A new 18-hole golf course by Sir Nick Faldo’s design team will open in Qiddiya City, Saudi Arabia, in 2026.
Qiddiya City, one of the world’s largest city developments, is 22 miles southwest of Riyadh. It is designed to boost tourism and centres on sport, culture and entertainment.
The Faldo layout has been built in a dramatic location, directly below the 200-metre cliffs of the kingdom’s Tuwaiq Mountains.
“We had a design workshop with the client team and the masterplanners to kick off the routing process,” said Andrew Haggar, lead golf course architect at Faldo Design. “Prior to that, following a visit from Sir Nick to the existing site and on his suggestion, we pushed the proposed golf course site further east so that it was properly situated in the amphitheatre of the cliffs, which meant that they would become a dominant backdrop and a very real part of the golf course experience and strategy.”
The Faldo team routed a course that would take advantage of the cliffs while also incorporating the significant network of wadis (dry riverbeds) on the site.
“We wanted to achieve returning sixes and returning nines,” said Haggar. “We achieved both and, at the same time, set up the possibility for three six-hole loops, all from the clubhouse. The clubhouse location needed a 360-degree area around it because, together with the 18-hole course, we had to have the practice range and short course in close proximity as well.”
The clubhouse, academy and practice facilities designed by Pattersons are expected to open in 2028.
A visualisation of the clubhouse at Qiddiya, designed by New Zealand-based firm Pattersons (Image: Qiddiya Investment Company)
“The Qiddiya City public course is not only a championship venue,” said Gareth Williams, consulting golf course architect at Faldo Design. “It is also a place for player development. Those new to the game can pass through a range of facilities – from practice tees and greens, through to short and longer academy holes, before stepping foot on the championship course.”
Haggar added: “Fortunately, we had the room to do this and without topographical restrictions. The double-ended range fits perfectly into a corner with the cliffs wrapping around it on two sides. We feel that we’ve extracted the maximum possible visual impact with the routing of both courses.”
The championship course has been built by Saudi Salco Contracting Company partnering with Flagstick Golf Course Construction Management, under the supervision of Jasara Program Management Company, and has been grassed with Platinum TE paspalum, supplied by Atlas Turf Arabia. Platinum TE paspalum was chosen for its heat, salt and drought tolerance, which makes it an ideal selection for the Middle East climate.
“We were all agreed that we wanted to push as far as we could into the corner where the third hole sits,” said Haggar. “This would take the golfer as close to the base of the cliffs as possible and give a real sense of scale. It’s a wonderfully natural corner of the site and holes one and two also take advantage of their location close to the cliffs. There is a magnificent rock buttress that sits to the north, and we were keen to line the eighteenth hole up on that if it was at all possible. As we worked on the routing it became clear that it was going to be possible and so we have this extra dimension added to the final hole.
“All the holes are ‘Qiddiya City holes’ because we spent a long time during the design process absorbing the unique qualities of the site and thinking about how we could respond to them with the design of the course. The detailing of the artificial turf revetting in the bunkers, for example, picks up on the layering of the rock strata seen on the cliffs. The shaping of the large angular mounds you see scattered around the site, which all orientate in the same direction, takes its lead from the shape of sections of the clifftop profile.
“The eighteenth leaves you in no doubt about the magnificence of the setting and, coupled with that, has one of the major wadis coming into play on the tee shot,” continued Haggar. “Hole three, which is a long par three, really takes the golfer into that natural corner of the site and gives them a real sense of just how big and imposing the cliffs are. The hole is a strong carry over a significant wadi to a green that sits as close as possible to the edge of that wadi. It’s a very simple hole; it was almost just a matter of laying the tees and the green in there. Nature has taken care of the rest. It’s beautiful to look at but scary to play, all at the same time.”
The architect also highlights the 419-yard par-four seventeenth as a risk-reward hole with its split fairway. The direct route to the green involves a carry over a natural waste area to a narrow fairway. The hole can also be played as a right-to-left dogleg around a collection of ‘fairly nasty’ central bunkers. This easier, but longer, route will mean approach shots will need to avoid a deep bunker that covers the right side of the green and wraps around the back. “This bunker could come into play for everyone, as a tricky back-right pin position on a green, which is perched up, comes under its protection as well,” said Haggar.
The Faldo Design team was tasked with creating a course that is playable for the average player but also capable of hosting professional tournaments.
“Fairways and greens are generous to cater for the average player and there is a good range of tees to play from,” said Haggar. “For the pros, it will be about finding the best place on the fairway to play to for their next shot, and that’s where the detail in the shaping of the fairways comes in. Similarly, the size of the greens allows for some nice movement and sets up a variety of pin positions, meaning there are easier ones for the average player and harder ones that can be used for tournaments. We want to see the course running hard and fast for tournaments whereas the set up for general play doesn’t have to be as tough. There’s a good amount of room around the course for spectators and everything else that goes with staging a tournament, and we’ve already designed in some key areas for spectator stands and hospitality.”
This article first appeared in the October 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture. For a printed subscription or free digital edition, please visit our subscriptions page.