The Red Sea resort of Somabay in Egypt is shaping up to be one of the most interesting golf stories of the next 18 months. The resort's golf operation has just landed a spot in Golf World's top 100 X Factor courses globally, is hosting three international tournaments this autumn, and will open a second 18-hole championship course, The Hidden Coves, in January 2027.
The autumn line-up is busy. From 25 to 27 September, the U.S. Kids' Golf International Team Championship brings junior golfers aged 12 to 18 to the resort. The annual Somabay Open follows on 8 to 10 October, and the Somabay Golf World Cup Tour, run with LeClub Golf, closes out the run from 11 to 16 October. More than 240 players from around the world are expected across the three events, all played on the resort's Gary Player-designed course.
That course is the one Golf World flagged, and it's long been the reason golfers detour to this stretch of Egyptian coast: desert mountains on one side, the Red Sea and its reefs on the other.
The bigger news for 2027 is The Hidden Coves, designed by Lobb & Partners. Rather than flattening the site, the routing follows the contours of reef-side coves, with holes revealing themselves as you move along the coastline. Designer Tim Lobb says the aim was something clearly distinct from the original course while keeping the playability international players expect. The landforms also act as a natural windbreak, so no heavy landscaping was needed.
Sustainability is baked into the design too, in line with Somabay's GEO International Sustainability Certification. Earth movement was kept to a minimum to preserve the terrain, and the turf is Pure Dynasty Paspalum, chosen because it needs little water and fertiliser — no small consideration on a desert coast.
For travellers, this makes Somabay a rare double: a beach resort with snorkelling and diving on some of the Red Sea's best reefs, plus two championship golf courses by early 2027. If you play, timing a trip around the October tournaments or booking shortly after The Hidden Coves opens in January 2027 would put you ahead of the curve — early months at a new course are often when tee times are easiest to come by. For non-golfing partners, Hurghada is nearby and the resort's water sports and diving tend to carry the rest of the itinerary.
Somabay Golf's year of tournaments and its second course mark a genuine step up for golf tourism on the Egyptian Red Sea. The original report appeared in Breaking Travel News.
