Pearl South Pacific Fiji - Fiji

The course at the Pearl Championship GC&GC has a relatively flat parkland style setup, which is set among lush tropical rainforests and winding canals. While players can enjoy the scenery, they should be aware that the course is poorly maintained, especially with the condition of its fairways. The drainage system didn’t work well against the high rainfall in that area when I played, so the fairway grasses were needed to be kept very long. Apart from the conditions, there are some nice holes.

The par 5 577-yard 6th is long with a slight dogleg to the left. There are four cross bunkers located around the center of the fairway, which provides payers two routes, the left or right fairway. Off the second shot, there are also two additional bunkers to the left side to be aware of. Since the green slopes sharply from the back-right to the front-left, it’ll be smart to hit towards the right side of the pin on the approach shot. If the shot is shy of the green, a bunker in front will catch it.

Par 3 210-yard 8th is over a pond covered by lotuses. The green is slightly elevated and guarded by a bunker to the left side. The beautiful par 4 370-yard 16th is straight and downhill with a river running along the left side. The second shot is over the river onto a green surrounded by three bunkers. To read more about The Pearl Golf Course click here to visit my website.

I've had a few days to think about this one and I'm still not sure which way to go: Is this a course trading on past glories but actually pretty average these days, or is it a tropical course that is good value for money? Maybe because I played Natadola Bay the day before I couldn't appreciate this course enough, but it's just a little rough around edges. Some parts are a little overgrown and the greens appeared to have died off a little (and had been over sanded), but there were plenty of ground staff about - actually, there were more groundskeepers than other players on the course. On the positive side, the design was interesting and the holes though the jungle areas were peaceful and were interestingly different. The round cost FJD45 which is excellent value for 18 holes. The feature holes were the 6th par 5 along the jungle, the 8th a par 3 over a lake and the 16th which runs along the river.