International Golf Festival in Kuala Lumpur (22nd to 24th January 2010)
Top 100 travelled to Malaysia last week to escape the long British winter and to develop a better feel for Malaysian golf courses.
Top 100 – or Andy to be precise – travelled to Malaysia last week to escape the long British winter and to develop a better feel for Malaysian golf courses. Additionally Andy attended the inaugural International Golf Festival in Kuala Lumpur – the first of its kind in the country – with an objective to attract more golfers to Malaysia.
The three-day event was split between a retail trade show and tour operators/golf venues all doing their very best to sell their respective services. Naturally, Andy utilised the opportunity to extol the virtues of the global Top 100 Golf Courses website to literally hundreds of Festival attendees and exhibitors.
A one-day trade conference ran alongside the exhibition, covering golf tourism and real estate. Several overseas speakers took to the stage and Mark Siegel, owner of Golf Asian – specialists in golf holidays in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam – was a powerful voice, painting a compelling picture as to why Thailand is a must-visit destination… guaranteed winter sunshine with midsummer temperatures and more courses than the Algarve and the Costa del Sol put together. Who wouldn’t be tempted?
Paul Gibbons, director of MST Golf, the largest golf retailers in the country with over 30 retail outlets, presented an interesting topic: “Why Golf in Malaysia?” While David Spencer, the architect of Dubai's long-term partnership with the European Tour, which has resulted in the creation of the Race to Dubai and the season-ending tournament – the Dubai World Championship – discussed “How To Use Professional Golf to Enhance the Credibility of your Destination and Drive Golf Tourism”.
Andy was fortunate enough to be invited to play four courses located close to Kuala Lumpur city centre and he was rather impressed.
The Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (KLGCC) West course was one of his particular favourites and is currently ranked 12th in Malaysia. The 2010 Malaysian Open is being hosted at the KLGCC in March and promises to be a fabulous event.
The Mines Golf Club is currently our Malaysian No.1 and host venue to the World Cup of Golf back in 1999. The course will be back in the spotlight later this year when the USPGA Asia Pacific Golf Classic takes place here. There is plenty of water on the Mines back nine, which undoubtedly will create plenty of drama.
Andy’s tour continued with a lovely day at the Royal Selangor Golf Club, which is situated right in the heart of the Kuala Lumpur city. Royal Selangor has a long and rich history, established in 1893 with a strong British influence.
The club today is home to around 6,000 members including royalty, cabinet ministers and foreign diplomats. The clubhouse is a fine example of colonial architecture and the 2005 restoration project has given the building a noble facelift. The two courses at Royal Selangor are called the Old and the New.
The Top 100 plan is to feature more Asian courses on the Top 100 website and eventually create a unique collection of the Top 100 Golf Courses of Asia. It will be an exciting challenge.
We have entered into a partnership agreement with www.golfasian.com who are now our travel partners for Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. This partnership, which is similar to the relationship we have developed with www.golfbreaks.com, will enable us to bring you a wider, more global golfing holiday offering from two highly regarded industry leaders.
Click here to see our our featured Malaysian courses.
