Gemas Golf Resort

Main Entrance of the Clubhouse

INTRODUCTION

Gemas Golf Resort (GGR) is located slightly more than a kilometre across the train tracks south-west of Gemas train station.  Officially opened in 1996, it is an 18 hole golf resort bordering forest reserve and an oil palm plantation.  It was develop by Mitnas Sdn. Bhd.

In its three storey clubhouse, it houses 32 hotel rooms, meeting and function halls, a golfers' terrace, changing and shower, and administration.  Swimming and wading pools are found at the back of the clubhouse.  I did see a sign pointing to the driving range but I missed it during my game there.  The terrace was not open; it could be due to the fact that my visit coincided with the Muslim fasting month.

The Clubhouse

Clubhouse Interior

Swimming & Wading Pool

THE COURSE

Before I continue, GGR is the most hilly course I have ever played.  Both front and back nines have identical distance of 2852 meters from blue tees.

Hole 10 - View from tee.

The front nine is more hilly with water hazards being almost none existence.  Sand hazards meanwhile are in positions that rarely affect play with the exception of hole 9 where a bunker is situated between two trees to trap drives of  approximately 190 meters from tee.  Water and sand hazards become more prominent in the back nine of the course.  On Hole 16, a minimum carry of 200 meters from tee box is required to ensure that your ball does not get stuck in the banks of the lake.  I gave up after loosing two balls into it ..... a humbling experienced indeed.

Hole 16 - View from tee.  If you hear 'thud', your ball is
stuck into banks of the lake.

Getting around the course can be confusing as there was insufficient sign-ages pointing directions from greens to the next tee which can be quite far apart for most.  Epitomising this matter best is the route between the green of Hole 6 to the tee box of Hole 7.  A recently build bridge across the nearby train tracks cuts through between these two holes forcing golfers to go through the bordering oil palm plantation, it was quite an unnerving experienced for a city guy.

The Bridge between the green of Hole 6
and tee box of Hole 7

Go onto the path that can be found on the
left of the 6th green.

Get through the above gate and take the path on the left
which will bring you to tee box of Hole 7.

Besides the above matter, stakes indicating distance to green was no where to be found maybe except one on Hole 1 or 2.  Bald patches on fairways was a fairly common sight and a few greens can be bumpy.  Fairways grass are cow and greens from what I gather is bermuda.  However the biggest problem yet to be mention are wild boars.  These creatures burrow many tee boxes, fairways and worst of all aprons rendering green side short play almost impossible.

Burrowing marks on apron done by wild boars.

NOTABLE HOLES


A Welcoming Par 3 - Hole 8, SI 18, 163 meters.
After going through prior holes that were quite poor, affected by upgrading works on the nearby train tracks and/or with barrowing marks of wild boars, the view from tee towards green on this hole was refreshing.  Not a very difficult hole to play except be prepared to use a long iron or wood 5.

Hole 8 - View from tee towards green.

Longest Par 4 - Hole 14, SI 4, 432 meters.

Can't remember ever hitting a par 4 that is longer than this one in GGR.  To compensate its extremely long distance, the fairway is straight with little undulation.

Hole 14 - View from tee.

A Tiring Par 5 - Hole 7, SI 1, 440 meters.

A slight dog left it is a undulating and slopping left uphill to the green.  The green is located at the top of a steep gradient hill.  Make sure you are physically fit if you choose to walk this course, if earlier holes have not tire you, Hole 7 will.

Hole 7 - View from fairway towards green.

Hole 7 - View from fairway, final push towards the top.

Over Designed? - Hole 16, SI 2, 475 meters.

Needing at least a carry of 200 meters to get across the water hazard safely is ...... crazy!  OK, I am a bit sore and my ego dented.  Need to find ways to increase my driving distance.

RATES        

Please contact GGR to confirm rates and promotions.

HOW TO GET THERE


As mention earlier, the train tracks in Gemas Town is being upgraded.  This has cause some parts of the roads nearby to be closed or rerouted.  At the time of writing this review, relying 100% on GPS or the map from GGR website, will not get you there.

From Gemas Town, drive on Jalan Batu Anam towards Segamat.  Just outside the town boundary which is denoted by an semi circle arch, turn right on the first junction.  It will lead you onto a dirt road and get you across the train tracks.  At the junction ahead turn right and drive on the main road and it will lead you into Taman Gemas Indah.  Continue driving into the this housing estate until reaching the edge, turn right and drive straight and it will lead you to GGR.  Anyway once across the train tracks earlier, there are some sign-ages pointing the way to GGR, so you shouldn't get lost.

Their address:

Gemas Golf Resort,

Lot. 1160, 73400 Gemas,

Negeri Sembilan Darul Khusus,

Malaysia.

Tel: +6 07 - 9482687

Fax: +6 07 - 9482688

Website: www.gemasgolfresort.com

CONCLUSION

The clubhouse is quite impressive for a small town golf course resort but needs tweaking to make it more comparable to the ones in bigger towns like Melaka.  Its facilities are suitable for small groups be it overnight seminars or retreat.  

The hilly 18 hole golf course is challenging, interesting and has potential to be better.  However, a few pertinent issues need to be address and it must start by mitigating the affect of wild boars from the surrounding areas.

As a outstation golfer, I would not be playing in this course any time soon.  I would probably wait for the nearby train tracks upgrading works to be completed as it does affect the quality of the front nine and also keeping an ear for more positive feedback from other golfers in the future to indicate that the present issues have past.

Port Klang Golf Resort Review

Entrance to the Club

Introduction

Port Klang Golf Resort  (PKGR) is located in the south west end of Tanjung Harapan, Port Klang; facing the sea on the west and south and bordering factories and godowns on north, north east and east.  It is a 18 hole golf course with 12 chalets for rent.  The club house facilities are modest at best housing a cafe, administration office and changing rooms.

The Club House

There are tennis courts next to the clubhouse and a swimming pool less than 100 meters away, unfortunately both these facilities are not open for use at this moment.  Its driving range is situated in between the fairways of Hole 1 and 9.

The Driving Range Complex

The course was opened for play in 1991 and according to Mr. George Ngoh the Acting General Manager there, it was built by a company call Eastern Green.

The Course

The two nines have equal length of 3,196 m each. The front nine course rating is 72.3 while the back is 70.3.  Slope ratings are 126 and 123 respectively, higher than world's average of 113.  With the exception of a few, fairways are generally wide.  

According to the resort, grass on fairways is Bermuda while greens are turf with Serangoon.  However I did notice patches of different grasses on fairways and some greens have patches of sand on them.  

Patches of sand on some greens.

Two outstanding features of the course here are that the terrain is flat (the flattest I have played thus far) and that there are many ponds in it which I estimate to be not less than ten in total.  These features are probably due to the fact that PKGR was built on what was once a swamp land.  Hence the choice of Serangoon for greens is not surprising as this grass thrive in our tropical climate and even survive short period of flooding.

While water hazards are prominent they do not require long carry to get over them (you may have notice that I mentioned ponds and not lakes earlier, what they lack in size they compensate with quantity).  Besides ponds, another type of water hazard that exist here are monsoon drains that criss crosses into the course.  At 100 - 150 meters, the flat terrain makes water hazards that dissects into fairways not easily visible.  I sank one ball into a pond and saw another bounced up high as it hit the angle wall of a monsoon drain due to this factor.  

Hole 2 - View from fairway to green.  Did not realised that the pond
 'cove' into the fairway when I took the second shot towards the green.

Monsoon Drain in PGKR

This may sound clinched; sand hazards are sufficiently included into the fairways and sides of greens.  However they are inconsistent in terms of quality from one to another.  Some are okay but terribly raked others have pebbles to large stone in them.  Some bunkers do not have rakes but the ones that do, have DIY type as the picture below.

Rake - pleaselah!

Pebbles and Stone in Bunkers

Notable Holes
The Most Challenging - Hole 11
For me this par 4 hole is the most challenging despite having the second lowest stroke index (SI) of 2 as  Hole 8 has SI of 1.  The fairway is narrow sandwich by tall trees with wide overhanging branches.  Anything less than a perfect drive will cause your ball to be trap by the web of branches.

Hole 11 - View from tee 

Hidden Water Hazards - Hole 2 & 8

As mention earlier, one of my shots resulted my ball sinking into a pond and another bouncing off the monsoon drain wall.  They happened on these par 4 Hole 2 (SI 7) and 8 (SI 1) respectively due to PGKR's  (wait for it .......) flat terrain that hides these hazards from view until it is too late.

Hole 2 - View from tee.

Hole 8 - View from tee

Something Different to Finish - Hole 18
This par 4 SI 10 hole requires a golfer's swing  to carry the ball not only over water hazard but also over trees get it into the 'dog left' fairway.  To me, this hole offers the best view from tee box to green among the 18 holes here.

Hole 18 - View from tee.

Transportion of Choice

Have you heard or ride on a turfmate?  Well below is a picture of the one I rode on this course.  I just love it, feels like riding a jet ski on land minus the speed.  Be careful of potholes and drain trenches on fairways though, they can more than rattle your clubs when you go over them too fast.

Turfmate

Rates

Weekdays - RM87.80 for 18 and RM50.10 for 9 inclusive of turfmate and insurance.

Weekends and Holidays - RM140.00 for 18 and RM82.50 for 9 inclusive of turfmate and insurance.

However, please do contact the club to confirm rates and promotions.

How to Get There

As the resort is located near the busiest port in Malaysia, there are many routes that link to it.  As a picture says a thousand words and I have found a way to link maps to the blog, kindly refer below if you want to have a flight at the resort.

View Larger Map

Conclusion

Conditions of the resort do suggest that it is going through a rough patch.  George and his team have manage to get the basic infrastructure going which makes the course playable but for greater golfing experience some improvements are clearly needed.  Considering the cost of playing in other more well known courses further inland, at RM87.80 for 18 holes PKGR does offer good value.  If you are nearby and game for an easy fuss free round of golf with friends and/or family do try the course and enjoy the turfmate ride.  Once there, do finish the day with seafood dinner nearby which I hope to do soon with some of my golfing buddies.