Staff WriterIf you’ve ever wondered what happens when Tommy Fleetwood takes his eye for detail off the fairway and into a teaching bay, Abu Dhabi’s about to find out. The Englishman with the most envied hair in golf has planted his flag at Yas Links Abu Dhabi, unveiling the new Tommy Fleetwood Academy just as the DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship rolls into town. Talk about good timing—Fleetwood’s latest project has landed right in the thick of it.
Yas Links has already had a facelift worthy of a Tour winner’s smile, and now it’s fully operating under the Tommy Fleetwood Academy brand through a partnership with Viya Golf. The goal? To turn the UAE capital into a bona fide powerhouse of player development.
“The UAE has always felt like a second home for me and my family,” said Tommy Fleetwood, Professional Golfer and Founder of the Tommy Fleetwood Academy.
“We’ve built something truly special with the academy in Dubai, and it just keeps growing. To now be building in Abu Dhabi and giving something back to the region that has given us so much means a lot to us.”
Where Tech Meets Turf
Fleetwood’s philosophy is simple: golf’s hard enough without bad data and guesswork. Inside his new digs at Yas Links, players step into a cathedral of swing science—two simulator studios, a dedicated putting lab, and enough sensors and screens to make NASA blush.
There’s Trackman, Swing Catalyst, Sam PuttLab, and PLATFORM Golf, all humming in service of better golf and fewer excuses.
Karl Whitehead, Cluster Manager at Viya Golf, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome the Tommy Fleetwood Academy to Yas Links. Abu Dhabi continues to play a leading role in growing the game, and this partnership elevates that vision even further. TFA brings world-class expertise, technology, and inspiration to golfers across the capital.”
Fleetwood’s Fingerprints All Over It
Earlier this year, Yas Links completed a major upgrade, but relaunching under Fleetwood’s name has added something harder to install—credibility. When Tommy Fleetwood lends his reputation to a place, it’s because it meets his obsession with detail and his drive to get golfers, well, less bad.
Christopher May, Chief Executive Officer of Viya, said: “Viya is committed to offering the best golf and leisure experiences across the UAE. The Tommy Fleetwood Academy represents excellence, professionalism, and a passion for player development – values we share across our venues.
With the TFA now operating at both Yas Links and Jumeirah Golf Estates, we’re proud to offer golfers two of the finest coaching destinations in the region.”
Marc Arnold, Director of Instruction at Viya, added: “We’re proud to welcome the Tommy Fleetwood Golf Academy to Yas Links Abu Dhabi. This partnership reflects our commitment to world-class coaching and to growing the game across the UAE. Being associated with Tommy’s name and legacy is a privilege, and we’re excited about the impact this will have in further enhancing our programmes and inspiring more people to play.”
A Fairway to the Future
Golf in Abu Dhabi is already on the upswing—junior and women’s programmes are expanding, participation’s climbing, and the PGA pros are multiplying faster than you can say “preferred lies.”
The arrival of the Tommy Fleetwood Academy ties it all together, giving local players a chance to learn the game the way Fleetwood plays it—quietly confident, ruthlessly consistent, and with zero fear of a fairway bunker.
As the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship beams the city’s golfing credentials across the world this week, Fleetwood’s new academy shows what the next chapter looks like: inclusive, data-driven, and unapologetically ambitious.
And knowing Tommy Fleetwood, it’ll be as precise as his fade and twice as classy.
