Exclusive Reveal: Topgolf Dubai is here and ready for action
What’s inside Dubai’s newest entertainment and leisure complex? More fun than you can shake a golf club at…
When planning a night out with your mates, you need a place that’s as unique as your crew. And when the age-old brunch just won’t cut it, sometimes you need to look for something out of the ordinary.
Behold, Topgolf Dubai, the new three-storey, 50,000 square foot mega complex that’s finally opening tomorrow, Sunday, January 3 from 4pm, at Emirates Golf Club. It’s a platform high off the ground, with incredible views of an endless night sky, all accented by the glowing hues of bright purple LEDs. The ground below is covered in a green field of artificial turf, and there are screens visible everywhere you turn. There seem to be hundreds of flat screens dotted around the venue, some as small as a tablet, some as wide as a cinema screen. A few show live broadcasts of sports, while others display graphic visuals depicting the final locations of the micro-chipped golf balls people are hitting off the platform.
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Music reverberates from crisp new speakers on the walls, thumping loud enough to inspire some shoulder-shuffling and roof-raising, but not so loud as to drown out your conversations.
This futuristic driving range-cum-bar is also almost inconceivably huge. There are a whopping 96 hitting bays, each with enough chairs and couches and tables to comfortably seat an extended family. There’s a restaurant with a bar behind the bays, and two others on the middle and top floors.
What is Topgolf?
Essentially, it’s a uniquely 21st century take on the ancient sport. Sprinkled across the artificial lawn at Topgolf Dubai is a series of oversize circular targets, just like dart boards only much bigger, that are flat on the ground. Microchips in the balls track how close they come to these targets. Participants can accrue points by hitting the targets – the further and smaller the target, the more points you get. The game, effectively, is a digitised form of golf, and jolly good fun, too.
It’s pretty perfect for any occasion: date night, boys night out, girls night out, birthday parties, office dos, the works.
Sure, some of the folks hitting balls towards the giant glowing targets on the ground will have clearly done this before. A few may look like they could hit a hole-in-one at 200 yards. But there are also many people who can barely get out of the way of their own swings. For every golf ball sent soaring in a magnificent arc through the night sky, there’s at least one [ahem, most of team What’s On] that barely dribbles out of the tee box.
Regardless of skill level, though, in bay after bay, from one end of this hulking structure to the other, the ‘golfers’ are smiling, wincing and snapping pics for the ‘Gram.
What’s the food and drink situation?
Unlike the sad pizza slices you’d find at a bowling alley or those standard bar buffalo wings, Topgolf’s chef-inspired menu is no afterthought. Here, platters and signature dishes run the gamut of mezze, sliders, mac and cheese boards, and a jumbo pretzel platter with assorted cold cuts and cheese. That basic club sandwich? It’s been upgraded to a Middle Eastern triple decker with sun-blazed red and yellow peppers, grilled halloumi, lettuce, smoked harissa, hummus and eggs. Flipping through the extensive menu online is almost enough to put you in a food coma on the spot. Most dishes are designed to be shared, further proof that the true sport at Topgolf Dubai is socialising.
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How does it work?
- Buy a Dhs20 membership in the venue to play. You’ll use this membership every time you play Topgolf as it tells our golf balls who scored. Plus, it gives you access to exclusive offers throughout the year.
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Head to your bay and swipe each player’s membership card or enter your phone number on screen if associated to your membership.
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Select the amount of time you/your group want to rent the bay (one-hour minimum) and get ready to play. You can always add more time at your bay. Oh, and eat, drink, laugh and have a ball.
Topgolf Dubai, Emirates Golf Club, opens January 3 from 4pm, normal times to resume from Monday onwards: Sun to Wed 11am to midnight, Thur 11am to 2am, Fri 9am to 2am, Sat 9am to midnight. Dhs130 to Dhs180 per hour from Sun to Wed, Dhs180 to Dhs220 per hour from Thur to Sat. topgolfdubai.ae
Images: Provided
