Six holes carry more of the course's weight than the other twelve combined — and the creator vlogs that prove it.
HOLE 18 · par 5 · 498y
The course saves its most demanding test for last. A water carry is required off the tee to reach the fairway, and the green — almost entirely surrounded by water and framed by bunkers — permits no careless approach. Par here is genuinely earned.
498 yards · One of the few closing island greens on any public-access course in the Gulf.
HOLE 9 · par 4 · 377y
The front nine's most theatrical moment. The second shot demands a carry over the mangrove canopy to find the green — a test of both nerve and yardage control that announces, unmistakably, what the back nine will ask of you.
377 yards · One of few par 4s in the UAE where the approach flies directly over protected mangrove forest.
HOLE 8 · par 3 · 209y
A long one-shotter to a crescent-shaped green with a natural tidal channel protecting the right side. At 209 yards, the margin for error is thin, and the channel's irregular boundary makes club selection a genuine puzzle.
209 yards · The tidal channel boundary shifts slightly with conditions — no two plays are identical.
HOLE 6 · par 4 · 397y
The hardest-rated hole on the card. At nearly 400 yards with the mangrove reserve pressing in, there is no shortcut to a good score here. Historically ranked as Stroke Index 1, it rewards controlled ball-striking and penalises ambition off the tee.
397 yards
HOLE 16 · par 3 · 147y
Short in yardage but surrounded entirely by the mangrove swamp, this mid-back-nine one-shotter is at its most atmospheric under the floodlights. Miss the green and the mangroves make recovery nearly impossible.
147 yards
05 · In Their Words
2 on-camera verdicts · spoken while filming here
The course is amazing. We didn't beat it, but I will take that.
I'm telling you, the price of golf in Dubai is a joke, get over here it's peanuts and every day it's getting better.
06 · How to Play Here
4 routes to a tee time
Visitor Tee Time · single
Public access for visitors. Requires a valid handicap certificate (limit 28 for men, 36 for women). Includes shared golf cart and access to practice facilities.
18 Holes Visitor Rate AED 300 - 440
Club Membership · members only
Full golf and social membership options with a 10-day advance booking window and unlimited use of the floodlit back nine.
Annual Membership Price on application
Leading Courses Booking · external
Third-party online reservation for visitor tee times.
Green Fee From AED 440
Greenfee365 Booking · external
International third-party booking platform for various dates.
Standard Greenfee $89
07 · History
8 moments · 2004–2017
2004
The club opened in May 2004 with the floodlit back nine holes and the Golf Academy operational, marking the beginning of competitive play at Tower Links.
2004
Landscape architect Gerald Williams finalises the 18-hole layout, threading eleven holes through a protected mangrove reserve — the design decision that defines the course's character.
2005
January 2005 saw the front nine completed and the distinctive 'desert fort' style clubhouse opened, making Tower Links fully operational for the first time.
2011
Tower Links hosts the inaugural Ras Al Khaimah Classic on the first season of the MENA Tour, won by Max Williams.
2011
Englishman Jake Shepherd entered the final round of the RAK Classic holding a five-shot lead and did not hold it, providing the tournament's first dramatic chapter.
2016
Zane Scotland wins the Ras Al Khaimah Classic in a playoff, in what was officially the first MENA Tour event to award World Ranking points.
2017
Peter Stojanovski claims his first professional title at the RAK Classic, becoming the first Australian to win an event on the MENA Tour.
2017
Leader Daniel Owen posts a final-round 82 to surrender victory — the second time in the tournament's short history a final-round collapse had decided the result at Tower Links.
08 · Common Questions
7 questions · sourced from 6 vlogs
Yes. A valid handicap certificate is required — the limit is 28 for men and 36 for women. This is a firm policy rather than a formality, reflecting the course's 141 slope rating. Visitors without a current official handicap should contact the club in advance.
Tee times can be booked directly through the club's official website at towerlinks.ae, or via third-party platforms including Leading Courses and Greenfee365. Green fees for visitors range from approximately AED 300 to AED 440 depending on the season, and a shared golf cart is included.
Yes. The entire back nine is floodlit and available for evening and night golf. This is one of the more unusual offerings in the region — playing holes 10 through 18 through the mangrove reserve after dark is an experience distinct from a standard daytime round.
The course is approximately 1.5 hours from Dubai via the E311 (Emirates Road), around 5 km south-east of Ras Al Khaimah city centre. Ras Al Khaimah International Airport (RKT) is a 20 to 30-minute drive away, making the club accessible for visitors flying directly into RAK.
The Ras Al Khaimah Hotel and the Mangrove Hotel are the closest properties to the course. The Hilton Garden Inn RAK and the Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah are also within a short drive and offer a wider range of accommodation.
The course rating of 75.2 and slope of 141 are earned numbers. Tight mangrove-lined corridors, multiple water carries — including the near-island green finish — and a Stroke Index 1 par 4 at just under 400 yards make scoring harder than the card suggests. Strong players will find it engaging; high-handicappers should approach it as a test rather than a relaxed outing.
Most courses in the Emirates are built on desert terrain and rely on extensive irrigation and artificial landscaping. Tower Links is routed through a protected mangrove reserve that was already there, giving it a biodiversity and naturalism uncommon in Gulf golf. Flamingos, tidal channels, and the Hajar Mountain backdrop combine to make it visually and ecologically distinctive.
10 · The Library
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