Palms Golf Club Riyadh, Intercontinental Hotel, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
In the centre of the metropolitan area, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city, lies the Palms Golf Club Riyadh. It is not a place you would expect to see a golf course. Especially as none of it is visible when you drive past the hotel or its perimeter. However, nestled within the grounds of the Intercontinental Hotel, is this short nine-hole course.
I had often meant to play the course as I used to live close by. But I never got around to it. On a visit this time, I decided I was going to play the course and by doing so complete all the grass golf courses in Saudi Arabia.
Having not seen a lot of information on the course anywhere online, I was looking forward to seeing what the Palms Golf Club Riyadh had to offer. Below is my review of the course.
Course layout (⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆☆☆☆☆)
The course is basically a par 3 course. There is one par 4 on the course. This measures just over 200 yards and is easily reachable with a long iron or fairway wood. The holes have some danger around them mostly in the form of bunkers. However, if you are consistent with your irons, you won’t have any trouble on this course.
The layout is not the most challenging but what it is good for, is practicing your iron shots and your short game. You certainly won’t need driver on this course.
I did find that on the last two holes there was bad placement of tees which could hinder your tee shot. For instance, on the 8th tee there is a lamp post almost directly in front of the tee. This catches your eye and may be a psychological distraction. On the 9th tee you need to tee up on the far right of the tee box as the boundary wall and trees obstruct your view to the green otherwise.
Course condition (⭐☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆)
The condition of the course was one thing I was concerned about before playing it. I had seen images and from the view on Google Maps it looked a bit barren and as if it had been left to waste. I was even unsure if the course was open from looking at the images.
When I played it, the condition was poor to be fair. Fairways were not too bad but everything else was in bad need of a revamp. The course needs a lot of work put into it to make it close to a good standard. I don’t feel like this is high on the priority list of the hotel now.
One thing I would like to mention before going into detail about the condition is that I did notice some maintenance work had been done like hollow-tining and sanding of the greens so that shows that they are trying to do something with what they have.
Greens
Greens were not proper greens. They felt more like lawns which had been cut tighter to make them seem like greens. They were patchy and bare in places. Around the holes the grass was covering the edges of the holes showing it hadn’t been trimmed recently. Fairways were in a similar condition. But you never really had to play from fairways anyway, so it didn’t matter much.
Bunkers were visibly uncared for. I had difficulty telling if they were meant to be proper bunkers or waste bunkers. Grass was growing in a lot of them. They certainly hadn’t been raked in a very long time. In places it was impossible to tell where the waste ground ended and the bunker started there was that little difference between them.
Facilities (⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆☆☆☆☆)
While the clubhouse looks impressive and has a pro-shop and a coffee area. It is only open on weekends as this is when most of the business comes to the course. If open, I imagine it would be a nice place to sit and get a coffee and just relax after your round.
There is a driving range on site. But this is less than 100 yards long. So it is not much use except for loosening up with the shortest club in your bag. It is a desert range so there is no grass on it. The hitting area is ok on the range however and is done properly.
Also in the club is a putting green and a chipping green with a bunker. The condition of these is the same as out on the course so they won’t do much for your practice. If these were cared for you might find more people coming to the course just to practice their short game and putting instead of having to travel further to the other golf clubs for this.
Buggies are available for rent on the course as well. As it’s a short course they are not really necessary. But with the summer heat it is good to have the option there for golfers.
Price (⭐⭐☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆)
The cost to play the course is approximately SAR165. For the condition it’s not worth it. But for its location it is. It is more accessible than the other courses in Riyadh. If you are someone who does not have your own transport it will save you on taxis.
For booking Palms Golf Club Riyadh you will need to call the pro-shop.
Course setting & location (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐☆☆☆☆☆)
The golf course is located within the confines of the Intercontinental Hotel, Riyadh. To enter the golf course, you need to access it through Gate 6. It is a good location being practically in the very centre of Riyadh.
For the location on Google Maps please click here.
Conclusion
The Palms Golf Club Riyadh is a course where you can go with a few mates to have a not serious game of golf. Being essentially a par 3 course, it is not that challenging to more seasoned golfers. The condition leaves a lot to be desired. There is a lot of work to be done to bring it up to a proper standard.
Location wise it is in a good spot and possibly with a bit of love and care it could develop into somewhere that people would enjoy more. As mentioned previously it could be good for practicing your iron game or short game. But work does need to be done around the course for golfers to reap real benefits in their practice.
For now, until essential work is carried out, if you are a golfer that likes a real test or a well-conditioned course, this course will not be for you.
OVERALL RATING – (⭐⭐⭐☆☆☆☆☆☆☆)
Contact Details for Palms Golf Club Riyadh
Telephone: +966 11 465 5000
Email: recreation@icriyadh.com
Hole-by-Hole
All distances from the blue tees which I played from. Indexes are men’s indexes, front nine and back nine indexes separated by “/”.
Hole 1/10: Par 3, 86yds, index 13/18
Hole 2/11: Par 3, 89yds, index 14/11
Hole 3/12: Par 3, 129yds, index 5/9
Hole 4/13: Par 3, 85yds, index 17/16
Hole 5/14: Par 3, 111yds, index 10/6
Hole 6/15: Par 4, 222yds, index 1/2
Hole 7/16: Par 3, 79yds, index 15/12
Hole 8/17: Par 3, 169yds, index 4/8
Hole 9/18: Par 3, 182yds, index 3/7
