69 One of 92 islands within the Al Wajh lagoon archipelago, Shura remained largely untouched until Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced The Red Sea Project in 2017 as part of Saudi Vision 2030. Today, five of a planned 11 hotels are already open, and work continues on residences, a marina, shopping and other resort facilities. The golf course sits at the centre of the island, with half of its holes playing alongside water. Mass earthworks, ground stabilisation and marine works began in 2021 on what had previously been a flat and largely featureless area. Brian Curley was appointed in 2024, inheriting a routing and basic grading plan that had already been prepared. “I had a huge amount of freedom, but the routing had to largely stay the same,” says Curley. “I made adjustments though, such as the new par-three sixth as well as adding the short-game area and putting course by reducing the ninth from a par five to a four.” Curley wanted to ensure the resort infrastructure, which will only expand in the coming years, did not dominate the golfing experience. Working alongside Richard Haas, Red Sea Global’s head of golf design and construction, he created a system of dunes to help define sightlines. “We were fortunate to be able to build some very high and dramatic dunes where we wanted to block views – such as the infrastructure building zones,” says Curley. “The result is that Shura has plenty of movement both from a visual standpoint and to help the golf course site drain well.” This approach has been very effective: on holes that play close to the resort development, the dune shaping keeps the focus on the golf course. Where the course turns towards the Red Sea, aqua blue water becomes the dominant visual element. The par threes are particularly memorable. The sixth, the hole Curley added to the original routing, plays from a slightly elevated tee to a green that juts into a translucent channel and open sea backdrop. There is a bailout area on the right, but anything long or left is likely to end up in sand or water. The fifteenth is equally impressive. Its long and narrow green, set at a slight angle to the line of play, is situated on a small island. Anything short or long is liable to fall away into shortgrass surrounds, leaving a tricky chip to an undulating green. But that is a better fate than a pull, which, with a bit of encouragement from the wind, is likely to find the water. The short sixteenth plays from the same small island, back over a channel to perhaps the most well-protected green on the course. Curley has sought to create a “low profile” design that would allow a SHURA LINKS “ The greens are large and feature big movement in lieu of a lot of immediate bunkering” Photo: Brian Curley The par-three fifteenth green sits on a small island shared with the tees of the next hole
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