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Golf
in Bali
 Bali, the 'Island of Gods, is fast developing a reputation as a popular golfing
destination and it certainly offers an experience that you won't find in too many
other places around the world. The Bali Handara Kosaido Country Club, one of four
golf courses in Bali, is located in a volcanic crater. Yes, a volcanic crater!
And, sitting as it does more than 1000 metres above sea level, the Bali Handara
Kosaido Country Club is, quite simply, blessed with the perfect climate for a
round of golf on this beautiful tropical island.
The course is one of the
most challenging in all of Asia, the 18-hole layout on the scenic shores of Lake
Buyan being surrounded by lush tropical rain forest and from the course you get
stunning views created by volcanic cones and a deep crater lake.
There's
also something to remind Scottish visitors of the 'Home of Golf' as a bunker on
the 15th, a 500-yard par 5, is designed to be like the 'Principal's Nose' on the
Old Course at St Andrews. If you're a Greg Norman fan, then you'll certainly want
to visit Bali on a golfing break as the 'Great White Shark' designed the Nirwana
Golf Club. Norman has come up with a course which is one of the most visually
spectacular in Asia, the Australian having incorporated rice terracing and creeks
to create a golfing gem.
 Three
holes are played by the cliffs overlooking the Indian Ocean and the twelfth hole,
which overlooks Tanah Lot temple, is expected to become one of the most photographed
holes in the world. Another cracker is the Bali Golf & Country Club, which hosted
the Alfred Dunhill Masters in 1994 - just three years after it opened - and has
been ranked among the top five courses in Asia. Visitors here will experience
three distinct playing environments due to the fantastic setting of the course.
Holes one through to nine play inland and uphill through dense tropical vegetation
and provide magnificent views of Nusa Dua below, the Indian Ocean and, on a clear
day, a view of the distant mountains.
Then you play through an area of
tall coconut palms before heading towards the beach and back again, with the wind
sometimes a major factor when playing the closing two holes. The course, which
was designed by Robin Nelson and Rodney Wright, features creeks and canyons and
offers visitors a truly unique golfing experience. Also on the south-east coast
is the nine-hole course at the Grand Bali Beach Hotel in Sanur. This is a mostly
flat course with trees as the main hazards. Bali is rich in custom and is graceful,
charming and peaceful in its surroundings. With sloping rice fields, romantic
sunsets, colourful and lovable people on one hand and vast, dramatic views with
wide open spaces on the other, it is an ideal holiday destination.
Find
out for yourself why it's known as the 'Island of Gods' . . . and take your golf
clubs with you! |
Welsh Golf Courses 
