Discovery Dunes, a members-only residential and golf community developed by Discovery Land Company, has opened the region’s first fully private 18-hole championship golf course designed by American architect Tom Fazio.

The course, which began member-only play last week, is located within a gated 1,000-acre estate approximately 30 minutes from downtown Dubai. Access to the golf facilities is restricted to property owners, each of whom receives lifetime membership upon purchase of a homesite or residence.

Course Design and Features
At 80 years old, Tom Fazio has now designed more than 200 courses worldwide, with Discovery Dunes marking his latest collaboration with Discovery Land Company—his 21st project for the developer. The layout makes extensive use of the site’s natural desert topography, incorporating significant elevation changes, rolling dunes, and large white-sand waste areas. Greens vary considerably in size, shape, and contour, while strategic bunkering and run-off areas reward accurate shot-making without requiring excessive length.
Signature Discovery Land Company elements are present throughout:

• No tee times or dress code
• Family-oriented play, with forward tees and short-game areas encouraging participation across generations
• On-course comfort stations at the 5th and 13th holes, each themed to its surroundings (one features a grass-covered roof that can serve as an auxiliary tee for events)

Fazio commented that the routing was shaped to “feel as though the course has always belonged to the desert,” with landforms sculpted to echo the natural dunes of the Arabian landscape.

Community and Lifestyle Facilities
The golf course forms the central organising feature of the broader Discovery Dunes estate, which will eventually contain 340 custom homes and villas. Lots are currently marketed from US$6 million to US$25 million, with buyers able to select from Discovery’s in-house architectural designs or submit their own for approval.

Additional amenities include:

• The Lake House at the 11th hole – a lakeside restaurant using produce from an on-site organic farm, with paddleboarding and swimming areas
• A central clubhouse offering wellness facilities, pools, cinema, barbershop, salon, and family-oriented spaces such as an ice-cream and candy shop
• Extensive non-golf programming focused on outdoor recreation and family activities

Michael Meldman, founder and chairman of Discovery Land Company, described the project as the company’s first in the Middle East and the region’s only fully private golf community of its kind.

Discovery Dunes joins a global portfolio of more than 30 similar low-density, high-amenity private resorts developed by the company, including notable U.S. projects such as Estancia, Gozzer Ranch, and Baker’s Bay. The Dubai development represents a continuation of the firm’s model of integrating championship golf with family-focused residential living in exclusive settings.

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