The Pearl and The Doha Golf Club

Lindsay and I had lunch with a few of our colleagues at a nice Italian restaurant right along the water.  It felt like we were in Florida and not in Doha.  The condo that you see in the background are all empty!  Apparently, I have been told that the developer ran out of money, so they had to go to the government and local investors to get more funding.  Since they follow Islamic Law, alcohol is no longer served in The Pearl.

BACKGROUND:

The Pearl-Qatar (TPQ) in Doha, Qatar, is an artificial island spanning nearly four million square metres. It is the first land in Qatar to be available for freehold ownership by foreign nationals.  As of spring 2012, there are more than 5,000 residents, compared to more than 3,000 residents in spring of 2011.

Once fully completed, The Pearl will create over 32 kilometers of new coastline, for use as a residential estate with an expected 15,000 dwellings and 45,000 residents by 2015. Developed by United Development Company and planned byarchitecture and design firm Callison, the island is located 350 metres offshore of Doha’sWest Bay Lagoon area.

In 2004, when the project was first revealed, the initial cost of constructing the island stood at $2.5 billion. It is now believed the project will cost $15 billion upon completion.

After lunch, we headed over to the Doha Gold Course.  Same same, but different.

BACKGROUND:

The Doha Golf Club in Doha, Qatar, is an 18-hole, 7,374-yard, par 72 championship course that was designed by Peter Harradine. The Doha Golf Club is also one of the first grass golf course ever built in the Middle East. Open to nonmembers, it has a 2 808 yards long floodlit nine-hole academy course, and a clubhouse with three restaurants and a golf shop.

The club hosts the Qatar Masters golf tournament.