By Rahul Banerji
Ever thought of adding some excitement to your golf round? The crater of a volcano could then be a good option, as the Bali Handara Golf and Resort offers.
The volcano has been dormant for a while but still throws up the occasional landslide. Between the landscape, the rain, wind and fog, it adds up to a course that tests your skills even as it soothes with its beauty.
And how’s this for a catch-line: Play golf in a volcano. Where the only eruptions are your divots!! Cheesy, but what the heck.
On a visit to one of the party destinations of the world, I took some time out to air the clubs, and the first round was at Bali Handara Golf. Once rated by Golf Magazine as among the ‘top 50 greatest golf courses in the world’, Bali’s oldest course has seen better days.
Easy on the eye
That, however, takes nothing away from Bali Handara’s astonishing beauty. Also, it is just about two hours away from the airport at Denpasar and less than an hour from the tourist hot spot of Ubud.
Laid out at about 1,200 metres, the course is a welcome break from the hot and humid coast.
Temperatures at Handara range between mild and chilly, and the day we spent at the course was marked by near-constant rain and a cutting wind that made the change from the coast ever more evident.
Bali Handara is set against the steep and heavily forested cliffs of the volcano and flanked by Lake Beratan on one side and the twin lakes of Buyan and Tamblingan in the Singaraja area on the other.
Designed by Australians Peter Thompson and Michael Wolveridge, the championship course is marked by mature trees that line the fairways, plenty of local flora and greens that test your putting abilities to the fullest.
Outstanding holes
Standout holes include the par-5 first that doglegs left, the long third that goes 90 degrees the other way in a dogleg right with a creek running down the right and thick undergrowth on the left.
Says Golf Asian, “The creek along the right side of the fairway prevents cutting over the dogleg and the left side is well guarded by bushes.
“Driving accuracy is a must to par this hole. The second shot must carry across the water with a long iron to the green. Another par-4, the seventh plays 375 yards uphill and a dogleg left.
“The par-3 14th is the signature hole at 203 yards. Hitting to an uphill green with huge mountains in the background make you appreciate how special Handara really is.
“The finishing hole a 560-yard par-5 plays downhill on the drive and then uphill to the clubhouse for the second and third shots. Fairway bunkers come into play on the drive and once successfully past them you are set up for a good birdie opportunity.”
That is for better golfers than this writer, who hewed his way around in a three-figure card. The course has a driving range and three putting greens, a chipping area, and bunkers to hone your swing ahead of a round.
After all the golf, there is a pleasant bar that opens onto the outdoors, a restaurant with a small but satisfying menu, and ever-smiling staff, whether on the course or off it.
All in all, Bali Handara Golf & Country Club makes for a relaxed round of golf. Rarely have we had a quieter night’s rest than the one in the dormant volcano’s crater and its surrounding jungles. Even with the wind howling outside our door all night long!!
Also read: Shillong Golf Club’s slopes and streams will make you sweat
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Great, it will be my pleasure to spend few days playing golf in this course. Enjoying the natural beauty and challenging your own skill and not to forget few Bintangs after. Cheers!
Golf course on a volcano crater that too with so much beauty. Hats off to them who could dream of such a beautiful and challenging course on a terrain like this. I would be lucky if I get an opportunity to play on a course like this.
Thanks anyway for the information provided in your website.