Why it Should Be on Your Middle East Golf Bucket List
When you think of Colin Montgomerie’s greatest achievements, eight European Tour Order of Merit titles or his Ryder Cup legacy usually spring to mind. But one of his most impressive accomplishments sits quietly in the Bahraini desert.
In 2006, Montgomerie partnered with European Golf Design to transform what was essentially an industrial wasteland into the Royal Golf Club Bahrain. Reworking the original Riffa Golf Course, he set out to create something entirely different: a links-style layout in the Middle East. On paper it sounded unlikely. In reality, it works superbly.
Rather than relying on the aerial, target-golf formula common to desert courses, Montgomerie designed wide approaches and heavily contoured short grass that reward imagination and bump-and-run shots. The ground game is central, and subtle undulations mean local knowledge quickly becomes an advantage.
The greens are the course’s defining feature. Multi-tiered and boldly contoured, they demand precise approach play and punish hesitation with awkward two- and three-putts.
Measuring 7,102 yards from the championship tees, the par-72 layout winds through the Riffa Views community, just 20 minutes from Manama, with palms and native planting now thriving across the site.
A proven championship venue, Royal Golf Club Bahrain hosts the DP World Tour’s Bahrain Championship and even offers floodlit night golf on the back nine. It’s not just another luxury desert course—it’s a genuinely distinctive test, and that alone earns it a place on any Middle East golf bucket list.
