SomaBay Golf (Gary Player Course)

Overview: SomaBay Golf's Gary Player Course is an 18-hole, par-72 resort layout on Egypt's Red Sea coast, where irrigated fairways contrast with desert terrain, rugged mountains and open sea. The official course page lists four teeing grounds ranging from 5,363 to 6,998 yards, nine holes with water hazards and 68 bunkers. Wind is a central part of the design, and the course can play very differently from one day to the next.

History: Somabay's golf project began with Gary Player's involvement in the late 1990s, and course references date the championship layout's opening to 1998. Player's design uses the Red Sea coastline, lagoons, rockwork and desert contours as playing features rather than background scenery. The site has since expanded its golf offer with additional practice and short-course facilities, while a separate Hidden Coves course is being developed.

Did You Know? The fifth hole is a par three whose green projects towards the Red Sea and is surrounded on three sides by a narrow bunker and breaking water. Another distinctive idea appears at the 16th, where a green was carved into a rock face after Gary Player was inspired by the site's existing stonework.