Top 10 Golf Courses in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's golf ambitions have accelerated dramatically in the past decade, tracking the broader Vision 2030 programme that seeks to diversify the economy and expand sports tourism. The establishment of LIV Golf — funded through the Public Investment Fund — brought the kingdom onto the world's professional golf map, and the construction of Royal Greens at King Abdullah Economic City announced Saudi Arabia as a venue capable of hosting top-tier international competition. Courses are concentrated around Jeddah and Riyadh, the two primary population centres, with a growing number of resort layouts under development as part of the NEOM and Red Sea Project mega-developments planned for the northwest of the country. The climate dictates an October-to-April playing window for comfortable golf; summer temperatures across the interior regularly reach the mid-forties and make outdoor activity dangerous.
1. Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, King Abdullah Economic City
Royal Greens is the flagship of Saudi golf and the country's most recognisable international venue. Located at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) on the Red Sea coast north of Jeddah, the course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and opened in 2010 before undergoing renovation to championship specification. Its location on the seafront gives it a links-adjacent character unusual in the Gulf region: the Red Sea is visible from several holes, and the coastal setting provides natural wind that elevates the challenge considerably. Royal Greens has hosted LIV Golf events and represents the closest Saudi Arabia has come to a tournament-standard venue in the world's top hundred. It is open to outside visitors through the resort complex, with green fees reflecting its premium positioning.
2. Riyadh Golf Club, Riyadh
Riyadh Golf Club is the capital's most established course and the social hub of golf in central Saudi Arabia. The layout occupies an irrigated parkland site in the city and has evolved significantly since its early days as a sand-greens desert facility. Today the course presents a full 18-hole layout with bermudagrass fairways and bentgrass greens capable of hosting national-level competitions. It has served as the venue for Saudi national championships and corporate golf events for the country's business community. Access for visitors is available; the club operates a tee sheet open to non-members and the green fees are reasonable by comparison with the premium resort venues.
3. Dirab Golf & Country Club, Riyadh
Dirab is a large, well-appointed club on the western outskirts of Riyadh, set in a valley that provides a modest topographic break from the capital's otherwise flat terrain. The course was designed to provide variety through its routing — early holes play across open ground while the back nine works into the valley floor with more defined corridors. At par 72 and approximately 7,000 yards, Dirab is one of the longer layouts in Saudi Arabia and has been used for national qualifying events. The country club infrastructure — tennis, swimming, dining — gives it the feel of a full resort, and it operates an active membership programme alongside its visitor tee-time system.
4. Dunes Golf Club Riyadh, Riyadh
Dunes Golf Club provides a daily-fee alternative to the more formal clubs in the Riyadh circuit. The course is a desert parkland layout that makes honest use of the sandy terrain, and its name reflects an approach that leans into rather than disguises the environment. At a shorter length than Dirab, it is better suited to mid-handicap golfers and plays as a more relaxed round than the championship venues. Green fees are among the most accessible in the city, making Dunes a popular choice for residents who play regularly and want an affordable option for weekday golf.
5. Safaa Golf Club, Jeddah
Safaa Golf Club is one of Jeddah's primary social golf facilities, operating as a members' club with a regular programme of competitions and events. The layout is a parkland design of modest length suited to a range of playing standards. It serves the expatriate and Saudi business community in the western province and has long been the most active competitive venue in the Jeddah area outside of Royal Greens. Visitor access is possible through member introduction, and the club runs visitor days on selected dates through the season.
6. Al Murooj Golf Course, Riyadh
Al Murooj is a nine-hole layout attached to the Murooj Rotana hotel complex in central Riyadh, providing convenient in-city golf for hotel guests and nearby residents. While not on the scale of Dirab or Riyadh Golf Club, the course maintains excellent conditioning given its urban setting and serves as the most practical golf option for travellers staying in the downtown business district. The nine holes can be played as eighteen from alternate tees, and the compact layout suits golfers looking for a quick round without the travel time to the outlying clubs.
7. King Abdullah Economic City Golf Academy, KAEC
Alongside the Royal Greens championship course at KAEC, a full golf academy complex provides driving range bays, a short-game area, and a teaching studio used by the Saudi Golf Federation for national player development programmes. The academy also offers commercial instruction packages for hotel guests and resort visitors, making it a practical facility for golfers who want to tune their game during a Red Sea stay. The technology available — ball-tracking systems and video analysis — matches what you would find at any well-appointed golf academy in Europe or the United States.
8. The Red Sea Golf Club, Jeddah
Serving the expatriate compound community that has long sustained golf in Saudi Arabia's western cities, the Red Sea Golf Club is a private nine-hole layout with a loyal membership base and a full programme of social competitions. The course's maintenance relies on the same intensive irrigation infrastructure as all Saudi clubs, and the quality of the turf is consistently good. While access for outside visitors is limited by the club's private status, it represents an important part of the historical fabric of golf in Jeddah, predating the premium resort era by decades.
9. NEOM Golf (under development), Tabuk Region
The NEOM mega-project in northwest Saudi Arabia — the flagship of Vision 2030's most ambitious infrastructure plans — includes a dedicated golf component within its broader leisure and tourism offering. While specific course details have not been fully confirmed at time of writing, the scale of the development and its location in a dramatic mountain and coastal landscape suggest that the courses eventually built here will be among the most striking in the entire Middle East. The region's climate is also more temperate than Riyadh and Jeddah at altitude, potentially extending the playing season for visitors. This is a venue to watch.
10. Aramco Golf Club, Dhahran
In the Eastern Province, the Aramco Golf Club at Dhahran serves the enormous residential compound of Saudi Aramco employees and their families. Access is restricted to compound residents and their guests, but the course is among the most historically significant in Saudi golf — golf at Dhahran dates to the 1940s when American petroleum workers arrived and brought the game with them. The current layout is a well-maintained parkland design that benefits from the level of investment an organisation the size of Saudi Aramco can bring to its residential facilities. For anyone with connections to the compound, it is well worth arranging a round.
Practical Notes
The Saudi golf season runs from October through April, with December and January offering the most comfortable playing conditions across the country. Royal Greens and Dirab are the two must-play venues for visiting golfers, with Royal Greens requiring advance resort booking. International access is through King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah or King Khalid International in Riyadh. A tourist visa now allows entry to Saudi Arabia without the sponsorship requirements of previous decades, which has simplified access considerably for golf visitors. Use open the map to find all registered courses across the kingdom before planning your trip.