Golf Course Scouting Report: Yas Links

The DP World Tour Playoffs will get underway at Yas Links in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the tournament that was moved from its original place in January to serve as the first of two DP World Tour Playoff events. Opening in 2010, Yas Links is an extreme modern-style Kyle-Phillips design.

The backdrop is unusual as the Ferrari World Theme Park and Yas Marina Circuit, site of Formula 1's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, loom over the property. As I discuss on my podcast, Linksworms, the course is routed around a large channel which comes into play on eight holes including the three dramatic finishing holes.

Overall: 8.00—Purists may find Yas Links a little off-the-wall at times, but it serves its purpose as an incredibly entertaining venue for elite championship golf.

Memorable Holes: 9.0

Yas Links has numerous "wow" holes with fairways and greens that wrap around the enormous channel that borders the property. The most memorable holes on the course are arguably the final three, and we'll get to those later. The par-three 13th and short-par-four 14th are also exciting; the former is a short par three with a green surrounded on three sides by water, and the latter is a short (possibly drivable) par four that requires a carry over the waterway off the tee. These dramatic features keep the tension high as golfers compete to win the tournament.

Interest: 8.0

Beyond the striking water holes mentioned in the previous section, the greens themselves provide a high level of intrigue. They are huge and undulate wildly with many featuring multiple tiers or sections divided by ridges. The back nine sports a double green as the 12th and 15th holes share adjoining putting surfaces. Yas Links also features large and striking sand-faced bunkers with unorthodox shapes. There are a few holes away from the water that are a bit uninspired, but overall, this is an exciting golf course.

Par Threes: 7.5

The par threes at Yas Links are bold, and the only reason this rating isn't higher is because of the slightly redundant nature of the greens surrounded by water. The 212-yard fourth is the only par three without water; instead, it features massive greenside bunkers and a large undulating green. The 186-yard eighth and 154-yard 13th are similar aside from their difference in length; both feature a vast expanse of water short and right of the green with accompanying bunkers. The 204-yard 17th is the best par three on the course; it juts out into the water that hugs the left side, and enormous sand-fingered traps create a spectacular bunker sandwich around the green.

Difficulty: 6.0

Yas Links is, to the truest extent, target golf, which means it is torture for regular Joes and a birdie fest for modern-day professionals. The extensive water hazards and severe slopes on the greens add challenges, but Tour Pros are so accurate with a wedge that we probably won't see as many balls in the water as some might expect. Additionally, golfers of this caliber can often find a way to use the greens' contours to their advantage to look for backstops or slopes to shape shots against. The brawny size of the greens softens the penal nature of the course. We will see some big numbers, but the winning score should be in the neighborhood of 17- to 20-under par as we've seen frequently here in recent years.

Finish: 9.5

The finishing holes are undoubtedly Yas Links' biggest claim to fame. All three holes border the massive channel to the left, beginning with the 424-yard par-four 16th. This dogleg left has a bunker in the middle of the fairway, requiring players to decide whether to layup safely right of the bunker or take on the water left to leave a shorter approach. The aforementioned 17th is a beautiful and difficult par three. The 18th is an example of an outstanding par-five finishing hole; at 646 yards and often playing into the wind, it is a true three-shot hole. Similar to the 16th, there is a bunker in the middle of the fairway that requires golfers to play a safe shot to the right or take on the water to the left. The second shot is not straightforward - a layup to a narrow fairway that bends left around the water with bunkers on the right. The green is, yet again, surrounded by water and more sand.

My only critique comes from the missed opportunity to make these finishing holes truly elite in world golf: They all hug the waterway but bunkers act as buffers between the green and the watery grave on all three holes. I would have liked to see Kyle Phillips take full advantage of this natural setting and set these fairways and greens directly against the edge of the water. This would be a bold choice and would undoubtedly receive criticism from some, but it would put these holes in an extreme upper echelon of notoriety for their daring design and supreme visual drama. Nevertheless, this is still a world-class finish to a great championship golf course.

For the criteria used to determine these ratings, please click here.