A dogleg to the left with a terraced rice paddy along the left. It was my first time to see a rice terrace in golf courses, so it was very impressive. When you hit there, it can be tough to play the ball, so you probably need to pay a one-stroke penalty and drop it nearby. The green is small with good undulations, which makes putting really interesting.

You can hit the green with a middle iron or so. The elevated green has sloped 2 tiers with 3 bunkers guarding the green, so this is a hole which tests your accuracy on the second shot.

This dogleg to the left was awarded 1st place by Asian Golf Monthly’s 2002 Best Par 5 in Asia excluding Japan. The second shot is gently downhill and the blue Indian Ocean is beautiful. It is easy and reachable in 2 but a bunker on front left of the green comes into play. To avoid the bunker you tend to hit to the right where another deep bunker awaits your shot, which makes it difficult to birdie. The ocean lies very close to the green, so you can hear the waves and enjoy the comfortable sea breeze as you putt.

The hole was awarded 2nd place by Asian Golf Monthly’s 2002 Best Par 3 in Asia (excluding Japan). This signature hole over the ocean is like a postcard. As you aim for the green, the famous temple of “Tanah Lot” is the backdrop, with water on the left and the front and bushes on the right. This hole is devilish enough to forgive your bad shots to the ocean or bush because the scenery is too good.

A dogleg to the right. The second shot is downhill and you probably will use a short iron to the green, which looks like an island, with water on the front and the left, a hazard on the right and OB on the back, so an accurate approach shot is needed.

The hole was awarded 3rd place by Asian Golf Monthly’s 2002 Best Par 4 in Asia (excluding Japan). This slightly uphill, a dogleg to the right is an easy hole but is blended perfectly with the great views of the Indian Ocean.

The hole was awarded 3rd place by Asian Golf Monthly’s 2002 Best Par 4 in Asia (excluding Japan). This slightly uphill, a dogleg to the right is an easy hole but is blended perfectly with the great views of the Indian Ocean.

The employees were kind. All caddies were female and well trained. In 2002, my family and I stayed 3 nights at Le Meridien Hotel which was awarded the best golfing resort in Asia. The hotel has an open-air outside restaurant with tables on stone steps, and you can enjoy watching TV or movies by a huge screen as wide as about 500 inches while you have a dinner at night under stars. I luckily watched a match for the 3rd place and the final of soccer 2002 World Cup at that time (Brazil won and Korea was third) and had a great experience.

The other Greg Norman designed courses in Asia are Laguna Bintan GC, River Side GC, Tering Bay G&CC in Indonesia, Thana City G&CC in Thailand, Shirasagi GC in Japan, Jade Palace in Korea and Kai Kou (Xiamen) GC, Mission Hills (觀瀾湖) GC – Norman Course in China.