DUBAI: If hitting the beach is not quite on your agenda this weekend, then you could head to the Jumeirah Lakes Towers where residents are warming up to a new way to have their share of fun under the sun.
Dubai’s winter may still be weeks away officially, but with the weather easing up gradually, it is one big evening tee party these days at the HDS Mini Golf, the latest addition to the bustling neighbourhood’s family entertainment scene.
“The days are still quite hot, but it’s getting pleasant late in the afternoon and people can actually start playing then and continue even after dusk under the lights. The weather is just perfect for it now and it is only going to get better,” says Jonathan Bedeman, the Operations Manager at HDS Group. “When we launched HDS Mini Golf just last year, our main aim was to offer a fun facility for all ages. It is going to be our first full winter season and we are already seeing a good turnout,” he says.
With JLT’s towering skyline and the stunning Almas West Lake as the backdrop, this all new 18-hole Mini Golf sits at the basement level adjacent to the HDS Business Centre tower in Cluster M, where more and more people are now indeed fancying a day out putting and chipping.
Golf after work
Briton Simon Thurston, 36, who played one full round over all 18 holes there with his family recently, says he is so impressed that he is now considering mixing work with golf here once in a while. “Having had such a great time out in the sun last weekend, I am going to suggest to my colleagues that we have a fun team building evening there under the lights,” says the Dubai Marina resident who works in one of the commercial towers of this mixed clustered development.
Beautifully designed with water features and surrounded by a white picket to keep golf balls from straying and small children out of harm’s way, this lush green golf course may be a miniature but has it all even for semi-serious amateurs.
“The challenges on each hole are very different to one another and I feel they are reasonably difficult for someone starting out. It definitely should serve as a good practice pitch,” says JLT resident, Indian Ashish Sarkar who’s tried his hand at a few amateur office golf tournaments in the past.
With animal-themed par two, par three and par four holes, the course indeed is complete with everything from ramps to strategically placed obstacles and bunkers and has a centrepiece hole number nine that boasts a majestic stone lion!
For fellow JLT resident Sundeep Singh though Mini Golf is a good break from the usual weekend drill. “It’s right next to where we stay, so bringing the kids here is fun and easy and the best thing is that the only driving involved is actually on the course,” jokes the father of two.
A 45-minute session is priced at Dh35 per person. The HDS Mini Golf course is open from 10am to 10pm daily. For more information or to book a session, you can call 050-924 3456 or send an email to minigolf@hdsgroup.org.
Friday timing: 2pm to 10pm.
