Golf Escapes 2009 - (Page 76) Malaysia Langkawi’s Cenang Beach. touriSm maLaySia Genting Highlands The Awana Genting Highlands Golf & Country Club, 3,100 feet up in the central Genting Highlands, offers golfers an escape from the heat and humidity of lower courses, allowing them to play in cool, crisp air amidst clouds. Shangri-La hoteLS and reSortS Penang Golf Resort is a 36-hole golf facility with its two courses both by Graham Marsh. Another 36-hole complex is Bukit Jawi Golf Resort, also formerly an oil palm plantation. Today the oil palms add visual interest to the courses as well as providing hazards for golfers to avoid. Away from the coast, Ipoh’s golf courses include the spectacular 27-hole Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Resort. Covering 100 acres of a former tin mine in the Kintra Valley and with 350 acres of lakes rich in birdlife, the course has been voted Malaysia’s number one course and the second most scenic course. The nearby Royal Perak is one of Malaysia’s oldest courses, while the 27-hole Meru Valley Golf & Country Club is just 10 minutes from Ipoh City but nestles in the rolling foothills of a forest preserve. South of Ipoh, the Damai Laut course by Ronald Fream is right on the coast, facing the Straits of Malacca with some holes right by the lapping sea. Dalit Bay golf course, in Sabah, is laced with lakes and sandwiched between two rivers and the South China Sea. Sarawak’s Hornbill Golf & Country Club is 3,000 feet high. One of the prettiest of all Malaysia’s courses, the Ronald Fream layout cuts through ancient forest and features dramatic holes including the par-3 4th and the par-4 finishing hole. The course has a three-tiered driving range. The Bukit Tinggi Golf & Country Club is only slightly lower, at 2,500 feet. East Coast Known more for its stunning beaches, crystalclear South China Sea waters and uninhabited islands, the East has several courses. They include the Ibai Golf & Country Club, with a 7,150-yard course which winds around a river close to Kuala Terengganu. The Awana Kijal course is set right on the coast, sandwiched by the sea and jungle. The signature par-3 14th is right on the beach and has a bunker which becomes a water hazard when the tide is in. The south touriSm maLaySia The southern part of Malaysia is off the usual tourist circuit, but there is golf near the cities of Malacca and Johor. A’Famosa Golf Resort has 27 holes by Ross Watson, the Crocs nine living up to its name at the par-4 7th where a pit just 76 Golf ESCAPES 2009
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.