Golf’s most dynamic new market

Our long-lasting relationship with Golf Saudi began in 2018, when 54 was commissioned to help develop the national strategy for golf in Saudi Arabia. At that time, it was a country with fewer than 10 grass golf courses. Today, Saudi Arabia is known as the world's fastest-emerging golf nations in terms of infrastructure and participation, and is soon to become established as a leading destination for golf tourism.

Our task was to model a prosperous domestic golf market in Saudi Arabia, whereby a circular economy and broad sustainable practice would underpin governance of the sport, creating participation, education and employment opportunities in golf. As such, golf was envisioned as a tool to enhance welfare among the people of Saudi Arabia.

This roadmap was to be created in adherence to the vision of golf becoming a self-sustaining industry, delivering benefit back to the national economy, but independent from central government funding.

Following early feasibility work, 54 and the Saudi Golf Federation set about developing a National Strategy for Golf, seeking to align existing stakeholders behind the national development programme. The strategy covered five crucial pillars to development of the game in the country: Mass Participation, Access & Infrastructure, Elite Development, Events and Tourism. Sustainability was added as a sixth pillar from the second year of the programme.  

A key foundation of the National Golf Strategy was the creation of Golf Saudi, the commercial arm of the Saudi Golf Federation. Under its jurisdiction, 54 conceptualised historic events, such as the Saudi International and Aramco Team Series, going on to deliver event management, marketing and commercial services on a regular basis at these groundbreaking occasions for sport in Saudi Arabia. The 2020 Aramco Saudi Ladies International was the first major professional female sporting event ever to take place in the country.  

Golf Saudi's advisory service was also established, within which 54 staff assisted the multi-billion-dollar GIGA projects lay-out blueprints and models for the development of their own golf ecosystems.  

And, as continues to this day, Golf Saudi's commitment to sustainability in the broadest sense of the word was underlined in partnership with 54, with the creation of the National Sustainability Strategy for Golf, a world-first, government-endorsed mandate that would establish social, economic and environmental parameters by which all golf developments in future would be governed. This culminated in Golf Saudi's acceptance into the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework and now sees a number of education and training programmes at all levels from primary to tertiary education in place on campuses around the country.