Race to Makkah - Golf x Umrah?

Golf and Umrah. Not two words you usually hear in the same sentence.

Golf and networking, sure. Golf and championships. Golf and country clubs. That is the company the sport usually keeps. So when we came across the "Race to Makkah", it took us a moment to work out what we were actually looking at.

So what is it? The Muslim Golf Association has launched a global tournament running across three nations - the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa - where Muslim golfers compete for a chance to play in KSA. The winner of each nation's tournament advances to a final, held not in Makkah, but in King Abdullah Economic City, a coastal development around two hours north of our beloved city.

So in truth, this is more of a Race to KAEC, with a stopover in Makkah. The Muslim Golf Association must have thought "Race to Makkah" has a better ring to it.

The trip is packaged with a visit to Makkah and Madinah before the golf gets under way, in what the Association calls a "fusion of spirit and sport".

It is, by any measure, a world first. The competing nations are expected to battle it out across their home courses throughout 2026, with the winners due to come together for the finale in January 2027.

And while golf has grown rapidly across the Kingdom in recent years, we would not bet on it becoming a common Makkah pastime any time soon.