The tension between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League has dominated online and in-person discourse around pro golf for nearly half a decade. And despite various winks, nods and rumors, there have been very few recent indications that the two rival entities are in anything but a stalemate. The PGA Tour schedule continues apace, as does the LIV schedule, with everyone coming together four times a year at the majors.
But for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), a colossal oil-backed financial arm of the royal family that is set to surpass $1 trillion in assets soon, LIV Golf is just one of several investments tied to the game. Another is tourism, including the construction of several golf courses as part of the kingdom’s aggressive Vision 2030 economic diversification plan. Currently, Saudi’s premier golf course is Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in the King Abdullah Economic City north of the coastal port of Jeddah.
The PIF recently unveiled a marketing initiative called Future Fairways, which spotlights three golf courses currently in development in two different regions of the kingdom.
The first two, Shura Links and Laheq Golf Course, sit along Saudi’s Red Sea coast, roughly 350 miles north of Jeddah and 660 miles west of Riyadh. Both courses will sit on islands in the Red Sea off the Saudi coast, with the firm of Curley/Wagner designing them both.
More than 200 miles to the north, close to the border of Jordan near the Gulf of Aqaba, the Trojena Northern Golf Course aspires to be Saudi’s version of mountain golf, located within the Highlands zone of the massive NEOM “giga-project.” LIV golfer Graeme McDowell is attached to the project along with architect Matt Dusenberry. The Trojena golf course will sit at nearly 7,000 feet of elevation in a broader development zone that will include numerous resorts and a ski area.
Jeddah’s Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, a stop on the LIV Golf schedule, is Saudi Arabia’s most established course, but it will soon be joined by many more if the kingdom’s Vision 2030 plans are carried out fully. Francois Nel/Getty Images
Shura, Laheq and Trojena are far from the only golf courses in development in Saudi Arabia, whose Vision 2030 plan calls for the total number of courses in-country to triple. On Sindalah Island, part of the NEOM project, Robert Trent Jones II has laid out a nine-hole golf course. And Nick Faldo is working on a course in the kingdom’s Qiddiya City development, just southwest of Riyadh, set to open in 2026. Cynthia Dye McGarey (niece of Pete Dye), Ernie Els and Greg Norman also have golf courses in development in Saudi Arabia.
With hundreds of miles of coastline and no shortage of sand, Saudi Arabia would seem to have friendly conditions for the rapid spin-up of numerous golf courses. But it remains to be seen whether American golfers will be keen to visit. Furthermore, all of the new developments lean into notions of luxury and exclusivity, which means they will likely be expensive for those who do choose to visit. Geopolitical conditions and concerns over sportswashing, not to mention strong opposition to LIV Golf and its upheaval of the professional golf scene, may also make Saudi Arabia a tough sell as a golf destination in at least the near or medium term. Nevertheless, the kingdom’s ambition on the golf front will continue to be interesting to monitor.
More golf course news and notes
The Jack Nicklaus-designed Ocean Course at Hammock Beach Resort will reside on the 2026 PGA Tour Champions schedule. Tim Gavrich/GolfPass
NEW VENUE A VACATION FAVORITE – The PGA Tour Champions annual Constellation Furyk & Friends tournament is moving down the coast of Florida in 2026, departing Timuquana Country Club outside of Jacksonville for the Ocean Course at Hammock Beach Resort, one of the Sunshine State’s few courses with genuine oceanfront holes. [LINK: The Golf Wire]
OLD COURSE LOOKING GOOD AS NEW – The oldest public golf course west of New York has completed a stunning turnaround according to one columnist. [LINK: Toledo Blade]
DISGUSTING – An ATV-riding vandal shredded parts of the greens at century-old North Shore Golf Club in Vienna, N.Y., causing thousands in damage that will take up to a year to remediate. [LINK: Syracuse.com]
BAD VERSION OF ‘DATA GOLF’ – A massive 815-acre data center could force a Finnish golf club to lose as many as five holes. [LINK: Data Center Dynamics]
GOLF-ADJACENT – One person’s mini-golf course is another’s garden. [LINK: Superior Telegram]
