Bintan Lagoon (Sea View)

There are two courses at Indonesia’s tropical Bintan Lagoon Resort, the Jack Nicklaus-designed Sea View course and Ian Baker-Finch’s Woodlands layout. A short ferry crossing from Singapore will bring you to an island that has become the country’s golf capital – even Bali struggles to match Bintan for quality.

The premier course on Bintan Island is undoubtedly Gary Player’s excellent Ocean course at the Ria Bintan Resort, but the Golden Bear’s Sea View course at Bintan Lagoon, which opened for play in 1996, is not a million miles behind.

Five tees make the Golden Bear’s Sea View course very playable for golfers of all handicaps. The tips should be treated with caution as they stretch the course out to a very challenging 6,443 metres. Factor in the cooling winds, which blow in from the South China Sea, and you can find yourself in a quandary over club selection, especially at the par three 12th, which plays directly towards the aquamarine sea. This is certainly one of Indonesia’s finest seaside holes.

The Sea View course is not only about the panoramic South China Sea views it’s also about strategy. The front nine plots its way through native, tropical jungle where Nicklaus has made good use of his trademark bunkering throughout the rolling topography. However, it’s all about South China Sea views on the back nine as the course tumbles towards the sea.