The island of Bali in the Coral Triangle offers a beautiful landscape to those who visit, with its coral reefs, verdant mountains — and handful of creative golf courses. Though Bali might not be the first place that comes to mind when it comes to a golf vacation, the lovely courses available on the island are the perfect places for partaking in the sport while living in paradise.
A great place to begin is at the Nirwana Bali Golf Club, above North Kuta and on the sprawling tropical coast of the Indian Ocean. There you will be surrounded by crystal blue beach, flowering gardens and terraced Balinese rice paddies. The luxury course is designed by the legendary Australian golfer Greg Norman and features holes along the ocean, cliffs, and rice fields, with Par 3’s seventh hole looking over the Tanah Lot Temple, built on an offshore rock amidst the ocean. After a long day of golf, stay at the Nirwana Bali Resort and enjoy the window view of the ocean and temple.
Then head down into South Kuta’s peninsula to visit the Bali National Golf Club. Close to a recently opened international airport, BNGC was also redesigned and reconstructed by Nelson to International standards. From the courses you can see the Indian Ocean and towering Gunung Agung, a stratovolcano and highest point on the island of Bali. Golf amidst a tropical forest and coconut groves over a brilliant green fairway. Then afterwards, try a cocktail and relax in one of resort’s lounge facilities for an overall heavenly experience.
If that isn’t enough, on the Western end of the peninsula is the luxurious and coastal New Kuta Golf. Though still fairly new, this course hosted the Indonesian Open 2009. It was an excellent selection for the event, with its expansive ornamental horticulture and Kapok trees and challenging holes, such as “The Cliffhanger” above the roaring sounds of the Indian Ocean. New Kuta Golf was awarded “Indonesia’s Leading Golf Resort” in 2014 by Indonesia Travel and Tourism Awards, as well as the “Top-Three Asia’s Best Maintained Course in Asia Pacific” by Asian Pacific Golf Summit that same year.
The last notable Bali golf vacation destination is located far North in the central highlands of the island, in between Lake Buyan and Lake Beratan and built within an extinct volcano’s crater. In 1974, Handara Golf & Resort Bali was the first golf and country club resort in Bali. Unlike the other aforementioned golf courses, Handara has a cooler climate with breezy mountain air. Cottages and bungalows surround the course, where you can relax on a balcony and take in the beautiful views, such as the scenic crater lakes and surrounding rain forest. Golf Magazine even voted this course “One of the 50 Greatest Golf Courses in the World.”
The tropical island of Bali offers a wide range of golf destinations throughout a variety of settings: well-maintained greens amidst backdrops of mountains, ocean coastlines, rain forests, and rice paddies. When considering your next golf vacation, be sure to not forget Bali.
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