Eat, Play, Love

Craig Morrison travels to Bali, the Island of the Gods, where golf has firmly taken root

NEW KUTA ****

Despite its claims of common ground with links golf (and it does have deep bunkers, rolling fairways and sloping greens), New Kuta is very much the clifftop course and all the better for it. In fact, it’s astonishingly good. It opened just three years ago and has picked up a slew of awards.

Out on 14, 15 and 16 – the most precarious of the holes – there’s nothing between the golfer and the cliff’s edge. Indian Ocean waves crash onto Dreamland Beach beneath you, the fairways vibrating such is their force. It is pretty elemental here: man against nature. Fear has ruined many scores at this stage of the round. The scenery has no doubt ruined scores too. The beaches and the ocean views are amongst the most spectacular to be had.

New Kuta is a tough test. The greens run fast and the aforementioned deep traps are not for the less than skilled bunker player. But being on holiday one should forget the score and live a little. The golf on offer here is exhilarating in the extreme.

New Kuta Golf
Yardage: 7,500 Par: 72
Designed by Golfplan
Contact: newkutagolf.com

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Written by Craig Morrison

Photography by Robin Moyer

Click here to see the published article.

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