Egypt pairs desert golf with the monuments of the pharaohs: ribbons of turf cut through the sand, a few kilometres from the pyramids. Cairo has most of the major courses, on either side of the city: to the west, Greg Norman's Allegria, ranked number one in the country, and NEWGIZA, laid out in a former quarry facing the Giza plateau; to the east, Katameya Dunes, Nick Faldo's first design in North Africa. On the Red Sea, El Gouna, Soma Bay with its Gary Player course, or Makadi Bay extend the trip to the water's edge, and Ain Sokhna offers 27 holes two hours from the capital.
The season runs from October to April. In Cairo, mid-October, November and the months from February to April bring afternoons between 21 and 30 degrees, with almost no rain; December and January are mild but cool in the morning, and summer means tee times at dawn. We put together tailor-made trips there, with booked tee times, private drivers, hotels facing the pyramids or the Nile, and guided visits timed for the cool of the morning or evening.
