Carey Island Golf Club

An antique steam engine greets golfers at the club grounds.

INTRODUCTION

Carey Island?!  If you are not a native of Selangor, you would probably be surprise like me when I first heard of the place.  Fortunately (or not for some), the nationalistic fervour of the 1960' and 1970' did not erase the name of Valentine Carey from the map of Malaysia unlike some of his more famous countrymen like Sir Frank Swettenham (Port Swettenham to Port Klang) and Sir Charles Jessel (Jesselton to Kota Kinabalu).  This island is unique in that you would not know it is one due to its close proximity to the mainland; separated only by Sungai Langat.  I would not know its existence if not for Carey Island Golf Club, which to any avid golfer, its jewel.

Open for play in1930, this golf club must be among the oldest still in operation in this country.  It must have been built for the recreational use of the then Golden Hope Rubber Estate's management and staffs.  Over time rubber trees were replaced with oil palms and in 2007 Golden Hope merged with Guthrie and Sime Darby to create the world's biggest palm oil company under the banner of Sime Darby.  The purpose of the club thankfully remains the same today and is open to public when it is not in used by Sime Darby for its functions.

The Clubhouse

The clubhouse  and buildings nearby are of  British colonial era.  The first nine surrounds these buildings and from afar, the grounds look well kept and well landscape with tall matured trees, creating a stunning English countryside feel to the place.  I was half expecting a British planter in khaki pants, pith helmet and a walking stick to pass by as I drove towards the clubhouse.

View of Clubhouse from 1st Green.

View from varandah of Clubhouse looking out.

Facilities available at the clubhouse are swimming pools, games room, terrace (with limited menu) and changing / shower / toilet areas with tennis courts just adjacent.  The clubhouse is the size of a large bungalow built in 1920's with a touch of modern amenities.  Unfortunately the swimming pools, games room and tennis courts are reserve for the use of Sime Darby's management and staffs only.


THE COURSES


Carey Island Golf Club (CIGC) has two courses of nine holes.  They both are par 36 with the front nine called  Plantations Heritage at 2760 meters from blue tees and the back nine or Tropical Links longer at 3175 meters.  While the club has been in existence over eighty years, Tropical Links course was only opened for play sometime in the first decade of the 21st century.


Carey Island was formerly a swamp land 2 meters below sea level; dykes were built to keep sea water out.  Because of its topography, fairways are generally quite flat with greens mounted slightly higher.  Sand hazards are sufficiently place especially those protecting greens; unfortunately some bunkers have grass growing in them.  Water hazards meanwhile consist of little ponds and monsoon drains with exception of one between hole 14 and 15 which is quite scenic.  Overall water hazards have little affect on play but locating some of them on flat ground can be tricky.  Grass on fairways is cow with greens having Serangoon and/or Paspalum.  Buggy is only available for the back nine.


Plantation Heritage Course and the buildings it surrounds have aged gracefully with matured trees and beautiful landscaping.  It would seem that its designers wanted to minimise the space used as the nine holes seem to be cramp near to each other.  This cramp situation is especially noticeable for the first four holes where in order to increase distance dykes have been used as tee box, roads become hazards and  fairways almost criss crosses each other.  Further on this point, the shortest par 4 that I have ever played until now is in this course, which is Hole 4 at 239 meters.

Tee Box 2 on top of a dyke.  Also in the picture fringe of the 1st green and road further ahead.

The contrast between the two nines are almost like night and day.  Tropical Links Course is spacious with  hardly any trees for shade.  Also, this course is long with two par 4s over 400 meters in length  which I have never encountered until now (Hole 11 - 410 meters and Hole 15 - 421).  Nearest trees are those at the fringe of the plantation or nearby forest which hardly affect play.  What it lacks in shot changing trees, this course has tall grasses and ferns at the side of fairways.  For safety reasons do avoid searching your ball in them unless your club is a magic wand and your name is Harry.  While the front nine has an English feel, the back nine due to its large open space has a whiff of a certain golf club in Scotland ....... . Overall the front nine looks better and more well kept than the back nine.

View from tee boox to fairway - Hole 17, large open space with tall rough.

Bridge over a drain - fairway of Hole 18.  Look familiar?

NOTABLE HOLES


The Most Scenic - Hole 1
August 5 this year, Natalie Gulbis tee off at this hole as part of the tour to promote Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia 2011.  She later planted a tree to commemorate the event witness by many of the conglomerate's 'big wigs'.  Being the 'first impression' for the club and more importantly a promotional tool for Sime Darby, this hole gets extra attention from the ground staffs.  Located at the front of the clubhouse, this par 3, SI 18, 153 meters hole has a well landscape garden with water features in the middle of the fairway.

View from tee box towards green - Hole 1.  Note the garden with water features ahead.

Tree planted by Natalie Gulbis .... well the plaque at least.

Triple Dog Leg - Hole 5
This is a par 5, SI 2, 480 meters hole.  The fairway dog leg to the right, then to the left and finally to the right again before reaching the green.  Reaching the green in three strokes is unlikely for most average players.  This hole is the first and only triple dog leg I have encountered thus far.

View from tee box - Hole 5.  Note the dog leg right.

View from fairway towards green - Hole 5.  After  a dog leg left,
the fairway dog leg right again.

Short but Challenging - Hole 9

Hole 9 - View from fairway towards fairway.

The first thought that came into my mind was how am I supposed tee off for this 287 meters, par 4 SI 6 hole.  From tee box, the fairway look extremely narrow.  The course is dissected into three sections with a monsoon drain about 160 - 175 meter from tee box and a road another 40 - 50 meters ahead.  Confident to carry 180 meters straight?  If not lay up with a seven iron.

The Longest Par 4 - Hole 15
At 421 meters with SI of 3, this is the longest par 4 I have ever played thus far.  Besides being long, other memorable features of this hole are that it starts to severely dog leg left at about 250 meters from tee and bunkers are littered aplenty on left of fairway (I stop counting after ten).

GETTING THERE

Exit Lebuhraya Kesas into Jalan Kelang - Banting.  Drive towards Banting, you will see Teluk Panglima Garang Free Trade Zone along the way.  Continue driving towards Banting and in about 2.5 km you will come to a roundabout.  Take second exit from the roundabout and in 1.3 km turn right at the cross junction which leads to the bridge linking Carey Island.  Approximately 5 km after the bridge turn right into the junction.  Get down and register at the police post, drive into the plantation following its main road and in about 12 km you will get into the club grounds after the a palm oil mill.

Get down and register.
 Note: This is one of a few police post on the island.

Below is the address of the club, however I think it would be of little help.  If want to contact the club which is private, do drop a comment and contact.  Will try to get back to you with their permission, the club's number listed in Golf Malaysia Magazine is no longer in use.

Carey Island Golf Club

West Estate

Selangor 42960

View Carey Island Golf Club in a larger map

CONCLUSION

  

Carey Island Golf Club have courses that touches different extremities.  One seem short and compress and the other long and wide.  One old and has matured gracefully and the other new, raw with potential to be moulded into a good if not a great course. With Sime Darby's financial muscle, I do believe it is a matter of time. One club with two different experiences for golfers.  Even though the front nine as mentioned earlier is better, both courses are playable for an average player.  One club with two experiences for an avid golfer, a gem really.


However do note that there times to avoid the club.  A flip side of dykes is that they also keep water in, drainage is poor and grounds can be soggy after a heavy rain.  Apparently minor flooding do occur from time to time. 

If you have time after a game, do visit the Mah Meri village.  The Mah Meris are the aborigines of the island and they are famous for their wood carvings.  Finish your day by having dinner in one of the few restaurants as you drive out of the island after the bridge.

Some final words, bring your own bath towel as the club does not provide them to golfers.  Also note that the scorecard provided has mistakes in them especially about the back nine.


 

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.

Ayer Keroh Country Club Review

Entrance to the club grounds.

INTRODUCTION
Air Keroh Country Club (AKCC), in operation since 1964 is the oldest of 4 operating golf clubs in Melaka.  It was designed by a team led by former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, the late Tun Dr. Ghaffar Baba who was then, Melaka's Chief Minister.  Initially it had two nines named Tunku's and Ghaffar's with the third called Governor's which opened for play in the mid 1990s.

A portrait of the late Tun Dr. Ghaffar Baba,
 displayed in the clubhouse. 

They have a saying in this club, "A ball lost IS indeed a ball lost".  This is due to the fact that AKCC was landscape out of virgin jungle that surrounds Lake Ayer Keroh.  Much of the natural flora was left untouched, bordering fairways and greens.  With flora comes fauna and AKCC has lots of them; from the flying type to climbing, on four paws, slithering and swimming.  Yours truly has seen a family of wild boars crossing a fairway in one of his outings there.  Many fairways have their burrowing marks; but remember, we are the trespassers.

Enter at your own peril - jungle of AKCC.

The clubhouse houses a cafe and bar, swimming pool, pro shop, admin. area, billiards, conference and function rooms besides baths and changing facilities.  Slightly further from the clubhouse is the Golf Centre where golfers drop their bags, register, rent buggies and acquaint their caddies.  At the front left and downhill of the clubhouse is the driving range complex.  It also houses squash courts and gym.  Tennis courts are adjacent to this complex.

 The Clubhouse

Golf Centre 

Driving Range Complex

While some of the facilities are spartan and a bit run down, they do bring out an old charm of the 70s era ..... minus the bell bottoms pants and platform soles.  However, if playing a round of golf is your objective, the club and its staffs will more than comply.  Also, AKCC is the only walking course in Melaka albeit one nine on weekdays and before 8.30 am and after 4.30 pm on weekends; meeting the cardio and budgetary needs of many local golfers.


THE COURSES
As mention, AKCC has three courses called Tunku's (Hole 10 - 18), Ghaffar's (Hole 19 - 27) and Governor's (Hole 1 - 9). The lenght of the courses are 3258 m, 3246 m and 3172 m respectively.


As these course are carved out of a virgin jungle, it would seem that the designers have also incorporated much of the natural terrain into their design.  Courses are hilly with slopes that not only going up and down as one travels on the fairway but also towards left or right.  Lake Air Keroh and its tributaries are also cleverly incorporated to be water hazards as any normal course must have.


One of its prominent feature of the courses are the narrow fairways.  My theory is that the designers wanted to minimise the negative impact on the flora and fauna of the area; if this is true they must be the early pioneers of the 'green' movement in Malaysia.  Trees play a big part in most courses in this region but in AKCC it is a HUGH part.  Besides narrowing and contouring, some were left on fairways to intercept balls of otherwise perfect driven shots.

Hole 3 -View from tee box; tree in fairway.

Hole 5 - View from tee box; tree in fairway.

Hole 2 - View from tee; tree middle of fairway.

Sand traps on fairways and also those protecting greens in my opinion are small in size and sparse in numbers, making little impact on play.  Grasses on fairways are mainly mixtures of cow and bermuda with the earlier being more prominent for Tunku's and Ghaffar's while the Governor's being newer have more of the later.  Grass on greens are tidwarf.


Slope Rating (SR) of the courses are above average.  SR for Tunku's, Ghaffar's and Governor's are 132, 130 and 134 respectively.  Note: golf courses' SR are in between 55 to 155 with 113 being average.  Bigger rating indicates greater difficulty.  However for me, Ghaffar's nine is the most difficult despite the lowest SR among the three courses.  This is probably due to its par 4 holes with the shortest being 370 m while Tunku's shortest is 291 m and 354 for Governor's.  For an average golfer who drives the ball between 180 - 200 m, mastering the '3 wood' would be a prerequisite in order to have a decent score on Ghaffar's nine.


NOTABLE HOLES
The Most Challenging - Hole 6

This hole is the only one with stroke index (SI) of 1 in the whole club.  It is a 531 m, par 5 severe dog left.  The first shot requires a carry of about 180 m  extreme downhill over trees and ravine before reaching the fairway.  Too much left, the ball will get into the 2nd ravine.  Too much right will require a long carry or two shots down hill to clear the said 2nd ravine.  Distance from 2nd ravine to green which is protected by bunkers is approximately 250m uphill.

Hole 6 - View from tee.  First ravine is just after
 trees in middle of picture.

Hole 6 - View from fairway after first ravine,
second ravine in middle of picture.

The Most Scenic - Hole 19

Driving into a valley where the fairway is split into two by a tributary of Lake Air Keroh; the view from the tee box will astound any first time golfer in AKCC.  However this 514 m, par 5, SI 8, 'dog leg left'  hole 19 is challenging with many balls sinking into the tributary.  The picture does not do justice of the actual view.

Hole 19, View from behind tee box.

The Longest Par 3 Ever - Hole 13

At 198 m and SI of 12/11 is the longest and most difficult par 3 I have ever played.  Task is made harder by the need to carry the ball at least 175 m over a cove of Lake Air Keroh.

Hole 13 - View from drop zone.

The Loooongest - Hole 18

Taunted to be the longest in the nation at one time.  It is a 589 m, par 5, SI  2/1.

Hole 18 - View from tee.

Pause and Enjoy Nature - Hole 1

Try to tee off in the early morning.  This relatively easy 354 m, par 4, SI 15 will allow you to enjoy watching swiflets flying low hunting breakfast.  The view is enhance by Lake Air Keroh behind the green.

Hole 1 - View from tee.

Highlighting the above holes do not mean that the other holes in AKCC are any least inferior.  As the courses here are carved out from a virgin jungle and contoured according to the natural terrain each and every holes are unique to itself; challenging golfers in its difficulty and at the same time allowing them enjoy the sight and sounds of surrounding flora and fauna.

RATES

Do call the club for promotion packages.  Their contact are:

Tel: 06-2332000 / 06-2332001

Fax: 06-2332578

GETTING THERE
AKCC is approximately 10 minutes from Ayer Keroh Interchange of the North - South Highway and about 30 minutes from Malacca Town.  For non Malaccans, drive about 3.25 km from Air Keroh Interchange and you will see an open ground with a extra large flag pole (picture below) on your left .  Continue driving about 200 m and turn left into the first junction after the flag pole which will lead you to Jalan Tasik.  You will see Lake Ayer Keroh on your left in 200 m,  continue this road all the way and it will lead you to AKCC.

The extra large flag pole.