- The Viya App was named World’s Best Golf Booking App 2026 at the World Golf Awards.
- Yas Links Abu Dhabi was named Abu Dhabi’s Best Golf Course 2026.
- Park Hyatt Dubai was named United Arab Emirates’ Best Golf Hotel 2026.
Viya, the club operator behind some of the best-known courses in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, left the 2026 World Golf Awards with titles for its booking app and its flagship Abu Dhabi course. On the same night Abu Dhabi itself was named Middle East’s Best Golf Destination 2026.
The Viya App took World’s Best Golf Booking App 2026 and Yas Links Abu Dhabi was named Abu Dhabi’s Best Golf Course 2026. In Dubai, Park Hyatt Dubai was recognised as United Arab Emirates’ Best Golf Hotel 2026. The hotel sits within Dubai Creek Resort alongside Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, one of Viya’s clubs.
The titles were presented at the 13th World Golf Awards gala at Madinaty Golf Club in New Cairo on November 7, the first edition staged in Africa. Portugal’s Details won six honours at the same ceremony.
Abu Dhabi’s destination title
Viya runs three venues in the capital: Yas Links, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club and Yas Acres Golf & Country Club. Chief executive Christopher May said the company was “particularly pleased” to see the emirate named the region’s best golf destination.
“These awards recognise several elements of the experience we want golfers to enjoy, from booking a round through the Viya App to playing at Yas Links and staying at Park Hyatt Dubai,” May said.
Viya presents the app as the way for residents and international visitors to find and book rounds across its courses.
The Yas Links award arrived while the course was staging the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship from 5–8 November, the first of the DP World Tour Play-Offs. The second, the DP World Tour Championship on the Earth course at Viya’s Jumeirah Golf Estates, concludes today. Yas Links has also been home to the Tommy Fleetwood Academy since last November, giving Fleetwood’s programme a second Viya base after Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Demand across the clubs
The awards follow membership figures Viya released last month. Membership at Yas Links and Saadiyat Beach has grown by 30% in 2026, and Dubai Creek is up 25% on the same period in 2025. Jumeirah Golf Estates is at full membership with an active waitlist, while green fee revenue at Yas Acres has also risen.
The two Abu Dhabi championship venues joined the European Tour Destinations network last December, alongside Viya’s Dubai clubs. The move gave members across the portfolio preferred access to venues including Ryder Cup hosts Marco Simone and Le Golf National.
Related: Details Wins Six Honours at World Golf Awards in Cairo
Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.