Come to Bali and swing your clubs in paradise!

DENPASAR (indo.com): For those who don't know, golf is a game in which a player uses special clubs and attempts to sink a ball with as few strokes as possible into each of 9 or 18 successive holes on a course. Although this game is not so popular amongst Balinese, it doesn't mean that you cannot find international standard golf courses in this "morning world".

Bali has become a great place for golfers from around the world since the 1990's. Bali Golf and Country Club (BGCC) was named by Fortune magazine as one of the top five best courses in Asia in 1997. That course, together with Nirwana Golf and Country Club and the Bali Handara Kosaido championship courses, put Bali on the world-class golf course map.

BALI GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB
Located in the luxury tourist resorts of Nusa Dua, BGCC offers different types of tropical golf course design, providing golf enthusiasts with a world championship 18 hole golf course in a spectacular seaside setting. The 6,314 meter course has a par of 72. The Nelson/Wright-designed course ensures playability for all levels of players with multiple tees of a variety of distances. Expert course grooming and superb maintenance assures championship playing conditions every day.

Another treat at BGCC is the amazing variety of birds that nest around the course's ponds and lakes. The 17th and 18th holes run along the seashore and are dream-like in their perfection. And the 9th, 17th, 18th, and the 19th, (the Clubhouse), are favorites for beginners.

Want to take a rest after playing? Have a seat by the outdoor "Bale" bar and enjoy your beverage in fresh air. If you prefer to be indoors, just take a seat at the "Barong" restaurant on the lobby level of the Clubhouse where you can enjoy the Indian Ocean and green garden.



Club facilities include a driving range, two putting greens and a chipping practice green. Caddies and carts are required, and the cart cooler box is stocked with beverages. The locker rooms have showers and changing facilities. A pro shop, spa and a swimming pool complete the facilities.

NIRWANA GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB
Nirwana or nirvana is the name of the newest Golf course in Bali. It was designed by the famous golfer, Greg Norman. This course has 18 challenging holes that cover more than one hundred hectares along Bali's southwest coast with backdrops of volcanic mountains, Bali's Indian Ocean coast, and Tanah Lot temple, one of six holy temples in Bali.

Opened in 1997, most of the par 72 course wends it way through rice terraces lined with more than 3,000 palms interlaced with natural creeks. Three holes lie along the Indian Ocean with dramatic cliff drops to the sea. The breathtaking view from the 7th tee frames Tanah Lot temple in the distance The Nirwana par three 7th has to be one of the most wickedly designed holes in the world. And its Clubhouse is of a standard expected from a fine country club.

Nirwana special characteristic is that the course provides unparalleled level of service from its female team of caddies. Each is completely trained and fully informed of the course's hazards and each will easily adapt to the golfer's skill level. All manner of tasks are performed by these conical-hat wearing caddies, including marking and cleaning balls to wading into rice paddies for the odd stray ball.


BALI HANDARA KOSAIDO
Bali Handara Kosaido is the oldest golf course in Bali as well as Indonesia. This is the only golf course in Asia with its location set in extinct volcano. Nestled, 1,142 meters above sea level, northwest of Bali, at Bedugul, the Bali Handara Kosaido Country Club offers a par seventy-two, 6,432-yard eighteen hole championship course surrounded by lush tropical rain forest near vertical crater walls clad in vegetation.

The Handara is a deceptively difficult course. There are plenty of bunkers, lakes and other water hazards to get you into difficulty. But, of course, there's a cold drink waiting for you when you finish.

The greens and gardens are immaculate. Clouds are common in the afternoon, so the morning is the perfect time to start your game here. During the rainy season the course is much cooler than in dry.

The public course is designed by Peter Thompson, Michael Wolderidge & Association in an Australian and American collaboration with designers, agronomists, construction and irrigation engineering specialists.