Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
OLD favourite Greg Norman, now one of the world’s leading golf course designers, believes Jordan’s new Ayla offering is among the top-three most eco-friendly golf courses in the world.
Norman, 59, known as ‘The Shark’ who spent 331 weeks as the world’s Number 1-ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s, believes the entire setting and unique design puts it among the best in the world ‘from my 40 years’ experience in golf’.
He added: “It’s a great honour to design the first 18 holes grass golf course in Jordan which has the potential to put Jordan on the world golf map in the future in becoming a worldwide attraction, not only for the sport of golf but also for tourism and commerce.
“By utilising 235m of the shoreline and creating a series of man-made lagoons open to the Gulf of Aqaba, the Ayla development has added an impressive 17km to Jordan’s coastline.
“The work that Ayla have put into the project in terms of water conservancy and creating power through solar panels on the golf course is considerable, and goes hand-in-hand with what we are doing in our eco-friendly design.”
All trees and shrubs have been selected from local indigenous species to reduce the irrigation requirements, and a sub-surface irrigation system has been installed to reduce evaporation and water loss.
The wadis and lagoons are a lure to a variety of fish and sea creatures. The water is so clear it is already bringing sea horses, spotted eagle rays, a whale shark and various fish species to the crystalline lagoons.
