http://www.goingforgolf.com/favourite_courses/ Your Guide to Golf Travel en david@oxygensolutions.co.uk Copyright 2011 2011-11-28T13:48:46+00:00 http://www.goingforgolf.com/favourite_courses/article/luke_donalds_favourite_courses/ http://www.goingforgolf.com/favourite_courses/article/luke_donalds_favourite_courses/#When:13:48:46Z There has been some debate over whether or not it’s right to have a world number one with no Majors to his name. That may be relevant to the media and the fans but it won’t perturb the current incumbent, Luke Donald. It’s his consistency which has earned him his place at the top of the pile and few would begrudge him that status. Not least because he is a fan of shorter, classically designed golf courses. Although the 33-year-old Englishmen grew up playing at Hazlemere and Beaconsfield golf clubs, his favourite courses are not of this land. He now spends most of his time in the USA so it should come as little surprise that his first course of choice is Stateside; in Monterey, California, in fact. He explained: “Cypress Point is like playing three courses in one. It has the holes through the trees, the holes in the sand dunes and the picturesque ones running along by the ocean. It’s an amazing place. It has such a magical feel about it. It’s not a long course, either. It is so refreshing to play such a different style of course to the ones I compete on all year.  “It has been a while since I teed it up there. I usually play when I’m playing the AT&T or when the US Open is at Pebble Beach. Cypress is so special I would rather play it than Pebble Beach – and I like Pebble. It is obviously spectacular but on some of the holes by the water you hit good drives and the ball is way below your feet and you have to hit to greens that run away from you. Architecturally, it’s not the best design but it does have fabulous views. I just love Cypress.”   Donald’s second pick is something of a surprise. Known as ‘America’s snootiest golf course’ because of its exclusivity, National Golf Links of America is a links-style course in Southampton, New York, located on Long Island between Shinnecock Hills and Peconic Bay.  “It’s so enjoyable,” said Donald. “Long Island has such a bounty of really great courses. Designed by CB Macdonald (in 1909) it has a lot of replica holes from famous links courses in England and Scotland. It has a Hell Bunker from St Andrews and the Road Hole with the famous deep bunker to the left of the green, but without the hotel and road obviously. There’s the blind shot of the Alps from Prestwick; Sahara from Royal St George’s; one hole called Westward Ho!; and the Redan hole from North Berwick. You never get bored with the National.  “Part of the reason I love these courses is they are a relief from the relentless slog of tour golf. You get to make a lot of birdies and you are not hitting three and four-irons in every par four. That’s fun. I am not a bomber and grew up playing at Beaconsfield and Hazlemere, which are about 6,000-6,500 yards. You don’t get to do that anymore.”  Closer to home, Donald also has a penchant for the wonderful Ballybunion, in Ireland, and its two courses, the Cashen and the Old. “Just the dunes, and those greens, and the landscape, and the views along the coast. That’s what a links course is all about. And that’s Ballybunion,” he smiled, wistfully. “The last time I played there was a week before the Open last year just to get a little links tune-up. It’s the sort of place you can go to for a holiday with your mates and maybe drink a few Guinness, too. That’s what I did last year.  “All these courses are not very long. I enjoy playing courses that are not massively long and ‘out there’. I don’t want to have to be slogging away when I’m playing for fun. Slogging away is what I do every day for months and months on tour.  “I love playing courses that have short par threes, too. I think some of the world’s greatest par-threes are very short. Like the seventh at Pebble Beach, the 12th at Augusta National and the eighth at Royal Troon. I’m never a big fan of long par threes. There are not too many that are very memorable. The only one I can really think of is Cypress Point’s 16th.  “I love enjoyable old classic courses that are fun to play and offer different conditions and challenges every day.” 2011-11-28T13:48:46+00:00 http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/abu_dhabi/ http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/abu_dhabi/#When:12:25:27Z The Abu Dhabi Golf Club, the first grass layout in the emirate, opened in 1999. Designed by Peter Harradine, it is the current venue for the European Tour Abu Dhabi Championship in January. A magnificent cement falcon, its wings spread across the top of the clubhouse and its talons hooked into a giant golf ball in the entrance, makes a powerful statement of intent to hang on to this highly prized tournament in the face of probable challenges from Saadiyat and Yas.  The great bird looks out over 27 holes of lush manicured fairways, seven salt-water lakes and target greens – the same ingredients that underpin the 1980s and 90s courses in neighbouring Dubai. Clumps of palm trees and flowering shrubs add colour and local character to a tried and tested format. The Spike Bar, extensively revamped for the 2011 tournament, uses leather armchairs and period photos to create a retro ambiance, while a new restaurant, Casa Verde, provides the golfing stars with their favourite steak and sushi.  Those who find Saadiyat Beach insufficiently sandy should consider a tee time at Al Ghazal, Abu Dhabi’s first golf course – and its only sand layout. Not that this form of the game is to everyone’s taste. The sun seems to beat down more harshly than it does on grass and hitting off stones and grit or a square of artificial turf can produce cruelly random results.  The English-style clubhouse, with its deep leather Chesterfields and wing back chairs, is spacious and mercifully cool. Never has a 19th hole been so welcome – and rarely so welcoming – as this. Rest of World 2011-11-28T12:25:27+00:00 http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/saadiyat_beach/ http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/saadiyat_beach/#When:12:25:20Z The Saadiyat Beach course, designed by Gary Player, opened in February 2010 on a prime site down the road from these monuments to cultural domination. On the 25km drive from the city centre, I saw several roadside advertisements proudly announcing seven hectares of sand. By the time I reached the second hole, I felt I’d seen most of it, but I was wrong. Seven hectares is a hell of a lot of sand. On several holes, it occupies half the fairway, ready to trap even a slightly errant tee shot; on others, it blocks easy access to the greens, creating pressure on the approach. The fifth hole, a long sweep down to the sea, and the sixth, which runs along the beach, are particularly striking. With difficulty, I resisted the temptation to join the dolphins frolicking in the waves, surely a legitimate addition to a game plan already torpedoed by bunker hell. I wasn’t lucky enough to spot one of Saadiyat Beach’s most famous residents, the endangered Hawksbill turtle. In an ecologically sensitive area, protecting it has resulted in a new generation of buggies with artificial intelligence. Drive too close to the rough and the GPS prevents further movement until you’ve reversed out of the protected habitat. Exceed the speed limit and it issues reprimands while cutting back to 2km an hour until you’ve served your sentence. As I saw no other golfers during my round, I can’t say how much this might affect slow play.  On the back nine, lagoons conspire with great swathes of sand to create islands of grass, where it is safe – though not always possible – to land your ball. The focus of the handsome clubhouse, another Gehry original, is the Hawksbill restaurant, informal, international and open from 6am, the best time to play golf for much of the year in these parts.  Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, managed by Arizona-based Troon Golf, is part of a work in progress, a massive real-estate development with imposing properties in varying stages of completion overlooking the fairways. The centrepiece is the St Regis Hotel due to open in November. Rest of World 2011-11-28T12:25:20+00:00 http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/yas_links/ http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/yas_links/#When:12:25:11Z A month after Saadiyat came on stream it was joined by a second newcomer, Yas Links, further out of town near the newly unveiled F1 circuit on Yas Island. Billed as the first links course in the Middle East, it was designed by California’s Kyle Phillips, venerated in the UK for Kingsbarns. On land that was desert scrub four short years ago, he has conjured up the subtly contoured fairways of a historic Scottish links. All grass courses in the United Arab Emirates devour water, often to the point of inhibiting roll, but the Yas fairways are rewardingly hard and fast. Or unrewardingly when balls head purposefully into designer rough, made long and hairy by mixing nine varieties of grass seed. Bunkers that are strategic, rather than invasive, use silica from Germany mixed with the omnipresent local product, while huge sloping greens test the steeliest nerves. Ferrari World, the scarlet petrol-head’s theme park, with its black prancing horse logo, stands between the links and the whale-shaped Yas Hotel in the centre of the motor racing track, but there are no buildings overlooking the course. After the heat of battle on the links, the airy hacienda-style clubhouse with its tinkling fountains is an essential refuge. And Hickory’s all-day restaurant buys into the British dream by serving bacon and eggs, fish and chips, sausage and mash or cottage pie. Rest of World 2011-11-28T12:25:11+00:00 http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/cornelia1/ http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/cornelia1/#When:10:15:51Z   The showcase of another of Belek’s leading resorts is the splendid Nick Faldo design at Cornelia, which opened in November 2006 and bears all the hallmarks of the class and attention to detail that characterised the six-time Major champion’s play when he was in his pomp. Cornelia consists of three nine-hole loops named, charmingly, Tiberius, Sempronia and Gaius. The three nines in turn blend to create three different 18-hole combinations named, equally charmingly, Prince, Queen and King. The holes are built on either side of a spine-like ridge of sand dunes and thread their way through a colony of umbrella pines. Typically for a Faldo design, among the challenges to be negotiated are several doglegs that place more emphasis on tactical acumen than brute force. Factor in elevated tees, tight driving holes, numerous beautiful but treacherous lakes, along with par-fives that are genuine three-shotters, and it’s obvious that patience, as well as skill, is required to construct a decent score here. Visitors should be particularly wary of the second hole on Tiberius, a fantastic par-five that double-doglegs its way through a tight, pine-clad vista, and the fiendish eighth on Sempronia which presents a tee shot with water all the way down the left and only a small landing area on the right corner of the fairway.  The seventh and eighth on Tiberius are excellent short dogleg par-fours: the former offers a tantalising glimpse of the green for those who like to take risks with the driver while the latter presents the distinct threat of a watery grave down the left side.    Turkey 2011-11-28T10:15:51+00:00 http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/montgomerie_maxx_royal/ http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/montgomerie_maxx_royal/#When:10:15:26Z The latest addition to Belek’s dazzling array is the Maxx Royal Golf & Spa Hotel which opened in May. Recently, the owners acquired one of the leading courses in the region, The Montgomerie, from the Papillon group and so were able to hit the ground running as a golf resort. Now one of the game’s elder statesmen, eight times European number one and last year’s victorious Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie is gradually shifting his focus towards course design. And, on the evidence of his efforts so far, he could ultimately make as much of a mark as an architect as he has as a player.  The 18 holes he laid out across 250 acres of prime land in conjunction with European Golf Design in 2008 is now well established as one of Belek’s most popular courses and continues to attract rave reviews. It is certainly exciting to play, both visually and as a thought-provoking test of a player’s course-management skills. The Montgomerie was carefully shaped to blend naturally with both its indigenous trees and age-old sandy ridges, features that contribute greatly to the variety of strategic options presented from every tee and conspire to create a challenge that is easy on the eye if not always easy on one’s golf game. The pace of play on the par-72 layout is refreshingly brisk, thanks largely to a shortage of places where balls are likely to be lost – though some visitors initially felt he might have overdone the waste areas.  Turkey 2011-11-28T10:15:26+00:00 http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/antalya/ http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/antalya/#When:10:15:25Z The PGA Sultan, which opened in September 2003, is a fair but stern challenge. It is also highly rated as a tournament venue and next year will host the Eisenhower Trophy, arguably the most prestigious team event in men’s amateur golf. Rolling fairways, a dozen water hazards and nearly 100 sand traps, including numerous pot bunkers, give the PGA Sultan the best of both worlds when comparison is made with traditional links and modern, American-style courses. Whereas the fairways of its sister course, the Pasha, are generally wide and its undulating Bermuda greens larger than average, targets at the PGA Sultan are much smaller. Right from the start, it’s a handful. An expanse of water sits in front of the first tee and also runs most of the way down the left side of the fairway. It used to be said a par-five start was a gentle way into a round – not so here! It does ease up in places, but golfers can’t lose concentration at any stage because of constantly lurking water hazards and the frequency with which apparently good shots end up in sand. Undoubtedly, PGA Sultan is suited to better or more experienced golfers, and the club sensibly insists on seeing handicap certificates before allowing visitors loose.  Unusually, it has two signature holes – most courses have only one. The left-to-right dogleg 16th is a complicated and dangerous par-five with water meandering down the right of an ever-narrowing fairway before cutting left sharply across the front of the green. Then comes the par-four 18th with a long carry off the back tee over water to a tight fairway, followed by a medium-to-long-iron approach, with water both left and right, to an undulating home green. A hotel on the ‘highly recommended’ list, though without a specific attachment to any of the golf courses, is the Ela Quality Resort. Opened at a beachside location in 2007, Ela was named last year “among the 99 best hotels of the world” by HolidayCheck, the online exchange platform where travellers record their impressions. Nothing at Ela has been left to chance. Every detail, from the logo and architecture, reminiscent of Ottoman palaces, to the gastronomy and entertainment, has been carefully planned and brought to fruition. The 583 guest rooms at Ela are elegantly furnished and offer either sea or lake views. Family duplex and lake house garden rooms are located away from the main hotel in small two-storey buildings. Guest rooms have been finished in neutral tones, accentuated with splashes of vibrant colour and dark-wood furnishings to create a relaxing ambience. There is also superior dining on offer along with a stunning spa area, indoor pool and outdoor pool swim-up bar.  Even though a reservation fee is payable for all the à la carte restaurants, and a supplement is payable for the Japanese restaurant, the culinary journey throughout the Ela has met with the approval of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, the famed international gastronomic society. Turkey 2011-11-28T10:15:25+00:00 http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/gloria1/ http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/gloria1/#When:10:15:15Z At the opposite end of the age spectrum – a phrase that is strictly relative given that Belek only came into being as a golf resort 17 years ago – is the Old Course at Gloria. Designed by the French architect Michel Gayon, Gloria quickly established its credentials as a very entertaining though searching test of skill when it hosted the Turkish Open on the European Seniors’ Tour in 1998 – less than a year after its official opening. Carved out of a largely coniferous forest, Gloria Old wends its way through vistas flanked by innumerable pine trees and round seven extensive lakes. It requires both length and accuracy from the back (white) tees, but most visitors are presented with a more lenient challenge from the yellow, blue or red tees. What you see is what you get on the Old Course – there are no hidden tricks or pitfalls. The line of attack on most shots is clear, but on many of the holes the view is spectacular and the task occasionally daunting, especially on the par-threes – the greens at the fourth, eighth and 13th are all surrounded by water. Other holes to look out for are the par-five seventh, which is protected all the way down the left by a lake, and the par-four 14th, which is threatened by a similarly elongated watery grave to the right.  The New course, another Gayon design that opened nearly six years ago, is a heavily-bunkered parkland layout. Visually attractive and challenging to play, it has an undulating, tree-lined setting, is shaped by four large lakes and has 67 bunkers – four more than the Old. Gayon has taken full advantage of this varied terrain to create a fascinating test. Like the Old, it has five par-fives and five par-threes – unusual for a modern design. The short holes all take the breath away, especially the third, where the green is protected by an ornate rockery, and the 17th which is surrounded by water. None of the par-fives are overly long and they all provide obvious birdie chances although, by the same token, with so much water in play they are also glaring double-bogey possibilities. In addition to its two 18-hole offerings, Gloria has the nine-hole Verde course which opened in 2001 and is popular with visiting executives and conference delegates who can’t spare the time for a full round. The Verde, designed along similar lines to the original 18 holes, can provide a perfectly respectable 18-hole challenge of its own (as each hole has two sets of tees) or it can combine effectively with either of the Old Course’s other nines.  The fairways trail through the pines and there is one substantial water hazard which comes into play, most prominently on the par-four third, where the approach shot necessitates a 100-yard carry, and the short fourth which has little terra firma between tee and green. Turkey 2011-11-28T10:15:15+00:00 http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/lykia_links1/ http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/lykia_links1/#When:10:14:59Z Lykia Links, which opened in 2008, is actually half an hour’s drive from Belek (despite being only a few miles away as the crow flies), and is therefore set apart from the region’s other golf resorts. As with most links, the wind can make a huge difference to how this beguiling course plays. But even if conditions are still, the four holes running between the dunes and the sea – 13 to 16 – are guaranteed to take the breath away. So, too, will the long par-three 17th, with its small, shallow green that is especially elusive in a crosswind, and the 18th, which finishes, stadium-style, with a huge waste area on the right, mounds on the left and a turtle-back green that must be approached with extreme caution.  Blessed with slick greens and fast-running fairways, thanks to its mixture of paspalum and other sea-shore grasses, and often requiring Scottish-style pitch-and-run approaches, Lykia Links is clearly aimed at accomplished golfers. And the quilted fairways, pot bunkers and ship’s-hull sleepers propping up many of the fairway traps are intentionally reminiscent of historic links like Royal West Norfolk (Brancaster) or Royal North Devon (Westward Ho!). Lykia Links offers five teeing areas on each hole – thus providing enjoyment for golfers of all standards. Without exception every hole offers a spectacular view, either of the Mediterranean or the snow-capped Taurus Mountains inland. And while the sun can be a little overpowering on some of the inland courses in south-west Turkey, the cooling sea breezes at Lykia Links generally ensure a refreshing release from the heat.   Turkey 2011-11-28T10:14:59+00:00 http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/freslonniere1/ http://www.goingforgolf.com/courses_and_resorts/listing/freslonniere1/#When:09:32:47Z Golf de la Freslonniere, near Rennes, is known for its smooth, slick putting surfaces. And it’s another cracker, opened in 1989, where the architect Alain du Bouexic made maximum use of the area’s considerable natural assets. Many players come in May, to see the rhododendrons in full bloom, or alternatively in September and October, when the trees are at their spectacular autumnal best. In truth, though, this is a year-round, very verdant course, built around a splendid chateau, occupied by the same family since the 13th century. But there’s more to Freslonniere than arboreal splendour: water is an ever-present feature, with ornamental lakes and even the occasional fountain. Measuring slightly less than 6,200 yards, although still a challenging par 72, it’s what’s known as a technical course, designed with the thinking golfer very much in mind. It dates back to the 1980s, but feels more mature. It’s delightful, yet deceptive, and the sort of golf course where the sights, scents and – general lack of – sounds more than make up for any disappointment you may otherwise feel if you’re having a bit of an off day.   France 2011-11-28T09:32:47+00:00