“Golf and sex are about the only things you can enjoy without being good at,” claimed Jimmy Demaret, a fabled American pro golfer from the mid 20th Century.Years on, the Middle East is proving very good at golf, indeed.

The Jordan Open, the official national championship, was just held on November 14-15, attracting nearly 50 international golfers to Bisharat Golf Club in Amman.

Meanwhile, the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai is the climax of the European Tour Race to Dubai. Held on Jumeirah Golf Estates on November 20-24, it determines the Dubai Bonus Pool, which is shared by 15 top golfers, valued at $7,500,000 paid to the top 15 players – the winner gets $1.5 million!

Golf Today estimates there are 60 million “regular” golfers worldwide — defined as those who play at least one round per year. The group is comprised mostly of amateurs who play for recreation and exercise, and who support thousands of small clubs in most every nation.

So what is it this khaki-clad sport of 15th-century Scotland doing here in the Middle East?

It’s a costly game requiring expensive equipment and large areas of specially-prepared and high-maintenance grounds of emerald green fairways, grassy rough and sparkling water hazards — unnatural landscape for much of the Middle East, yet our region boasts some of the best golf facilities on the planet!

Several courses have adapted to the desert environment, forgoing expansive lawns in favor of sandy terrain and replacing manicured putting greens with “browns” made of oiled sand. Many have adapted to night-play, using floodlights to allow players to avoid punishing midday heat and humidity.

British and American oilmen and diplomats brought the sport to Arab countries but participation by locals was limited due to cultural unfamiliarity and brutal climate: consider the 1931 Noel Coward tune “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun”. A general policy of exclusivity wasn’t encouraging to the Arab elite or to caddies who inevitably excelled in the game (many of today’s top Arab players emerged from the caddy ranks). Two of the three winners of the 2014 Jordan Open were Egyptian caddies!

Oil companies operating between the Mediterranean and the Arabian Gulf were also instrumental in its spread. In 1953, Aramco and Tapline, and businesses operating in Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar formed the Middle East Oil Industry Golf Association to promote area development of golf through inter-company tournaments. It eventually disbanded, but not before introducing golf to many new Middle Eastern fans. Egypt was the wellspring of Middle East golf, in fact the Egyptian Open Championship was inaugurated in 1921.

Looking to expand your sporting horizons? Check out these courses in counter-intuitive locales. Here’s our regional guide to some of the most interesting golf in the Middle East.

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