Madinat Makadi Golf Course Reviewed. Stunning Desert Course By Egypt's Red Sea.

Andy Mossack reviews Madinat Makadi Golf Course, a Red Sea desert jewel.

I was standing on Tutankhamun. Not the ancient pharaoh I hasten to add, but the tee of the 7th hole on the Madinat Makadi Golf Course; a fearsome par 3 over a giant lake with a gale force wind barrelling in from left to right. If ever I needed a Moses moment it was here, as I really needed some parting of my own version of the Red Sea at that moment.

My only other experience of golf in Hurghada, Egypt’s fast-growing Red Sea coast tourist destination, was at Somabay Golf Club, a course I rated very highly. However, Madinat Makadi Golf Course’s Golf Operations Manager Samir Fekry threw down the gauntlet as soon as I arrived at the course, just a twenty-minute journey from my Jaz Casa del Mar Beach resort: “welcome to the best golf course in Egypt.” I happened to mention my Somabay experience and ever the diplomat, Samir remarked “well Mr Andy, play the course and you’ll soon find out.”

Madinat Makadi Golf Course is an 18-hole championship desert style course designed by John Sanford, a gentleman well versed in this type of terrain with previous projects Jolie Ville in Sharm-el-Shiekh and Taba Heights in Sinai on his CV. However, with this one the gloves are well and truly off at 6,800 metres in length of the back tees, par 72 and challenges everywhere you look including 124 bunkers! The genius part is that with six different tees it still manages to cater for all skill levels.

With the majestic Red Sea coast and mountains as the backdrop, the course is split into two very different loops. The front nine, (each hole named after ancient Egyptian royalty) is relatively flat but uses lakes, creeks, bunkers and run offs into sandy waste as the main threats, while the back nine (each one named after ancient gods) snakes its way around high desert dunes and wadis, an entirely different kind of challenge. Add to this mix the constant breeze which this region is famous for, (a blessing for sun worshipers and windsurfers but very tricky for golfers) and you have all the ingredients for an adventurous golf experience.

So with Samir’s words ringing in my ears, I set out towards the first hole and took up the Madinat Makadi Golf Course challenge.

I’ve already mentioned there are six tees, and each one is named after a famous Egyptian destination. So from the championship tee Cairo at 6,871 metres (7514 yards) to Dahab at 4,153 metres (4541 yards) you can see how the course becomes more manageable. I decided to take on the second hardest, the Giza tees at 6,379 metres, after all I thought, sometimes this wind had to help as well hinder.

Fortunately, it came to pass that it did indeed help me, particularly on the first two holes. The first, Narmer, a relatively benign opening par 4, index 15 with just the bunkers to negotiate I managed a 5, and on the tougher second, Ramesses II, a par 5 index 3 at 526 metres I thankfully grabbed a wind assisted 6. The fairways were beautifully lush and manicured to an inch of their lives, and the greens were fast and slippery, and tough to read with more than a few hidden borrows.

At the par 4 sixth, King Zose, the hardest hole on the course with an index 1, I only dropped two shots. A miracle really with a million bunkers on the right, a lake on the left and a creek running across the front of the green. Zose must have been a brutal ruler to be named after this hole!

So, back to my tee shot at Tutankhamun and my hit and hope into the left to right wind over the lake. It was only a 153-metre par 3, but the wind made it impossible to judge. In the end I took out a driver and aimed as far left as I could. What made it even more terrifying were the two greenkeepers working on the green who ran for cover as I stood readying to hit.

Fortunately It seemed the golfing gods were with me as I connected beautifully and watched it sail into the wind and take a 90 degree turn before landing sweetly on the green just 10 metres from the flag. I was beside myself with joy, unlike the greenkeepers who had no doubt seen it all before. They simply sauntered back to the green to continue their work.

The joy was short lived as I drove my ball into the lake to the right of the 8^th hole. Hey ho such is life.

The back nine proved to be even more memorable for me as I adore high tees and large drops, and the signature 11th is a worthy stand out. A tee set high on a massive dune with the fairway dropping away far below all the way to the green. Hit it well enough and you just might drive the green.

A breathtaking round then, full of high and lows, but most of all admiration for this stunning oasis of a course.

But there’s more. The complex also comes with a driving range and a spectacular 9-hole par 3 course which they call the Executive Course. Another manicured creation just a miniature version. Perfect for honing your short game.

To top it all off the impressive clubhouse has an excellent restaurant and changing facilities. There’s also a welcoming caddy master and club storage for hotel guests staying at the adjacent Steigenberger Makadi Hotel, another member of the luxury Jaz Hotel Group.

I met back up with Samir who wore a knowing smile as I recounted my adventures around the Madinat Makadi Golf Course.

Was it the best golf course in Egypt? I can’t vouch for that as my Egyptian golf experience is limited to Hurghada, and although I lauded Somabay, for me Madinat Makadi is at another level. An absolute belter of a course and I can’t wait for a rematch.